Diabetic dog. Just diagnosed

[OneSharpGoose]

Our 11 year old Cairn terrier has just been diagnosed with diabetes. One day he was his normal terrier self barking at the ne'er do Wells daring to pass our 6feet high garden fence. Walking for miles with DH then snuggling up to me for a cuddle and a snooze before dinner and another cuddle and a snooze after dinner. We took him to the vet for what we thought was a UTI only for him to be rushed into doggy hospital intensive care with dangerously high glucose levels. We were offered euthanasia once he had been disgnosed but wanted to give him chance. After a few days stay he was allowed home with a sensor stuck to his tummy and we were told he had gone blind v recently. This is a shock of great magnitude. He went into the kennels the weekend before and they mentioned he was slowing down but neither they or I had any inkling he was so ill. We have to go back on Wednesday for a check up but his blood glucose is still very high. The blindness is the saddest part. Hes no longer the little disobedient devil he was but this sad wreck sleeping and scared to move. Are we doing the right thing? Is he sad as well as unwell? Will things get better for him? Any advice? I don't know how to help him.

Oh bless him. I assume if the blindness is sudden it will take a lot of getting used to for him. But blind dogs to adapt and cope. Hopefully someone with some experience will come and advise. I assume making sure nothing is left on the floor so he doesn’t bump into stuff he doesn’t expect and he will soon remember his route. I have also seen a dog on tiktok who’s blind who wears a harness which has a plastic pole bent round which protrudes in front of the dogs head. So that bumps into stuff rather than his head, like a cane for dogs. I’ll try and find the video and come back if I do.

We had a diabetic dog, it was just out of the blue as well. Main thing is to get the insulin dosage right. We didn’t have a sensor but took regular blood tests. She also lost her sight, not as suddenly as your dog though. She managed very well out on walks. She also seemed to know exactly where things were in the house. There are a couple of very good facebook groups for diabetic dogs, so well worth joining them.

Here, it’s not the same video I saw but same device

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdK8Aw5g/

It's heartbreaking for you but it can get easier. Is he having insulin injections twice a day? If so, it takes a while to stabilise the dose and get back to a reasonably normal life.

We also had a much loved Cairn terrier who got diabetes at age 13. He became blind then deaf shortly after diagnoses. It's upsetting for us but I felt he did have some qualify of life, he loved his walks, although he could no longer handle the stairs. I wondered if he got lonely not being with us at night as he usually was.

Eventually at age 16 the insulin stopped working so we let him go.

It's a shock at the moment but things can get easier, living with your dog's diabetes can become the new normal for you. The injections twice a day and walks at the same time each day can be restricting but we lived our lives around them as we felt he still enjoyed life at times. It's a tough decision to make.

Thankyou for replies. Vet rang he now has a UTI. Vet says they're very common in diabetic dogs. He just looks so sad and bewildered. He fell off the decking last night as I took my eyes off him for a second. Not hurt but very cautious now. This morning he was by the hall door instead of in his bed. I'm just so unsure my adorable terror of a terrier deserves this. It hurts my heart to see him like this.

One of our old dogs also developed diabetes and went blind very quickly, still loved to go out though, we just made adjustments around the house so she didn’t hurt herself and walked her where she knew from old, she managed ok, but sadly developed hyperglycaemia and died after a few months, the vet told us that hyperglycaemia is more difficult to spot than hypo without blood monitoring, which we were doing but she went from ok to hyperglycaemia so quickly, just be aware of it

My dog had diabetes, he went blind almost overnight. We had the diabetic cataracts removed the insurance paid most of the bill and it was worth doing to give him his eyesight back (we paid the differance). Once his blood sugars are stable and your used to injecting he will be fine. Its a big committment financialy if your insurance doesnt cover the insulin etc but we found it better to get a prescription for insulin from the vet and buy online for 22.00 per bottle rather than the 64.00 per bottle from the vet.

I had a diabetic dog , she managed to survive 4.5 years fairly well with it . I found joining diabetic dogs forum on Facebook so helpful, we worked out how much food she was meant to have and strictly no snacks between meals as that spiked her levels. We kept a strict diet for her and fed her every 12 hours ( you do have an hour window for those times you cannot keep to the times). She went blind too but she could move easily around her old haunts !
I second asking for a prescription from the vet so you can buy insulin cheaper , also needles etc are cheaper bought online. It does get easier as time goes on .