Peeing Problems

[Cockapoo Mom]

Hi, our sweet, smart (he understands French and English) loving 10 year old cockapoo Baxter was diagnosed a few weeks ago, we were sooo sad and devastated. We don't have human children, he is our child! We had never heard of canine diabetes, but the urination, lethargy, and water consumption make sense now..we just thought it was too hot out! He has slowly been upped in insulin Humulin N (8 units 2x/day) we do see some improvement in his spunk and energy. I am looking for some encouraging stories you all can share...I keep reading heartbreaking ones Please share your success stories..I need them!!


1. I wonder if anyone only has to inject once a day?

2. I'm wondering if any of you out there "vary" the diabetic diet? He is on chicken, brown rice and a small amount of WD canned food.We worry this finicky eater will tire of it.

3. Has anyone gotten vet approval to use "Petfresh select" chicken and brown rice..we read the ingredients and didn't see sugar or high carbs..we will ask our Vet, but wondering what everyone else has fed successfully.

4. Baxter misses his beggin strips, milkbones and beneful treats..so any treat recommendations would be welcome.

I'm so grateful in advance for your sharing ...Jen

[jesse girl]

Re: Baxter's story

hi and welcome yes its not a diagnosis we like to here but they can live normal happy lives with some limitations

routine and structure is important food shots and exercise and this is not a problem for dogs they due enjoy structure and predictability and thats why they handle the disease so well

you may want to consider blood testing sugar at home my jesse wags her tail and gives me a kiss after each test and we do it quite a bit such a funny girl

testing well help you understand how insulin food and body are working together help to catch those times they run low and that is something eventually you will run into and help to keep your babys blood sugar in a better range and may give the opportunity to give some snacks my jesse actually gets a milkbone mid morning because her blood sugar tells us she needs it so with testing at home that will tell you what you can and cant do including snacks

very few dogs do well on one shot a day my jesse only gets one meal for specific reasons and she gets 3 shots a day and once again testing and the numbers will tell you what to do if you do decide lots of info on the site a yuotube videos on how to do

home is where we manage the disease with advice from a vet but make sure you are getting the correct advice dont take anything for granted and do your research

[k9diabetes]

Re: Baxter newly diagnosed, have some questions

Hi Jen,

I copied your post here to the main discussion area so that you can get more input.

Once you get Baxter regulated and in a routine, it can be possible to put some small treats, etc. back in, especially if given at meal time.

Our diabetic dog, for example, got a mini milkbone (he was a large dog) after every injection as a reward and we just included it as part of his meal calories so it wasn't "extra."

If I had to pick a disease for my dog to have.... I might very well pick diabetes.

Not because I'm familiar with it, but because with good basic management diabetes doesn't have any adverse effect on a dog's lifespan.

You may have been told or read that the average dog lives only two years after a diabetes diagnosis. That's because it is a disease that tends to strike older dogs. We have dogs here - I will bring the poll forward - who have lived much longer than two years and nearly every dog I've ever been introduced to via forums - probably a 1,000 dogs now after 8 years - who passed away did not pass away from diabetes.

In our dog's case, he was larger, 65 pounds, and also had severe heart disease. We managed both his diabetes and his heart disease but in the end he developed cancer and that we weren't able to beat. But he was 14.5 years old - a pretty serious senior for a dog his size.

Natalie

[Cockapoo Mom]

Re: Baxter newly diagnosed, have some questions

Hi Natalie,
Thanks for moving the post..obviously I'm new here! I appreciate your information..it makes me feel more confident. I'm so grateful for all your support. Have a good day! J

[OshaGaelios]

Re: Baxter newly diagnosed, have some questions

Hi, I just wanted to welcome you. I am pretty new to this online forum. My girl, Osha, was diagnosed about 4 months ago. I have found this site, and those folks who participate, to be extremely supportive, compassionate and informed. I'm really fortunate this site exists. I was totally shocked and devastated when my girl was diagnosed, but I've received some really great input and support from members and have finally stablized her BG levels after 4 months of struggling with highs and lows. Good luck to you and your baby.

[jenny]

Re: Baxter newly diagnosed, have some questions

Hello Jen and Bonjour Baxter ,
Just wanted to welcome you too,
Hugs Jen and Pippa

[Cebe]

Re: Baxter newly diagnosed, have some questions

My dog has had diabetes for a year now, and I don't see her slowing down too much, except for age. But, hey, I'm slowing down cuz of age, too.

It's manageable, once you get to a point of good regulation. I also recommend testing at home. It has been illuminating, to say the least, and it solved that feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control. Once I knew I could test and monitor my dog on my own, I calmed down a lot.

As for diabetic diets, I don't use one. Zoe has food allergies, so the vet told me to stick with her normal food and we adjust the insulin around that. (she could probably stand a little more fiber). My point is that I don't think food choice is as important as making sure there is consistency in the amount and type of food and consistency in the insulin.

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Baxter newly diagnosed, have some questions

I answered in your other posts, and see you have one here, so bought forward my posting;

Welcome Jen and Baxter...

We have alot of success stories, here. You will find that in alot of cases all of us have successfully worked through the diabetes, and accept what becomes 'normal'. We have some members that there dogs have been diabetic for many years, and when they have passed on, it is because of other ailments.

My initial vet subscribed one shot a day, but that was early on, and I think my Abby was producing some insulin on her own. In reviewing how long the insulin works, if Baxter is on NPH, and all dogs are different, it will fall short of 24 hours, as this is an intermediate lasting insulin.

Tiggy has a varied diet, and I believe Sandy's success with Tiggy has been to count calories. When making any food changes, it is good to keep the calories the same. There is a link that gives some guidance as to the weight of the dog and how many calories they should have.

http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm

We all feed such a array of different foods. Some are on raw, dehydrated, kibble, canned, along with some homecooked or raw vegetables. I am not aware of any that are feeding PetFresh Select, but perhaps someone may chime in if they have used it before, or currently.

Treats.... A few of us use Blue Buffalo Healthy bars.. but only a few varieties do not have any molasses in them... The Bacon and Cheddar one I know for sure, but there are two other varieties that do not. I also provide some freeze dried chicken liver, or homemade Chicken Jerky. I do also give on occassion dried Sweet Potatoes (but NEVER any bought in China). All of these I found not to make any impact to Blood Sugar.

Glad you could join the group. Alot of wonderful people here, with great suggestions.

[Cockapoo Mom]

Eating issues need advice

Hi again,
I am a Teacher and am worried when school starts, what I am supposed to do if Baxter won't eat in the morning? I was told NOT to give insulin. Please tell your experiences, what happens if this occurs. Does he just run high all day? Is it an emergency? What if he doesn't eat a second time that evening...that means trouble right and I take him to Emergency Vet since regular vet closed?? I would have to get a sub for school and the vet would not be open yet if this occurs in morning. So I am trying to figure this out ahead of time. So, I need a contingency plan. What advice do you all of you have for me. We are on an 8 am 8 pm schedule now and I'll have to switch to 6 am 6 pm soon. Thanks! Jen and Baxter

[Cockapoo Mom]

Steroids and diabetes

Hi,
I am still trying to review the history and figure out WHY Baxter got this disease. He had perfect bloodwork before a surgery for nose growth in April. After that, he got an ear infxn and was allergic to the tresaderm drops, so he got put on prednisone low dose for 3 weeks. A week after that, (late June) Vet tells us he is diabetic. Can anyone chime in if this happened with your dog? I still feel those steroids did something, but other vets say he was probably "on the verge"..(he was a bit overweight and did get table scraps since he hated his food, and was not the best at not pottying in house, so who knows. Any info would be appreciated.
Thx, Jen and Baxter

[jesse girl]

Re: Steroids and diabetes

i would not look back on how the disease occurred but look forward on how to find the best way to manage the disease this is where you want to put your energy and focus

[jesse girl]

Re: Eating issues need advice

most can give a quarter of a dose

my jesse actually gets one meal a day do to other issues and i do give a small dose for the day without food so yes it can be done

if you are home testing that would really help to determine how much insulin is needed and you would like to determine this before you go back to work

[momofdecker]

Re: Eating issues need advice

Decker is a good eater but has had a couple of blood tests that required him to be fasted. He got a 1/4 of his normal morning dosage (without food) and it worked out great. We did see a bit of elevation on the evening end (with food and normal dose) into the next morning but I suspect it's because he usually gets a bit of overlap which was not there with the 1/4 dose. Everything leveled out by the next evening.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Eating issues need advice

Hi Jen,

I merged your three threads into one. We like to keep a single thread generally for each dog - that keeps all of their history in one place, allowing people to go back and see what's been tried or what's happened in the past without having to hunt for it.

Everyone on the forum is used to checking any thread with a new post, so they will see and respond to your questions.

If you want the title of your thread changed, holler and one of the moderators can take care of that for you. Unfortunately, the software doesn't let you do it yourself.

As far as pred goes, it certainly can send a dog into diabetes. We were told the same thing about Chris - that he must have been already diabetic when he got the Temaril-P, which has some prednisone in it. But given his six months of honeymooning, I think we must have caught his diabetes very very early and I personally think it was the pred in the Temeril-P that did it. Chris was always very sensitive to small amounts of medications.

Dogs don't always like to follow "the book" - if I learned anything from Chris, I learned that!

And allergies can certainly be bad enough that prednisone is needed and the risk worth taking. To me, the same is true with NSAIDS. Some dogs do have bad reactions to them, but many dogs tolerate them well and gain a great deal of pain relief. So if they are desperately needed, you don't have much choice.

Diabetes in dogs is basically an auto-immune disease and dogs with allergies have tendencies toward other over-active-immune-system problems.

Natalie

[Shellie]

Re: Eating issues need advice

Hi Jen and welcome! Think I can answer a couple of your questions, too!

My Hank is one of the 'prednisone' dogs. He didn't get diabetes until he'd been on the pred. It truly IS a miracle drug but does have some nasty side effects...one of which is to cause a dog to get diabetes. So yes, the pred can cause diabetes. That said...many dogs probably DO have a predisposition to it and the pred may just push them over. It's really a toss up.

I think you mean Freshpet rather than Petfresh food. I just started using the Freshpet Vital and it seems really great! Food really is just a matter of what your dog will eat unless there are allergies or pancreatitis to consider. You CAN change up the diet but keep the calories the same. It's a good idea if you are going to do that to do some research into different types of food to learn more before diving in.

Treats can be anything really! If your pup likes veggies (except for carrots which are high in sugar), you can give those as treats. A lot of dogs like frozen green beans or even broccoli. We have one dog on here who likes romaine lettuce. I use cheerios..even two or three are not enough to raise bg but feel like something special to the pup. I didn't want Hank to not get any at all since I feel that it's part of his enjoyment of life so have learned a few tricks with those! Most folks work on regulation before doing too much treating however since it's easier to work them in once things are more stable.

And if your pup doesn't eat...not the end of the world! Hank definitely earned his title of Mr. Pickypants! Been there! LOL I used the formula for dosing like this....if he ate nothing or one quarter of his food, he got one quarter of his dose...if he ate half, then he got half a dose....if he ate three quarters, then he got three quarters of his dose...and it seems to be ok. They still need some insulin for basic needs even if they don't eat so the one quarter works very well.

This isn't a death sentence for your baby! Honest! We're coming up on our year anniversary and if you'd told me we'd be ok back when we first got diagnosed, I'd have laughed then cried! Yes, there have been some tough times and some hair pulling times but we get thru them with the wonderful folks here and my awesome vets. Hank does well and I'd say he's a success story!

Welcome once again and lots of hugs!