Zeke, a 15 Year Old Diabetic Dog
Zeke is believed to be a Puggle
Cataract Surgery for Dogs with Diabetes
I took Zeke to Dr. Ebbinger at Veterinary Vision in Rochester, MI for an evaluation of his eyesight in November of 2007. Zeke was scheduled for Cataract Surgery in January of 2008.
Cataracts and Blindness in Diabetic Dogs
Zeke was diagnosed with dog diabetes in July of 2010 when he was about 10 years old. By October he was completely blind due to cataracts caused by the dog diabetes. I noticed that he would occasionally walk into the door frame when going outside but I just thought his eyesight might be affected by him getting older. The really bit thing that made me question Zekes' ability to see was that he no longer barked and whined like crazy I would leave him in the car for a few minutes. I later determined that this was because he could not see me walking away from the vehicle.
I took Zeke to his regular veterinarian who assessed his vision and determined that he could no longer see. I was heartbroken for Zeke, who as a country dog, was somewhat of a wild dog that would run off chasing animals in the woods or going off for a long walk by himself or with our other dogs.
During this time I also thought that Zeke was extremely depressed due to his losing his vision. Later I would determine that I was totally wrong. I will explain in another post why I thought poor Zeke was depressed.
I took Zeke to his regular veterinarian who assessed his vision and determined that he could no longer see. I was heartbroken for Zeke, who as a country dog, was somewhat of a wild dog that would run off chasing animals in the woods or going off for a long walk by himself or with our other dogs.
During this time I also thought that Zeke was extremely depressed due to his losing his vision. Later I would determine that I was totally wrong. I will explain in another post why I thought poor Zeke was depressed.
Inexpensive Ways to Monitor Your Dogs Blood Sugar
When Zeke was first diagnosed with dog diabetes it was difficult to get his blood sugar regulated. We made many trips to his vet and she would draw his blood to check his glucose levels. This testing is necessary when you have a dog with diabetes. It is also traumatic for Zeke because the technicians would take him to the back room and poke him.
So I started purchasing Bayer Diastix to check Zekes' blood sugar. These are dipsticks for the dogs urine. I follow him around the yard when he is due for an insulin injection. When he hikes his leg to go I put a paper plate under him while he is urinating and then dip the Diastix in the urine.
After 30 seconds I read the color guide on the bottle that will tell me how high his blood glucose is. While this method is not exact and it is imortant to have your vet check the dogs blood sugar once in a while, it gives me a good idea if Zekes' glucose level is running too high or too low. If it is consistently negative then I wonder if maybe Zekes' blood sugar is too low, which has happened many times. If it is consistently high then I will raise his Vetsulin dose by .5 or 1 unit and continue to monitor him.
The best price I have found on the Diastix is from Hocks Pharmacy in Ohio. A bottle of 50 sticks is about $10 or a little less which is way cheaper than buying them in the drugstore.
So I started purchasing Bayer Diastix to check Zekes' blood sugar. These are dipsticks for the dogs urine. I follow him around the yard when he is due for an insulin injection. When he hikes his leg to go I put a paper plate under him while he is urinating and then dip the Diastix in the urine.
After 30 seconds I read the color guide on the bottle that will tell me how high his blood glucose is. While this method is not exact and it is imortant to have your vet check the dogs blood sugar once in a while, it gives me a good idea if Zekes' glucose level is running too high or too low. If it is consistently negative then I wonder if maybe Zekes' blood sugar is too low, which has happened many times. If it is consistently high then I will raise his Vetsulin dose by .5 or 1 unit and continue to monitor him.
The best price I have found on the Diastix is from Hocks Pharmacy in Ohio. A bottle of 50 sticks is about $10 or a little less which is way cheaper than buying them in the drugstore.
Symptoms of Dog Diabetes
Dog diabetes is unfortunately common. The average age of onset of diabetes in dogs is 6 to 9 years old. Zeke was 9 1/2 years old when his dog diabetes was diagnosed. Common symptoms of dog diabetes that prompt pet owners to take their dog to the veterinarian include:
- excessive thirst and drinking lots of water
- urinating more than usual and in the house
- weight loss
- cataracts and blindness
If your dog has the above symptoms of dog diabetes he or she should be take to the veterinarian. The vet will perform a blood test to test the dogs glucose level. When Zeke was diagnosed his glucose was just over 400. In a normal dog that number would be 120 or less.
When Zeke was diagnosed with dog diabetes in July 2007 he had all of the above symptoms. He had lost about 4 or 5 pounds although I had not really noticed that as a symptom because it was gradual I think. Once Zeke was on a proper dose of insulin which at the time was Vetsulin his weight gradually increased back to his normal weight of about 28 pounds.
I had noticed that Zekes' vision was not as good as usual but I thought it was just his age since he was around 10 years old at the time. Within a few months time of being diagnosed with dog diabetes Zeke did develop cataracts and became completely blind. For more information please read my post on Blindness in Diabetic Dogs and Cataract Surgery for Diabetic Dogs
How To Give A Diabetic Dog an Insulin Injection
When Zeke was first diagnosed with dog diabetes I was sure there would be no way that I would be able to give him an injection without being bitten. Zeke has always been a feisty little dog. He is very sweet but if you are doing something to him that he doesn't like he is going to let you know.
My veterinarians' assistant taught me to do the shots by lifting the nape of his neck up in the air, kind of like a tent. Then just stick the needle in, push, and you are done.
I give Zeke his Vetsulin injection while his head is in the food bowl. That way his mind is on the food and not on me. So far he is tolerating it quite well. In the rare case where I forget to give the injection while he is eating I wait for him to go outside. While he is going out the doorway then I give him the injection. Remember to always give the injection once the dog has eaten at least half of his / her food.
My veterinarians' assistant taught me to do the shots by lifting the nape of his neck up in the air, kind of like a tent. Then just stick the needle in, push, and you are done.
I give Zeke his Vetsulin injection while his head is in the food bowl. That way his mind is on the food and not on me. So far he is tolerating it quite well. In the rare case where I forget to give the injection while he is eating I wait for him to go outside. While he is going out the doorway then I give him the injection. Remember to always give the injection once the dog has eaten at least half of his / her food.
The Story of Zeke and his Dog Diabetes
This is the story of my 13 and a half year old extremely cute dog Zeke. It took many years to figure out what breed of dog he is. I could always see some beagle in him. One day I had him in the car and the girl working at the McDonalds drive through commented that he looked like a pug. When I got home I looked up the cross of a beagle and a pug and it looked exactly like Zeke. The designer breed of dog is called a Puggle. I was so glad to finally learn what type of dog he is.
Zeke is diabetic and is doing well on Vetsulin and other pet meds. He was a stray dog that my dad found in 1997. Zeke has been with me since he was 6 months old. The dates are out of squence as I am converting the content from a website to this blog.
I took Zeke to the veterinarian in July 2007 because he was drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating in the house. He was also waking me up at night to go outside. This is a common diabetic dog symptom. Zekes' glucose levels were in the 400s' which is very high since they should be under 140. The veterinarian put him on one shot a day of 14 units of Vetsulin which is a textbook dose based on his weight. Vetsulin is made in the Netherlands.
I would learn over the next several months that getting the right dose for your dog with diabetes is an exercise in trial and error. The dogs need for insulin can change at any time without notice. Dog Diabetes is something that your dog can live a good life with if you and your veterinarian can control the dogs blood sugar levels.
I tried to research diabetic dog food but Zeke has always been a meat eater. At his age we thought it would be difficult to switch his diet. The vet started Zeke out on one shot of 14 units of Vetsulin once per day. After two weeks of still high blood glucose levels the shot was increased to two doses of 10 units of Vetsulin twice a day. Zeke began drinking excessive amounts of water and waking me up at night to let him out so I increased the second shot to 14 units and he was fine.
Over the last 3 years I have learned alot about diabetes in dogs by reading online and by especially from the veterinarian. Zeke has been on doses as low as 8 units and as high as 15. The veterinarian always thought it was Zekes system reacting differently but now with the Vetsulin announcement I suspect that part of the problem was the inconsistent strength of the vetsulin medication. To monitor him I was taking him to the veterinarian about once a month to have his blood glucose tested. Now the vet checks Zekes blood glucose level every couple of months. Currently I am testing his urine several times a week with Bayer Diastix urine glucose test strips which I purchase online from Hocks Pharmacy in Ohio. They have the best prices I have found and since I am in Michigan the shipping time for Ground is only 1 day and Hocks shipping cost is very reasonable.
For the past year and a half Zeke has been on 2 shots a day of 14 units of Vetsulin It can take alot of trial and error to get each dogs dosage correct. The diabetic dogs need for insulin can change at any time without notice. It is important to watch your pet closely and report any changes to the veterinarian.
Zeke is diabetic and is doing well on Vetsulin and other pet meds. He was a stray dog that my dad found in 1997. Zeke has been with me since he was 6 months old. The dates are out of squence as I am converting the content from a website to this blog.
I took Zeke to the veterinarian in July 2007 because he was drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating in the house. He was also waking me up at night to go outside. This is a common diabetic dog symptom. Zekes' glucose levels were in the 400s' which is very high since they should be under 140. The veterinarian put him on one shot a day of 14 units of Vetsulin which is a textbook dose based on his weight. Vetsulin is made in the Netherlands.
I would learn over the next several months that getting the right dose for your dog with diabetes is an exercise in trial and error. The dogs need for insulin can change at any time without notice. Dog Diabetes is something that your dog can live a good life with if you and your veterinarian can control the dogs blood sugar levels.
I tried to research diabetic dog food but Zeke has always been a meat eater. At his age we thought it would be difficult to switch his diet. The vet started Zeke out on one shot of 14 units of Vetsulin once per day. After two weeks of still high blood glucose levels the shot was increased to two doses of 10 units of Vetsulin twice a day. Zeke began drinking excessive amounts of water and waking me up at night to let him out so I increased the second shot to 14 units and he was fine.
Over the last 3 years I have learned alot about diabetes in dogs by reading online and by especially from the veterinarian. Zeke has been on doses as low as 8 units and as high as 15. The veterinarian always thought it was Zekes system reacting differently but now with the Vetsulin announcement I suspect that part of the problem was the inconsistent strength of the vetsulin medication. To monitor him I was taking him to the veterinarian about once a month to have his blood glucose tested. Now the vet checks Zekes blood glucose level every couple of months. Currently I am testing his urine several times a week with Bayer Diastix urine glucose test strips which I purchase online from Hocks Pharmacy in Ohio. They have the best prices I have found and since I am in Michigan the shipping time for Ground is only 1 day and Hocks shipping cost is very reasonable.
For the past year and a half Zeke has been on 2 shots a day of 14 units of Vetsulin It can take alot of trial and error to get each dogs dosage correct. The diabetic dogs need for insulin can change at any time without notice. It is important to watch your pet closely and report any changes to the veterinarian.
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The privacy of our visitors to dogdiabetesinfo.blogspot.com is important to us.
At dogdiabetesinfo.blogspot.com , we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Below is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit omensblog.blogspot.com, and how we safeguard your information. We will never sell your personal information to third parties.
Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.
Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.
We also use third party advertisements on dogdiabetesinfo.blogspot.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).
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We also may use DART cookies for ad serving through Google’s DoubleClick, which places a cookie on your computer when you are browsing the web and visit a site using DoubleClick advertising (including some Google AdSense advertisements). This cookie is used to serve ads specific to you and your interests (”interest based targeting”). The ads served will be targeted based on your previous browsing history (For example, if you have been viewing sites about visiting Las Vegas, you may see Las Vegas hotel advertisements when viewing a non-related site, such as on a site about hockey). DART uses “non personally identifiable information”. It does NOT track personal information about you, such as your name, email address, physical address, telephone number, social security numbers, bank account numbers or credit card numbers. You can opt-out of this ad serving on all sites using this advertising by visiting http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/dart_adserving.aspx
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