Insulin injections and dog is terrified of needles

[ChilliWillies]

Hoping someone has some bright ideas! Our 10 year old Westie has just been diagnosed with Diabetes. We have to inject with insulin twice a day or he is basically going to die.
He is absolutely paranoid about me doing things with him like even flea treatment, if he suspects I’ve got anything like that he’s gone. I practice doing the injections at the vets, where he was fine, because the vet held him, but at home he will try to run/twist away. Treats aren’t enough to distract him while I do it. This morning )first injection) we tried someone at his head fussing him and me basically giving him a back massage, then I just paused and injected him, but he felt it and ran as soon as I got the needle out. I’m really scared we aren’t going to be able to make this work and we’re going to lose him.
Has anyone got any tricks for being able to inject them without it becoming stressful?

Wrap him in a towel get a bit of him exposed. Do it quickly so be all prepared. He is never going to like it so getting it done quick and it's less stress.

I agree. He will desensitise. My Westie had to have allergy desensitisation jabs daily. After a few weeks it became just what we did.

I second him (and you) getting used to it. He may not like it but it will get easier when it becomes normal. If you are still finding it difficult in a few weeks time, then it might be worth asking your vet about VetPen, which is a slightly different way of injecting the insulin and may be slightly less painful for a sensitive dog. I have no direct experience of using one, though.

Insulin needles are absolutely tiny so it’s really unlikely he’s actually feeling the needle - it’s more the ‘what are you going to do to me, I know you’re up to something’...

I would avoid wrapping in a towel or anything like that - you don’t want to reinforce his fear that something is out of the ordinary.

Prepare the insulin away from him so he can’t watch. If he’s a distractable sort, you can inject while he’s eating dinner if he reliably eats it; if you want him to eat before the injection, try a feeding puzzle/toy made really smelly with cheese. You could try putting his lead on and doing the injection by the front door if he’s then going to be excited about a walk.

Before injecting, give a 30 second fairly firm massage between your fingers of the ‘skin tent’ where you plan to inject - this desensitises the area a bit. Remember you can inject anywhere under the skin so if he’s better with you injecting further away from his head, that’s fine.

It also helps if you are super slick and confident so practice with your syringes (and some water) injecting some fruit (or your vet might lend you some models to practice on).