New Min Pin member

[lyonellen]

Wow I am amazed at all the great information on this site, I have 3 Min Pins ages 7, 6 and 5 all from different breeders. My oldest Violet who has always loved to eat started throwing up and and losing weight in end of Oct I knew something was wrong so took her to the vet and found out she has diabetes. She had weighed 21 lbs (over weight) and she lost 3. There is so much to learn. I am able to give her shots twice a day but I haven't been able to do the blood tests, I had to leave her with the vet last week all day for them to get a curve on her and take her back tomorrow all day again for another curve. She is a very loving mellow Min Pin. I have time off during the holidays and I am trying to learn as much as I can to help her live a long life. I also need to find a way to get a blood sample by myself with her so I don't have to take her to the vet all the time.

[k9diabetes]

Re: New Min Pin member

I hope you don't mind - I copied your post about Violet so she will have a thread of her own.

Mellow Min Pin huh? 8) I didn't know there was such a thing!

We have quite a few Min Pin members. Welcome to you and Violet (I love her name!).

Natalie

[Patty]

Re: New Min Pin member

Just wanted to say hi and welcome to you and Violet!
Patty

[peggy0]

Re: Newly diagnosed diabetic dog! I need thoughts and advice!

Welcome to the forum!! I Love the name violet. We're here to help; any question is a good one. You'll love home testing, it is cheaper but most of all its peace of mind

[pgcor]

Re: New Min Pin member

Hi fellow min pin owner! I have a very hyper min pin so I can't imagine owning three! God love you!

You are in for good luck with Violet being mellow. Should make managing this disease a lot easier for you. Just wanted to say welcome!

Pam and Pip

[lyonellen]

Re: New Min Pin member

No I don't mind, I am not only new to all of this I am pretty computer savvy but for some reason have never found a need to join any forums until now that is so I am boning up on that as well as Diabetic dogs.

[lyonellen]

Re: New Min Pin member

Thank you, I am doing the best I can to educate my self for Violet's sake thank fully I can use my remaining vacation time to do as much research as I can.

[lyonellen]

Re: New Min Pin member

Violet was my first and is loving and mellow that I didn't know they had a rep, until my vet and her staff told me that was not the norm! So that is how I ended up with three. My middle Min Pin "Sweet Pea" is apparently more typical she has a rep with the vet and her staff and is always muzzled, except she is such a mommy's baby at the vet they forget sometimes and the Vet will have to remind them that no this isn't Violet. My littlest Min Pin "Heather" is a real baby doll just loves to be held and snuggled, but cries like a baby if the vets want to do her nails or tests, so I am glad neither Sweet Pea or Heather have Diabetes and will do my best to be sure I get their weight under control.

[lyonellen]

Re: Newly diagnosed diabetic dog! I need thoughts and advice!

I am bummed I just talked with the Vet about Violet's BG readings on her curve today, she was high all day and they just now got a reading that was 375. The vet said that last week's curve she was high all day also. She needs readings at night to be able to see if Violet is lower at night or if the evening insulin is doubling up. I really really am going to try to get reading's myself. Going to pick Violet up at 6:45 and they are going to have me try again to take a reading. I have spent all day looking at the forum's info and going to utube and watching video's on how to get a BG reading. This is really hard.

[lyonellen]

Re: Newly diagnosed diabetic dog! I need thoughts and advice!

Is there a good lancing device that any one can recommend? I really need to be able to get a BG on Violet and am just struggling. I don't have any one to help and although Violet never bites and is very mellow I have hurting her and she pulls away from me when I try to get a read. I know I am nervous and she must feel it also she must wonder why I am hurting her now, I am not always good at giving her the insulin with out hurting her. Feeling overwhelmed right now. Blood Curve never got below 350 today.

[MaryLea]

Re: New Min Pin member

Welcome to the forum!

Each one of us was overwhelmed at first, so you are in good company. You've already got the injection process down; good for you!

We began home testing BG within a week of Ruffles' diagnosis. Simply could not afford multiple all-day trips to the vet. Once I got used to it, I couldn't do without knowing the numbers. Helped so much to give us the feeling that we at least knew what the results of the injections were.

I will give you my version of BG testing, but there are other folks here with much more experience and good ideas.

(My) procedure which worked: pick her up; put her on the couch beside me; give a (very) small treat; put my arm across her; put the "tools" on my lap; pick up her lip; clean the gum with a damp paper towel; do "the deed" and get a reading; wipe off the extra blood; give another (very small) treat. She could not see most of my activity when I did it this way, so she did not react.

Our vet said to approach her from behind her ears towards her face so she did not see me coming. I put my arm on her (no pressure, just barely touchng her) so she'd know I was right beside her. She learned that when the glucometer beeped we had a sample and the second beep meant another treat was soon to come. She usually turned her head at that point towards where I kept the treat.

Hope this helps, but ask any questions you may have. Someone will answer. Good luck!

Mary

[k9diabetes]

Re: New Min Pin member

What are you using right now?

Where are you trying to test?

I really like the Accuchek Softclix - the single lance version rather than the multiclix. Quiet and much gentler than most of the other ones I've seen. While I loved the OneTouch Ultra meter, I hated the lancing device that came with it and used the Accuchek Softclix exclusively.

I once accidentally tried out the one with the OneTouch on myself and didn't pay enough attention to the scale for how hard it lanced. Instead of the lightest poke, I set it for the hardest one and dang... I thought it was gonna pierce my bone! While I had to use a 2.0 or 2.5 setting on Chris' lip, my own wimpy fingers will cough up a huge drop of blood with the lancing device set on 0.5.

Natalie

[HarrysMom]

Re: New Min Pin member

I started doing the testing myself two weeks ago. I was surprised that inside lip was the easiest place to get blood.
I give Harry a little bit of liver treat when the machine beeps to let us know that it got the sample. Now, Harry anticipates the treat and does not seem to mind.
I am not using any lancing device - just the 28 gage lancet. Would it be easier to use the device? It seemed harder than not using it.

Yunhee

[CarolW]

Re: New Min Pin member

I had to test Kumbi on my own, too. My vets were using the inner lip (in effect, it's like part of the cheek lining) to prick, and they showed me where.

I REALLY like that choice, precisely because there's no PAIN for the dog there; so few nerve endings there. I think I hurt Kumbi twice, in thousands of pricks. He yelped those two times.

On my web site, i have an excruciatingly detailed, somewhat wandering, description of testing Kumbi on the lip; perhaps reading through those pages would be helpful to you.

http://www.coherentdog.org/vek/bgtest.php

How you approach Violet can make a big difference. If she lets you pick her up, and she's not over-sensitive to that, I'd put her on a counter or somewhere where she can't walk away, but make sure it's blocked on three sides, so she can't run off, and you can block her exit from the one open side, with your body. No falling off counters!

Here's another page you might find useful:

http://www.coherentdog.org/vek/dogcoop.php

and one page in particular in that series:

http://www.coherentdog.org/vek/groomintable.php

Glad you have the injections under control. I do love Min Pins! Never had one myself! Australian Terriers are typically as mellow as Min Pins - and Kumbi was like Violet - unusually mellow!

A big, fat welcome to you and Violet!

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:43:08 (PST)

[lyonellen]

Re: New Min Pin member

oh gosh what a day, went to pick up Violet and vet had me watch them again while they did the BG, I had brought my own meter so they did a test with both meters (theirs and mine) their's was about 60 points LOWER then mine, so they drew blood to send to lab to see who's was right. No cost to me. I screwed up the insulin tonight half if not all went onto her fur. Just managed to do a BG on the pad behind her front leg, 606. I know that isn't good, I will do another at midnight, 4am and 7am. I do thank you for everyones input I am trying to find my way.