Vetsulin Critical Need Program

With my supply of Canadian Vetsulin, also known as Caninsulin, running out I requested that my vet order the Vetsulin on a Wednesday.  On Friday morning the UPS driver brought my package of Vetsulin.  I was surprised at how quickly it arrived.  It was shipped via UPS Next Day Air and well packaged with a gel ice pack that was still half frozen. 

I paid $42 per 10ml bottle plus $12.90 for shipping on 2 10 ml bottles.   This is just a little more expensive than purchasing Caninsulin from the online Canadian pharmacy where I paid $88 for ten 2.5 ml bottles plus $14 for shipping.

With the Vetsulin having the issues with consistency of strength it is better for me to purchase the larger bottles so that Zeke is getting more of the standard Vetsulin dose with each injection.   I could not find the 10ml bottles of Vetsulin / Caninsulin at the one Canadian pharmacy that I could find selling Vetsulin online.

Top 10 Dog Diabetes Online Resources

I have done alot of online research on dog diabetes so that I can educate myself on how to manage Zekes' dog diabetes.  Below are some websites that I feel are very helpful and contain alot of information on dog diabetes.

K9 Diabetes (great forum on dog diabetes)

Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM

Vet Info Dog Diabetes

Pet Diabetes

Pets Web MD

Diabetes in Dogs

Washington State Univ Veterinary College

Merck Vet Manual

Pets With Diabetes Forum

Canine Diabetes

Have you come across some great online resources for managing your dogs diabetes?  If so please feel free to post them in the comments below.

Update on Vetsulin Critical Need Program Pricing

I took Zeke to his veterinarain for a check up over the weekend.  She had completed the paperwork to enroll Zeke in the Vetsulin Critical Need Program which is for dogs who cannot be safely transitioned to another type of insulin.   The price to get Vetsulin directly from Intervet, the manufacturer of Vetsulin, will be $42 for a 10ml vial (we used to pay $33 and then $35 before) plus shipping costs.  There would be a flat rate shipping cost for up to 5 vials.  The most vials we could purchase at one time based on Zekes' current Vetsulin dosage would be 6 vials.   So I need to compare this to the pricing on the Caninsulin (Canadian Vetsulin) that I ordered from an online pharmacy in Canada and see what is cheaper.  Without doing the math I think the pricing is pretty similar.

Vetsulin Critical Need Program

With my stockpile of Vetsulin about to run out later this summer I ordered Caninsulin from a Canadian mail-order pharmacy that handles pet meds. Caninsulin is the same exact medication as Vetsulin only it is sold under the name Caninsulin in Canada. What I would normally pay about $66 for here cost me $88 plus $14 for shipping so it is much more expensive. The Caninsulin took about 1 week to arrive and was shipped with an ice pack in the box.


Zekes' veterinarian has enrolled him in Intervets' Vetsulin Critical Need program which is for dogs with diabetes who for health reasons cannot be switched to another type of insulin. The way the program works is that the veterinarian fills out a form and sends it to the manufacturer of Vetsulin, once they approve it, the manufacturer will send the Vetsulin medication directly to the pet owner, and then they will bill the veterinarian who will then bill the dogs owner. Sounds kind of complicated but I suppose they think this will prevent the vet from dispensing the Vetsulin to newly diagnosed dogs. 

In any case I am very glad that I will still be able to get the Vetsulin here in the USA. We do not have any information yet on how much the Vetsulin will cost under the Critical Need program. I will post an update once I know more.

Below is a link to Intervets page about the Vetsulin Critical Need program.  If you scroll about halfway down you will see it.

Vetsulin Critical Need Program

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.

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.