Roxy the Boxer - An Angel June 12, 2020

[Andrea]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Hey guys Long time no talk. I do read the boards almost everyday Roxy is doing GREAT. I do have a few questions. I have Roxy who is my diabetic dog and I have Hershey ( who is a 100lb pit) who is my non diabetic dog. I feed Hershey blue buffalo senior ( she is roughly 12 years old).

Roxy will sometimes eat the few left overs in Hershey bowl ( i am talking like maybe 5 or 6 little pieces). I am thinking about switching Hershey over from blue buffalo to Purina one Smart Balance healthy weight.

Any advice on that food ? Both for my non diabetic dog and my diabetic dog. Roxy still eats cans of w/d chicken and stew.

[jesse girl]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

well switching food can change the regulation process so you probably need a reset. its possible you may need less or more insulin maybe it will be the same
. you just wont know until you do it and find out if its a good match for your dogs insulin needs

more testing maybe in order during the change over if thats something you want to do . cant give a recommendation because it is a individual choice

[Andrea]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Thanks Jesse girl. I was thinking more of switching Hershey my non diabetic dog to that food. Hershey will be the primary to eat it while Roxy who is my diabetic dog will maybe eat like 5 or 6 small pieces if hershey even leaves that much in the bowl. LOL Hershey likes to eat her whole bowl.


Thanks for helping me :0)

[Andrea]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Hey guys !! Sorry I have not been around much. I do come and read the boards without logging in a lot

I have a quick question Roxy is doing great. She is eating well and her numbers are good. This morning on my way to work my husband calls me and tells me that he was reaching for something in the fridge and accidentally dropped roxy bottle of insulin to the ground. I do keep her insulin in the box that it comes in. Will it be ok to keep using? There is probably half a bottle left. I do use 27 units in the morning and 27 units at night. So i do get a new bottle roughly ever 2 1/2 weeks. She is also using Novlin N if that matter.

thanks again !!!

[jesse girl]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

i have dropped jesses a few times and have not had a problem

[Raysaint]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Did the bottle break? If not, nothing should be wrong with it.
If it broke, there could be microscopic bits of glass in the insulin, get a new bottle.

[amydunn19]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Do you home test? If so, and the numbers are higher significantly, it might mean you need a new bottle. insulin can become ineffective if the bottle is dropped too hard. Just keep an eye out.

[Andrea]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Hey guys me again. I’m sorry I don’t write much but I do read a lot on here. Roxy has her first diabetic sore on her paw in between her toes. It’s been a week, I kinda just let it see if it would heal itself. It hasn’t. Any advice? The vet can’t get her in till next week.

[Raysaint]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

What type of sore, what does it look like? You sure it's from diabetes?

[Andrea]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Hey guys it’s been a very long time since I posted in here. Roxy is still doing great.

I do have a question though. I’m thinking about taking her hiking. Is this a good idea any advice? Before her diabetes we would go hiking about once a month, but since she’s been diagnosed with diabetes we stopped. Not just because of her, I had some stuff come up which stopped us from hiking all together ( apparently I’m very highly allergic to all the poison plant).

Is this a good idea? We will start small. What should I take with us. I will take my camel back ( she drinks from the hose.. pretty funny)

[jesse girl]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

With exercise blood sugar can drop and it can be substantial . What i did with jesse is i figured what time insulin was the weakest. i tested her blood sugar before we left and after we came back . I noticed she dropped quite a bit on the walk even with insulin being at the weakest time which is before her next shot .

I would give her a small milk bone drizzled in honey before we left and that helped keep her sugar stable during the walk . Over time her body adapted to the daily routine and did not need the snack anymore .

If you are testing sugar at home i would test before and after the hike . If its a long one over an hour or very strenuous i might test on the trail a couple times and bringing a meter cant hurt

Bring some highly digestible carby snacks on the hike like a milk bones . Bring some liquid sugar like honey . I bring honey packets that i get from restaurants You dont want to be far from home without something to boost sugar if it goes low . Understand the symptoms of low sugar and how to treat

Dogs can do all the things they did before diabetes. You just have to take some precautions and there can be some limitations

[Andrea]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Jessegirl,


Thank you so much!! It’s going to be a long hike and I’m meeting my friends this afternoon. I might not bring her on this one and maybe start small. The place is over an hour from our house and we will probably hike 10-15 miles. Then the hour drive home.

I do test at home and I was thinking about bringing a milk bone but never thought of the honey. I’m going to start getting honey packets at restaurants now. That’s a great idea.

I figured once I got myself back into hiking she could still come along.
What do you think about once in a blue moon hike? Like today the weather is going to be nice but starting middle of the week it will be freezing again. Should I take her or wait until I know the weather is better and I will be going more often. Example: spring time

[jesse girl]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Well it is hard to say how your dog will react . Your dog has been diabetic for awhile and probably has adapted to the new reality of injected insulin . There has been other members who have had big hikes with there dogs and did well .

That is a long walk for the first go around . 5 miles maybe better to start .

If you decide to do this i would bring plenty of milk bones . The carby kind and not low glycemic Jesse milk bone actually has molasses baked in it . I might get a plastic squirt jar of honey. a small one should be fine so you can easily get some sugar in roxy if she needs it . If roxy seems stressed take a break . I would test blood sugar on the trail and give a snack and or some honey if needed or precautionary

Yes it may slow down the pace but the important part is to keep roxy safe . As you eluded to if something does happen you have a large dog that you would have to try to carry out .

The thing is you dont have any idea how Roxy will react and you cant compare to others on the forum because every dog reacts in there own unique way . You can be prepared and over doing it is a safe way to approach this situation

[LizE]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

I think you are on the right track start on small trips with her so you can see just how much of an impact the extra exercise and excitement has.

Snickers exercises every day but some days much more than others. I will even cut back on her insulin if I know she has a busy day ahead of her. She can drop so much and she does not display symptoms of low blood sugar. I just test her frequently and carry lots of treats if she is in an active situation.

She is prone to vomiting too so I always keep enough snacks to tide us over until we get home in case she has a problem when out.

This summer she while we were at the lake her insulin needs dropped by 25%. I don't know if it was just the exercise or the warmer weather just being awake more but she was dropping as low as 49 before I made the adjustment. Maybe it's just her but I would test very frequently just to be on the safe side.

I do not worry about running my dog on the high side because she recovers from that very quickly.

[Raysaint]

Re: Roxy the Boxer

Until you know how her sugar reacts to exercise, start small. Short walks/hikes are good for testing, and to ensure she'll eat carb treats during the walk. You wouldn't want to go for a big walk and realize she won't eat the treats.

Diabetes is all about testing when any routines change. Little by little is best. A long hike is too risky in my opinion until you know more about how she reacts to exercise.

Biscuits and dehydrated sweet potato are good sources of carbs.