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Bogie is a black mini schnauzer that was dx'ed with diabetes in Sept. 2001 at the age of five. He weighed 30 pounds then, a tad bit overweight and had been eating Flint River Ranch kibble for several years. He had been vaccinated 3 months prior to dx.
I thought he had a UTI because two nights in a row he peed by the back door. Well, he had a UTI but diabetes as well.
Vet started him on 3 units of Humulin N twice a day and WD food. Bogie wouldn't take one bite of dry so he ate canned for awhile. I didn't know any better as far the insulin dose or the food!
Within days I found a CanineDiabetes.org and started learning but not soon enough. Bogie lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks and had ketones. He was a sick boy, dribbling all over the house, draining water bowls, not eating and go to vomiting and diarrhea, both eventually bloody. When I kept reporting ketones my vet kept saying "keep the dose the same".......
Another vet was on call one night and said to get him in NOW! He stayed 3 days being force fed and fluids and IV insulin. He still came home sick and I had to hand feed so I could get enough in him for his shot. He came home on 8 units and eventually got to 12. He gained some weight back, slowly and got to 26-27 pounds which looked good on him, he's a big guy. He gave up on the canned WD so we tried the Eukanuba Weight Control and he ate that well and I liked the ingredients better.
By Feb. 2002 I noticed he wasn't seeing as well. He couldn't see the vitamins I dropped on the floor. Within days he couldn't see toys that were thrown. In Feb. we went to Iowa State Vet School and they said he was an excellant candidate for surgery so his cataracts were removed in April. He developed dry eye in one eye but that cleared up in about a year.
After the first bottle of Humulin N we switched to Novolin N and have used that ever since.
Bogie was regulated well for a few years when he went whacko on me, was showing numbers in the 400's and there had been no changes to diet so I wanted him tested for Cushings due to his high ALKP and ALT numbers on his lab work. The ACTH was inconclusive. We did the LLDS, still not sure, HHDS, maybe, ultrasound and radiographs, still not sure. Finally an adrenal panel was sent to the Un. of TN. and it came back he had atypical Cushings. This was in Feb. 2005. We tried the Lysodren treatment as recommended but didn't get him loaded but he was better for awhile. When bg went out of control we tried another Lysodren load and he go so sick we needed prednisone for weeks to get him back. We stopped treatment and we have periods where his progesterone and a estrodial mess things up. There is no predicting when hormones are released!
We are at 6 1/2 years with diabetes now. After a year on the Eukanuba I finally got up the courage to home cook. I did this until recently. Having 5 dogs on 4 different diets isn't easy so I am feeding Bogie a mix of grain free freeze dried and grain free kibble. Bogie's last labs were pretty good but too much protein in the urine so I thought we'd better try something new.
In Sept. of 2006 I flew to Texas to adopt Molly, a then 6 year old Chihuahua that was in senior rescue. I had her eyes checked soon after getting her and she had her cataracts removed in April of 2007. She eats grain free freeze dried for the most part but can be a picky little thing and sometimes I have to improvise. She is on 3 1/2 units of Novolin N.
Bogie has always taken his shots and blood testing well. I show him the syringe and he comes to me and lowers his head. For blood testing I use the inner lip and only once have had to test enough to make his lips sore.
Molly came to me hating her shots, and also a muzzle! I used the muzzle for awhile but thought she needed to deal with it. She still squeals sometimes (an improvement from howling, yelling, whining and rolling on me) but it doesn't make me jump and pull out the needle anymore. I also test her inner lip and she takes that very well, much better than her shots. Not as much room in there to work but it's doable.
I haven't slept past 7 a.m. in all these years, I have to be home to feed in the evening, don't go out much but I wouldn't change a thing. Nothing I have to give up is worth anything compared to knowing I am keeping them happy and healthy and I get a lot in return.
I thought he had a UTI because two nights in a row he peed by the back door. Well, he had a UTI but diabetes as well.
Vet started him on 3 units of Humulin N twice a day and WD food. Bogie wouldn't take one bite of dry so he ate canned for awhile. I didn't know any better as far the insulin dose or the food!
Within days I found a CanineDiabetes.org and started learning but not soon enough. Bogie lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks and had ketones. He was a sick boy, dribbling all over the house, draining water bowls, not eating and go to vomiting and diarrhea, both eventually bloody. When I kept reporting ketones my vet kept saying "keep the dose the same".......
Another vet was on call one night and said to get him in NOW! He stayed 3 days being force fed and fluids and IV insulin. He still came home sick and I had to hand feed so I could get enough in him for his shot. He came home on 8 units and eventually got to 12. He gained some weight back, slowly and got to 26-27 pounds which looked good on him, he's a big guy. He gave up on the canned WD so we tried the Eukanuba Weight Control and he ate that well and I liked the ingredients better.
By Feb. 2002 I noticed he wasn't seeing as well. He couldn't see the vitamins I dropped on the floor. Within days he couldn't see toys that were thrown. In Feb. we went to Iowa State Vet School and they said he was an excellant candidate for surgery so his cataracts were removed in April. He developed dry eye in one eye but that cleared up in about a year.
After the first bottle of Humulin N we switched to Novolin N and have used that ever since.
Bogie was regulated well for a few years when he went whacko on me, was showing numbers in the 400's and there had been no changes to diet so I wanted him tested for Cushings due to his high ALKP and ALT numbers on his lab work. The ACTH was inconclusive. We did the LLDS, still not sure, HHDS, maybe, ultrasound and radiographs, still not sure. Finally an adrenal panel was sent to the Un. of TN. and it came back he had atypical Cushings. This was in Feb. 2005. We tried the Lysodren treatment as recommended but didn't get him loaded but he was better for awhile. When bg went out of control we tried another Lysodren load and he go so sick we needed prednisone for weeks to get him back. We stopped treatment and we have periods where his progesterone and a estrodial mess things up. There is no predicting when hormones are released!
We are at 6 1/2 years with diabetes now. After a year on the Eukanuba I finally got up the courage to home cook. I did this until recently. Having 5 dogs on 4 different diets isn't easy so I am feeding Bogie a mix of grain free freeze dried and grain free kibble. Bogie's last labs were pretty good but too much protein in the urine so I thought we'd better try something new.
In Sept. of 2006 I flew to Texas to adopt Molly, a then 6 year old Chihuahua that was in senior rescue. I had her eyes checked soon after getting her and she had her cataracts removed in April of 2007. She eats grain free freeze dried for the most part but can be a picky little thing and sometimes I have to improvise. She is on 3 1/2 units of Novolin N.
Bogie has always taken his shots and blood testing well. I show him the syringe and he comes to me and lowers his head. For blood testing I use the inner lip and only once have had to test enough to make his lips sore.
Molly came to me hating her shots, and also a muzzle! I used the muzzle for awhile but thought she needed to deal with it. She still squeals sometimes (an improvement from howling, yelling, whining and rolling on me) but it doesn't make me jump and pull out the needle anymore. I also test her inner lip and she takes that very well, much better than her shots. Not as much room in there to work but it's doable.
I haven't slept past 7 a.m. in all these years, I have to be home to feed in the evening, don't go out much but I wouldn't change a thing. Nothing I have to give up is worth anything compared to knowing I am keeping them happy and healthy and I get a lot in return.
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