Cataracts

[benji’]

My boy, Benji, has seemed down these past couple of days. I might even go so far as to say he is depressed. I believe it is due his cataracts worsening rapidly. He’s been in a cone for a month now because he has a nasty ulcer in one of his eyes, and we were excited for it to come off, but now the cone is helping him not bump into things. Our vet had told us this may happen when he was diagnosed but I didn’t realize the impact it would have on him or just how quickly his vision could go. I have been spending extra time with him but I was wondering if anyone on here has dealt with this and has any tips on raising his spirits? I might look into doing the surgery to remove the cataracts but that will have to be in the future as his ulcer is still healing

[benji’]

My dog, Benji, was diagnosed with diabetes a couple months ago. My dad refuses to give him the insulin injections, he can’t even be in the same room when it happens. My mother is at work when his usual dosing time is so the responsibility has fallen onto me and my little sister. Benji was great the first couple months but has since become a bit of a nightmare. My sister is 17 and struggles to keep him still as he flails and throws his body as soon as i tent his skin. He has also started to nip at her. My vet recommended I try giving the shots in his behind as he knows when I pinch his scruff he’s going to be getting his injection. However I am not comfortable giving the shot in his behind. This is causing me a lot of mental and emotional stress as Benji’s life depends on getting these shots. My sister isn’t comfortable doing them either so the responsibility is mine alone. I give him lots of love before, during, and after the shots & give him a special treat but it’s not helping. 98% of the time I inject he cries very loudly. I have even gone as far as putting in headphones and blasting music so I can’t hear it and have it startle me and sike me out. I have seen lots of posts saying it gets better but it seems like it’s only getting worse.

[jesse girl]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

Hi and welcome . What type of dog is Benji ?

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

hi and welcome to you and your Benji

seems theres alot of people in Benjies life

people having problems with injection or clipping nails or baths grooming

use a hammock. dogs hop up on a chair and get lifted into it. it has 4 or 5 holes for their feet etc. they cant move or bite. tent the area top of the leg mid back inject. easy peasy

hammocks cant be built or bought online amazon and pet stores, groomers use them.

[MomtoMax]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

First off, kudos to you for taking on this big responsibility for Benji! And welcome to you both!
What type of insulin are you using? What size needle? My Max is horribly reactive to all things, but injections are not one of them, thankfully! While you can inject in the rump (intermuscular), they’re more likely to feel it vs subcutaneous, which is how you are currently administering it, so I’d think that may not be the best option, but I’ll let others with more experience chime in on that.

Donna and Max the Corgi

[benji’]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

Hi and welcome . What type of dog is Benji ?

I’m not sure, we got him nearly twelve years ago off a sketchy craigslist ad. They said he was a shitzu chihuahua mix but he’s thirty pounds of solid dog with no resemblance to either of those breeds.

[benji’]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

First off, kudos to you for taking on this big responsibility for Benji! And welcome to you both!
What type of insulin are you using? What size needle? My Max is horribly reactive to all things, but injections are not one of them, thankfully! While you can inject in the rump (intermuscular), they’re more likely to feel it vs subcutaneous, which is how you are currently administering it, so I’d think that may not be the best option, but I’ll let others with more experience chime in on that.

Donna and Max the Corgi

He’s on 12 units of vetsulin twice a day. We use the monoject u-40 needles 0.33mm x 1.3cm. I’m not sure if that’s the right measurements sorry but that’s what is on the box. We also take the insulin out a couple of minutes before injection so it isn’t so cold

[benji’]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

hi and welcome to you and your Benji

seems theres alot of people in Benjies life

people having problems with injection or clipping nails or baths grooming

use a hammock. dogs hop up on a chair and get lifted into it. it has 4 or 5 holes for their feet etc. they cant move or bite. tent the area top of the leg mid back inject. easy peasy

hammocks cant be built or bought online amazon and pet stores, groomers use them.

Wow I never thought of using a hammock, i’ll definitely look some up. Thankyou for the tip

[MomtoMax]

Re: Cataracts

My boy, Benji, has seemed down these past couple of days. I might even go so far as to say he is depressed. I believe it is due his cataracts worsening rapidly. He’s been in a cone for a month now because he has a nasty ulcer in one of his eyes, and we were excited for it to come off, but now the cone is helping him not bump into things. Our vet had told us this may happen when he was diagnosed but I didn’t realize the impact it would have on him or just how quickly his vision could go. I have been spending extra time with him but I was wondering if anyone on here has dealt with this and has any tips on raising his spirits? I might look into doing the surgery to remove the cataracts but that will have to be in the future as his ulcer is still healing

I too was surprised at how fast my Max went blind from the cataracts! While his vision hasn’t been perfect for a while, he seemed to go blind overnight! That said, it doesn’t bother him in the least! I’ve been told not to move furniture or change the layout of rooms and he’ll be fine and it’s worked well. He even goes up and down stairs. Somehow, I think he counted them, or thought out a rhythm for them, but for whatever reason, he does them really well!
I’ve been told that the local university hospital can remove them without anesthetizing him, but in all honesty, he really doesn’t mind not having sight and we do daily prescription eye drops for him, in addition to artificial tears for moisture a couple times a day.

[MomtoMax]

Re: Uncomfortable injections

He’s on 12 units of vetsulin twice a day. We use the monoject u-40 needles 0.33mm x 1.3cm. I’m not sure if that’s the right measurements sorry but that’s what is on the box. We also take the insulin out a couple of minutes before injection so it isn’t so cold

That’s the correct syringe and insulin… I wonder too if a sling would help as I swear my Max doesn’t even feel it! He could be just reacting to the situation rather than pain from being injected.