New here

[BobohJ]

Hello, new to the forum and thought I'd introduce myself, my dogs and a little bit about them before getting into my questions which I'm sure you've been asked. My name is Bobby and right now, well until next weekend, it's just me and my little Chihuahua, Abby. I also call her by the name "Pig Pig" because when she sits down her little back piggies (paws) are always up and never touch the ground I love her to death.

I adopted her Nov. 11, 2016 from Chihuahua and Small Dog Rescue. She is 5 1/2 years young and was diagnosed in January, 2018 with Non-Infectious Immune-Mediated Meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the meninges (meningo), which are three membranes covering the brain, and the brain itself (encephalitis)). Her neurologist also said Autoimmune disease.

On December 24, 2017 I woke up to her paralyzed, in a brain dead like state. She couldn't stand, walk or move. Her body was curved to the left and she wasn't responsive and definitely wasn't all there mentally. I rushed her to our neurologist and they did an MRI scan and spinal tap. **Fast forward... She is doing much much better, has had several minor and major episodes including long seizures and loss of mobility but it's been a couple months and she is happy and doing fantastic. It was very scary and heartbreaking, also very new to me but all is well now and I do somewhat understand what is going on with her disease/issues.

Her current meds are:
Back down to Two 5mg Prednisolone tabs once daily
One 11mg Procarbazine capsule once daily
One 10mg Pepcid (Famotidine) once daily
One 25mg Atopica capsule every 12 hours
She was on 140mg of Levetiracetame(Keppra) every 8 hours for the seizures but I did stop administering it. With every meal she takes these supplements from NHV Natural Pet Products - Milk Thistle, Lesstress and Turmeric.

I could go on and on and more into detail but this is a diabetes forum so that's just a tiny bit about my sweet little Abbs, here are my questions for SODA POP!!!!

On May 27th I'm driving from Colorado to California to adopt a sweet little 6lb Male Chihuahua named Soda Pop!! Very excited!!! I have been eyeing him for months and now he gets to come home with me, FUR EVER!!! His previous living conditions prior to being rescued were horrific, his story along with the 8 other little Chi's is beyond terrible. He's 17 years young, diabetic and comes with other health concerns which I'm guessing are related to that. I still need to ask the rescue a few more detailed questions but I do know he is on 3 units of insulin twice daily right now. He goes back in next week for his last glucose curve watch. He is also taking eye drops 3 times daily.

He can somewhat see right now but is on his way to going blind, mature cataracts.* He has a grade 4 out of 6 heart murmur, high liver enzymes, excessive urinating which I assume is because of diabetes.* Severe dental disease, muscle atrophy in temporal muscles, dorsal muscles, pelvic limbs and umbilical hernia (congenital defect).**

Before I leave to pick him up I really want to order the Alpha Trak 2 but have been reading a lot of mixed reviews. Where is the best place to buy it, extra test strips and the lancets goe it?? I'm not worried about price, I just want a legitimate product that will work properly. Is this something I should be testing for every day, multiple times a day? When doing this at home, how often should you do BG curve watch? He obviously will go in for regular vet visits but I want to make sure I take the right approach and do everything correctly and document it all as well!

I still need to do more reading on here but what brands/types of food should I start looking at if what he is eating right now isn't good? They have him eating The Honest Kitchen - Grain Free Chicken Recipe. Still need to do more research on foods and treats which leads me to the question, what kind of treats and when should they be given?? I'm new to diabetes. I feel 100% confident about this and administering insulin and as well as keeping everything structured and on time. Just need a little bit of guidance so I can keep him as healthy and happy as possible!!

I also thought about ordering him NHV's diabetes gold kit which includes: Milk Thistle, Mellit and Yucca. They also recommended their Mouth Drops for his dental problems and Hearty Heart for the murmur. Thoughts? Am I moving to fast or going the wrong direction? Could the supplements do more harm than good?

I've read that people give insulin before or after eating, some an hour before and after and other pages I've read said they would do it as soon as the pup eats his/her food. What is the best way to go about that? I do plan on taking him to my vet and neurologist as soon as we get back into town. The rescue said her vet checked the few teeth he has yesterday and they are very bad and need pulled but are worried he may not be healthy enough to go under for the operation so I'm really stressing out about that. Need to get that taken care of as soon as possible.

Is there anything I should get before hand and or prepare for? I'm sorry my questions aren't very detailed and I apologize in advance for the lengthy message, any typos and poor grammar. I have a lot to learn and still more reading to do, hope to be as knowledgeable as most people are on here, what a great place. Thank you!!!

-Bobby

[jesse girl]

Re: New here

Hi and welcome . Well I would wait till you talk to the vet and see what regulation looks like . If its adequate i might not change anything and just duplicate the routine he is already on and if he likes the food you may want to just keep it at least for now

Many who initially enter the diabetic world with there pups make some substantial changes with good intentions but may overdo it . The thing with regulation of blood sugar its not easy and if you already have it changes can disrupt it

With having a senior pup it may not be the same approach you would have if you had a younger diabetic dog . My jesse was diagnosed at 5.5 years and her routine was completely changed not really knowing if we would have success

As far as meters I have never used any pet meters and only used human meters through jesses 8 years of being diabetic but many do use the pet meters like the alpha trak and say it does well for them

this disease is quite the individual dog thing . What may work for one may not for another . Many times its could be other challenges a dog may have which may make there situation more unique . Food is the same as far as if it works for one but maybe not for another . So its kind of a role of the dice

Its wonderful you are taking up this challenge . The breed is so much fun and they are such characters and personality . Let us know what you find out

[amydunn19]

Re: New here

Hi and welcome to the forum. What a lucky dog to have you coming to his rescue! It is usually not as bad schedule wise as it sounds and before long, it is just like second nature.

Part of his blood sugar issue could be related to his teeth being infected. It is a bit of a double edged sword.

Food wise, the grain free chicken might be a bit high in fat. Excessive fat can cause pancreatitis. The Zeal by HK might be a better choice fat wise if he would adjust to fish. I would definitely stick with dehydrated food or canned, with the teeth issues.

The alpha track is a great meter, based on the feedback here. I used a human meter with Maggie - the One Touch Ultra. It is pretty accurate and always was close to the vet’s lab. Keep in mind that handheld meters, by their nature are not precise but they are plenty good for our purposes. I always thought that you look at ranges rather than specific numbers. Blood sugar is by nature ever changing and if you can stay in safe ranges then it will be best for your dog.

Also, it is very tricky to give insulin before the dog eats. What happens if he doesn’t eat? You can’t undo the shot after it is injected. I would feed and inject immediately.

This forum is a great resource. Read some of the stories and information. And post any questions, concerns, or otherwise to this thread. If you post in one thread, it is much easier to keep your dog’s history in one place, and everyone is able to see your history by looking back instead of searching for another thread. One of us can change the title for you so it is always easy to find.

[BobohJ]

Re: New here

amydunn19 and jesse_girl, thank you so much. I have a long road ahead of me on this journey with my Abby and Soda Pop but want to learn as much as possible and provide them both with not only all the love I have but also the best care possible. I feel like I do a really good job right now with Abby and know I'll do the same for my sweet boy. I'm positive I'll eventually become good at all of this!!

Tomorrow I'm going to speak with the rescue and talk more about Soda Pop. I've been really excited and have failed to ask some important questions. What kind of insulin is he taking, at what times, how much food is he eating and other specifics. She did mention he does have a really good appetite and always finishes his food. While he is a couch potatoe kind of boy he does like to walk around the yard to explore and sunbathe so he does get some exercise.

The only thing that will be different, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but depending on his eating schedule/insulin shots, he'll eat much later than Abby most likely? I feed her at 8am and 5pm. I'll find out from the rescue when they give meds and feed him to be sure he stays on the same schedule. One thing that works out with the shots being 12 hours apart is Abby's Atopica is given ever 12hrs so that's pretty cool.

I haven't done any more research on other BG meters. The Alpha Trak 2 came up a lot on here and other forums/articles on the internet so my focus has been for that specific meter. Still need to read more into it and where the best place to buy it is.

I really do appreciate the replies, I'm going to spend the next week reading through a good chunk of threads on here before making the drive to get my boy!! Will post updates after speaking with the rescue and when we get home from our long trip!!! Already got appointments set up with the vet and our neurologist on May 29th and the 30th.

[Raysaint]

Re: New here

From all my research when Riley was first diagnosed, the Alpha Trak seemed like an animal specific meter and deemed to be fairly accurate. It's the only meter I have used. My vet uses it also.
I'm in Canada so I'm not sure of the best place to buy one. I just had my vet order me one, and then negotiated with them on a better price for the strips.

As others mentioned, food should be low fat with moderate fiber and protein. And many people add things to their food like pumpkin, beans, green beans, etc., for some extra low glycemic carbs.
This link will let you calculate fat on a dry matter basis when comparing foods. Just input moisture amount and the fat or protein, as it is from the food label.

http://fnae.org/dmb.html

With a meter you can spot check fasting sugar before meals, and nadir (low point) to see if it stays in a good range. And you can do your own curves at home, where it is more relaxed for the dog.

[BobohJ]

Re: New here

Raysaint, thank you! I'm going to call my vet today and ask them about the BG meter, I dont mind buying one online but I guess I'm a little confused in some areas, from reading through lots of articles, threads and reviews.

Correct me if I'm wrong please, I may be getting to deep into it but the current Alpha Trak 2 is made by Zoetis, everyone is saying the Abbott product is much better but I think the Original Alpha Trak was made by them and now they Currently have their name on the Freestyle Lite meter. Several people stated when speaking with Zoetis that their meter has a 20% variance in the readings?? I guess the only way to see would be to purchase it and compare with the vets data.

And as far as foods go, I did read that a proper diet choice for a diabetic dog is a meat based high protein food that is also high in fiber and carbohydrate restricted. Carbohydrates, if included should be low glycemic. And like amydunn19 said, the current food he is eating right now might be to high in fat and would be better if he could adjust to fish.

I will wait until Soda Pop does see the vet and our neurologist before making any changes to his diet, and if we do/need to I'll have somewhat of a good idea about what he should be eating. Thank you all so much!!

[Daisydog10]

Re: New here

I initially used the AlphaTrak2 but found the strips to be very expensive. I went with the PetTest and the One Touch Ultra 2 (Walmart). I got 200 unistrips off eBay for I think about $30. I tested it against the AT2 and Pettest and they were all within a couple points. You can also use the Equate strips in the One Touch.

[BobohJ]

Re: New here

Daisydog10, thank you! The test strips are expensive for the AT2 and depending on how often I should be checking I can see why it gets expensive with that particular meter and test strips which I'm okay with but I will definitely look into those and the unistrips before making any decision on what meter.

[amydunn19]

Re: New here

Food wise, a low fat diet generally works best. High protein diets can be high in fat, lower in fiber, and can cause the blood sugar to swing wildly. Much of the insulin is used up in the first few hours leaving the dog to have high blood sugar for the rest of the day. Diabetic dogs must have some carbs to work with intermediate acting insulin. There is a huge amount of misinformation out there. Dogs are more of the type 1 variety of diabetics. The best advice is all things in moderation - moderate protein, low fat, and moderate fiber.

You can always take the schedule and slowly transition it to hours that work for you. If you do 8 and 5, you could do 8 and 8. 12 hours is the standard to start with. If you are testing, you will start to see how he reacts. If he is still urinating a great deal, I am guessing he may not be well regulated.

Also, he may need time to settle a bit, so the readings you get at first may not be as accurate because I am sure he will be anxious. Anxiety always affected Maggie and I am pretty certain most diabetic dogs are affected by it.

Meters are by their nature not as accurate as a lab. It is basically an algorithm so it is a good estimate. You really look for patterns with home testing and to keep them safe. Most meters are more accurate at lower ranges and they work fine for our purposes. We have had people get very upset and kind of hung up on the individual numbers but if you think about it as a tool for staying within a range, or recognizing a pattern, it will help.

[Raysaint]

Re: New here

I agree with amydunn, I wouldn't go with a high protein meat diet. Don't be afraid of carbs. Protein can be hard on the kidneys. I'm speaking as a human diabetic.
Moderate protein would be my choice.

Abbott made the AlphaTrak, and sold it to Zoetis because Zoetis is an animal drug company. Abbott makes the Freestyle meters also. They may even still make the Alpha for Zoetis.

I have a couple older Freestyle meters and they look identical to the Alpha.

[BobohJ]

Re: New here

amydunn19 and Raysaint, I really really appreciate it!! I spoke with his foster and he currently is doing 7am and 7pm which lines up with Abby's meds that she takes every 12 hours. This may be a silly question but California is an hour behind us, does that mean here in Colorado his feeding/med schedule will be 8am - 8pm?

Like I've mentioned before his teeth are very bad, his foster is taking him today to get a quote and to determine if they can extract safely without putting him completely under. I'm a little worried, the rescue said she would do it for me before I get there because he really needs it but is also concerned.

I did ask what insulin he is taking, she said 3 units of Vetsulin twice daily. I may be repeating myself but his next BG curve watch is this Friday, May 25 so I'll know a bit more right before I leave.

Ordered the Alpha Trak 2 last night with 2 extra bottles of test strips and 2 boxes of lancets that should be here by tomorrow evening. They are giving me a box of his food along with his insulin + an extra bottle with syringes. Is there anything important I should pack in my doggy bag for the ride home in case something happens or if he'll need anything? I am bringing a cooler for the insulin so it stays cool.

[Raysaint]

Re: New here

You can change his schedule to 7 and 7 if that works better for you. It's only an hour difference, the body will re-adjust, and there isn't significant overlap.

[mrgregj]

Re: New here

Is there anything important I should pack in my doggy bag for the ride home in case something happens or if he'll need anything? I am bringing a cooler for the insulin so it stays cool.

bring something like honey or syrup incase the blood sugar drops drastically low and you need to bring it up.

[Judi]

Re: New here

I would bring some string cheese or something, he may not want to eat his food while traveling

[BobohJ]

Re: New here

Raysaint, thank you. I may just do that, will work out perfect to have there meds lined up with eachother and make it easier in the mornings.

mrgregj, I will definitely pack one of those in the doggy bag. I think it was a thread on here somewhere that said to just put a little bit on your finger and rub on their gums if that does happen?

Judi, thank you. Will pack some some string cheese!! Still looking at and reading on treats for diabetic dogs and will buy/pack those as well!

Thank you all so much, everyone has been helpful and so kind. I know these questions get asked over and over, means a lot to me and I'm slowly learning. Getting excited, 3 more days till I pick this sweet boy up and bring him home!!