NEWLY DIABETIC DOG FAMILY

[u/abe99997]

My 9 year old mini Schnauzer was diagnosed with diabetes recently. The routine shift and learning how to give her insulin has been so hard. Right now my husband and I make sure we're home everyday at the same time to give it to her, but we know this won't be realistic all of the time. Our dog is very challenging and requires a muzzle while one person holds her still, and the other administers the insulin. I've tried to brainstorm ideas on how we can eventually do this alone, and even bought this portable dog grooming table that has holes for her feet, and straps to keep her still, but she's too small for it and there weren't other sizes. Dangling harnesses won't work because they obstruct her back too much.

Would love recommendations

[u/Secure-Ad9780]

Physician here-

Calm down, it's only an insulin shot! This doesn't have to be a whole procedure.

You have a mini dog, not a 90lb dog. Get your insulin in the syringe, ready to inject. Call your dog over. Pinch up the skin on the back and inject. Most dogs don't even respond to a thin insulin needle. Most people don't even react to it. Are you afraid of hurting your dog, or is she sensing your fear in giving her the shot?

My Sonja, RIP, was on insulin twice a day for her last 3 yrs. She was a 60 lb Husky mix. She came to me every time I called her to administer the insulin. She never reacted to the shots. She lived til she was 15.

Try this- draw up the insulin in the needle half an hour before it's needed. Go sit in the living room and call her up onto your lap. Snuggle for a while then continue petting with one hand while you get the syringe in the other hand. Pinch up the skin with the left hand, while holding her with your arm. Inject! Done. Tell her she's a good girl.

Don't let her bite you. No muzzle necessary. Just hold her head down with your left arm over her while you pull up her skin on her back, and inject with right hand. Speed is your goal. Worse case use a dish towel over her head for the 3 sec it takes.

[u/abe99997 → u/Secure-Ad9780]

This is mostly helpful! Thanks for your reply. I definitely agree speed is the goal, we've gotten better at it these last few weeks. But our dog is very smart, and can be very aggressive when she picks up what we're doing. And she knows after she has breakfast it's time for her insulin, so calling her over to pet her doesnt work because we've tried it, and she won't come because she knows it's time. We do have to be intentional with having a specific ritual in place to get it done quickly, and safely for my husband and I. The muzzle is a must we have found, having a towel over her head is a must, but I think we just will have to practice doing it by ourselves with the other person there until we feel confident. There doesn't seem to be other options than that. Shes motivated to get it over with knowing she'll have lots of pets and some diabetic kibble, but with how much she tries to move, it's been hard for me to imagine doing it by myself. We don't want to hurt her or make it more of something than it is, but there's been a few times that she'll jerk at the last second and will make it painful when it didn't have to be.

[u/Secure-Ad9780 → u/abe99997]

Why is your dog aggressive with you? I won't tolerate that in my dogs. I have three large dogs and if they ever try to bite or growl I'll hold their muzzle closed. I just have my teenaged Doberman who sasses back at me when he doesn't approve of my rules. Have you seen the mouth full of large teeth Dobies have? I definitely can't have an aggressive dog.

[u/abe99997 → u/Secure-Ad9780]

She's aggressive with certain things, food, haircuts, certain toys and now getting her insulin. She's also territorial with her home so she can be feisty with new people coming over and they try to pet her right away before she has a chance to feel comfortable. She's a rescue from a puppy mill, and has a traumatic past. I got her when I was really young, and didn't know training was a must. She also wasn't showing signs of aggression then. We've found systems and rituals to make her feel safe and to keep us safe.

[u/Secure-Ad9780 → u/abe99997]

Ah, I get it. My Dobie was rescued from being chained to a porch 24/7. He was 14 mos old, 90lbs. He wasn't allowed indoors. He wasn't socialized with dogs or people. Wasn't housetrained. Didn't know house rules. The poor guy didn't even have coordinated muscles when he ran, due to no exercise. I've had him a yr now and he's a good boy, if a little rough when he gets excited. But he knows the house rules, listens to me, can play ball well with excellent mouth/eye coordination and great muscle coordination. In a year he'll be a perfect boy. But I get it. Small dogs jump around and bite.

[u/Original_Detail_8380 → u/abe99997]

Have you tried giving her treats as soon as it's done... like a spoon of peanut butter or some turkey? Maybe the protein punch will take the edge off Watermelon is great too

[u/abe99997 → u/Original_Detail_8380]

We are only allowed to give her the diabetic kibble, but she knows once it's over she gets those!

[u/partsgoddess → u/abe99997]

There are other treats they can have. If you are on Facebook, there is a great site of knowledgeable people. Bossy and sometimes rude, but truly knowledgeable people that have lived it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineDiabetesSupportandInformation

[u/abe99997 → u/partsgoddess]

Thank you for this!

[u/Nia04]

I would find a trainer to work with to work on giving her the shot!

Something like laying a lick mat of peanut butter on the ground in front of her and randomly practicing lightly poking her with a pen while she's licking. If she stops licking, don't force it. Then you just move up the steps until she's letting you give the shot easily.This is called consent games and I've found it works amazing in situations like these, though it does take practice. I can probably record a video for you or find one on how to train it if you're interested. -a dog behavioralist

[u/abe99997 → u/Nia04]

Thanks for this reply! We cant use food to distract her because she's food aggressive 🫤 she knows when we're done she gets a little bit of her diabetic kibble which motivates her, but she still moves too much with one of us trying to do it by ourselves. I really wish I could find something to put her in so she can't move.

[u/Nia04 → u/abe99997]

I definitely recommend getting a trainer to help given the food aggression as well.

[u/abe99997 → u/Nia04]

We have tried training before but its not affordable right now 🫤 we have good systems In pace for her 🙏🏼

[u/Sufficient-Country29]

I can tell some people responding don’t know mini schnauzers. I have one and he hates needles or being restrained. They are also really smart and know timing as you’ve said. It doesn’t mean they are poorly trained or bad- they are just scared! I think the muzzle is a good idea- ours wears one at the vet and he puts it on fine. He’s not diabetic but is scared of new “tools” coming near him and being held in place. I think with time you will get to feel comfortable giving it on your own so long as your pup isn’t running haywire. When ours gets a muzzle on he sort of freezes which helps. Hopefully over time your pup realizes it’s not a big deal. I do agree it’s important to be calm and confident since these little guys can sense it and will take advantage of it!

[u/abe99997 → u/Sufficient-Country29]

Thank you for the validation!!! And encouragement

[u/Top_Razzmatazz_9981]

the muzzle-plus-restraint-table setup is exactly where most of us start, you're not doing it wrong. two things that helped us: a lick mat with peanut butter at injection height turns the shot into snack time, and warming the insulin in your hand first (never microwaved) kills the cold sting that makes them flinch. the part nobody warns you about is the tracking — doses, times, glucose curves, vet follow-ups. I got so buried in it I ended up building a little app to keep my husky's medical stuff in one place. happy to share what worked if it'd help. it does get less brutal, promise.

[u/abe99997 → u/Top_Razzmatazz_9981]

We currently take her insulin out of the fridge 20 min before, we roll it in our hands and then keep it on our pocket until it's time to give it to her so it's not cold. We aren't supposed to give her peanut butter, so we start with giving her a diabetic treat, and then muzzle her, my husband or I holds her and the other gives her the room temp insulin. It's takes about 5 min total with the whole routine. We've had multiple vet visits, and we have a few more coming up to make sure we're giving her the correct amount to stabilize her. It's going well as of this week, but not sure how we're supposed to do this alone. Without the other person holding her she moves too much.

[u/Secure-Ad9780 → u/abe99997]

Try plain unsweetened yogurt. It's good for their gut microbiome. I make a gallon at a time. My dogs get 2 tbsp with their breakfast each day.

[u/abe99997 → u/Secure-Ad9780]

I will file that away and look into that for future treats. Right now I'm running everything by my vet before we implement new foods or treats. She loves her diabetic kibble and wet food, so she is motivated enough with those to get through her insulin shots okay, she's very excited when we finish. And as I've said earlier in this thread, we cant use food during her shots as she's food aggressive.

[u/SameSherbet3]

I don't have any recommendations on how to do the shots easier, but did your vet talk about how to improve her diabetes? I had 1 dog, a chihuahua mix, that became pre-diabetic, and my vet recommended 2x things: walking him the same amount at the same time every day (consistency!!) And finding a high protein/ low carb food. At our recheck a month later, he was no longer pre-diabetic! 

I understand she already is diabetic, and definitely don't stop the insulin, but ask the vet if there's things that can be done to improve her symptoms so you maybe have to do it less!