Rusty's Journey Sugarversary March 10!

[Rusty (Bobba) mom]

My baby boy Rusty has been diagnosed with diabetes and is doing pretty well now after a four day hospital stay and the care he is getting at home.
Does anyone have an easy solution when it comes to injection time? It was very easy to do at first but now that he feels more like himself he does not want me to come near him after he is done eating to give him his insulin.
I am running out of ideas and it is tearing me apart because he is doing so well with everything and I do not want him to fear me because of that injection.
Please any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[jen0m]

I had trouble with Honey at the start so I always give her a piece of chicken after the injection as a treat. She now associates the injection with a treat so she will lie & wait for me to give it to her. I will always say " will we do your injection" just beforehand so she knows what to expect. This took a few days (between tying/securing her & muzzling her as I was on my own) but thankfully it worked.

[Cara Sandler]

I used to give Sparky the tiniest little bit of peanut butter (about the size of 2 grains of rice) after each test or injection. He thought the peanut was fabulous and totally worth the needle stick.

[jesse girl]

i give jesse her shot while she eats. i inject her on her backside either side of the spine above the base of the tail . she pauses as i inject and proceeds eating

i do understand you may want a dog to finish food completely before injecting thats why i give her a head start so its gives me an idea that she will finish . she enjoys dinner but i guess there can be some risk with this method

now if it is something you want to consider i would just try tenting while eating and see the response may not like it but it is an option

[Rusty (Bobba) mom]

Thank you everyone for answering so quick. I am doing this on my own and I do not want to hurt him in anyway. I will try your suggestions and hopefully something will work. I am still trying to get use to the idea that he is diabetic and am so scared right now of the whole situation.

[Eddie]

We give Eddie his injection while he eats as well. He hardly pauses in his chewing usually. We do always check first that he is going to eat but he has never hesitated and always finishes his food - you do need to be confident about this so that there is no risk of giving the insulin then the dog doesn't eat his food.

We probably all started out a bit like how you are feeling now. It is hard and a little overwhelming at first. Try to remind yourself that you are actually saving his life with each injection and it is just the way things have to be now so he will simply have to get used to it.

It really does get easier as you go along and it all becomes so much more familiar. And whatever your issue, there will be people on here who have already had to deal with it, which helps a lot.
Antonia

[Judi]

It is scary at first. Another thing you can do is mess around "tenting" his skin when it isn't shot time so he gets used to it.

We started giving shots when she was eating cause she had cushings, was starving and didn't notice. Later she got pickier about her food and I was worried she associated eating with the shot. So, I waited till she was done eating.

Add me to the special treat for getting a shot. We bought Etta Says Duck Jerky from amazon and she only got it after injections. She was no dummy so I'd announce it was shot time.

also, one side of Jenny's body was more sensitive to the shot than the other so we didn't inject her on that side.

She went through a couple of weeks trying to nip at us when it was injection time. We made her suffer the indignity of a muzzle. She was so confused by the muzzle that the shot was over by the time she figured it out. That didn't last long.

I just told her, and myself, that she needed the insulin to live and I was going to win this battle.

hang in there. Judi

[amydunn19]

You just have to have resolve - dogs so frequently live in the moment and the injection will soon be forgotten. I think making it a big deal turns it into a big deal. I just used the logic for myself that there is no choice, it is survival. Save a few pieces of food or figure a treat into the meal.

[mzizgayle]

I call CeeCee my runner (and recently my yelper) over this also, testing is not a problem, tho getting enough blood sometimes is hard. Minute she sees the meter, she runs to the bedroom, even if I am testing myself, she runs lol.

Chi's tend to have a defense thing where they will yelp (so the vets tell me) if you come near them and our gal has done this for her whole life. She has started doing this when time for shots before I even touch her the last couple days, I just let her yelp, wait a section and then give the shot and a treat, tho in my mind I think 'did I really hurt her, did I do this right" but it must be done for her health

[Charlie's mom]

I inject while eating without a problem, but he moves all over for my husband. We have guests coming for a long weekend, but if necessary we'll break out the muzzle like we did at first for eye drops so hubby can take over while I'm out of town for 3 days in April.Now the reward of chicken jerky makes the drops a breeze for both of us