Anyone with experience of caring for a diabetic dog?

[Electrocute1980]

Hi, my poor boy (9 year old mini schnauzer) has recently been diagnosed with diabetes. It's not controlled yet, still trying to get the dosage right and they also think he may have Cushings but can't confirm this until his diabetes is controlled. I'm just feeling so sorry for him, he's had perfect health his whole life and seems to have gone downhill so fast He also dislikes getting his shots, poor love. I just wondered if anyone here had been through this with their dog?

[fivedogstofeed]

Yes, a terrier x who delivered diabetes at around 8/9, but she had twice daily insulin jabs and actually did really well for quite a few more years.
The needle went into the scruff of the neck, it honestly didn't bother her at all.
It's upsetting news to get, but they can be managed.

[happygardening]

My very elderly dog (he had already exceeded the life expectancy for the breed) developed diabetes and we decided it was kindest to let him go as the vet felt that we were at best only prolonging his life by 6 months or so. I have never regretted my decision. If he'd been younger I might have felt differently. I got the impression that it was quite restrictive, you had to walk the sameish distance every day and regularly test their blood sugars and in the beginning leaving them was not advised.

[Electrocute1980]

Thanks both for replying. That's good to hear your dog did well for another few years @fivedogstofeed , that's my hope for electrodog. My worry is what else is underlying but will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it I guess. He's been slightly better at getting his shots the last few days. It didn't bother him at all to start but then he started to hate it. He's just getting used to it I suppose.

@happygardening yes the vet has told me to keep his exercise consistent but that's been fine as I walk him the same time each day anyway, after the school run. It's just a whole new routine to get into especially with two little ones to get ready in the morning but we're getting there I think. My mum is going to learn to do his shots so she can still look after him if we're away.

[DancelikeEmmaGoldman]

My old cattle dog was diagnosed last October. I was a complete failure at doing the blood testing, so we've been rolling on without it. Up until recently he's been doing very well with a reasonably controlled diet and twice daily injections. The injections are very easy - the needles are very fine and my dog doesn't feel them unless I've been clumsy.

I suspect he now has another issue going on, not, I don't think, related to his diabetes.

It's a bit of a shift in managing him and restrictive because he needs the injections at roughly the same time every day. But with careful management, diabetic dogs can have excellent quality of life and a normal life span.

There are a couple of Facebook groups for people managing dogs with diabetes and they are a wonderful source of information. They can be a bit dogmatic (sorry), in presentation, but the quality of information is invaluable. You'll turn them up with a search for canine diabetes.

It's not a cheap disease to manage, but my dog uses human insulin, which I buy from the pharmacy (with a prescription from my vet), which has eased the financial burden somewhat.

It's worth making sure you have a vet with experience of the disease - not all do.

There's a very high chance your dog will go blind as an effect of diabetes, so that's something to hear in mind. My dog has about 15% sight now, but he manages pretty well.

[Electrocute1980]

Thanks @DancelikeEmmaGoldman I'll definitely look up those Facebook groups. Our vet seems very knowledgeable so far so I'm happy in that respect and thankfully our insurance covers us for everything including life long conditions like diabetes so no financial concerns. I had read about the possibility of sight loss due to his condition but mini schnauzers can be prone to cataracts I believe so always knew this was a possibility. It is quite restrictive in that he needs his food/shots at the same time every morning but we have two small children so are always up by 7:30am and always home by 7:30pm

[Danniotley]

Hi our dog was diagnosed at age 6. He developed cataracts within 6 months and did not cope well with being blind. We have one of the cataracts removed and he was back to his old self. We managed his twice daily injections quite easily and you start to understand the signs of it not being controlled. He led a very happy life for the next 4 years but unfortunate developed cancer and we lost him in January. On the insurance side just be aware if he does develop cataracts and you have them removed this is classed as part of the diabetes claim. We had lifetime insurance but with a maximum £9000 and we used it all up.

[Electrocute1980]

Thanks @Danniotley - I'll need to check what my insurance says in case that happens. He's been a lot better this week which is lovely to see. Back on 17th May for more blood tests to see how he's getting on.