Oooopsie...

[gooeydog]

Earlier this evening, I came home from eating dinner at my aunt's so I could give Haley her shot, still a bit preoccupied by that. Got the shot ready, grabbed the treats that both she and Goo get (Goo is jealous that Haley gets something that she doesn't, so the treats are the least I can do :roll: ), and headed over beside the dining room table as is our routine. Meanwhile, both dogs are dancing around me like idiots, and my mom is telling me something or other, so I'm trying to listen to her. Haley came over and sat in her usual spot, I reached down, pulled up her collar so I'd have room to give the shot, grabbed the needle, and pulled up her skin..... then looked down to give the shot, only to realize I was holding a piece of BRINDLE skin in my hand! There sat Goo, pleased as punch that she was finally getting to get a shot instead of Haley :lol: Haley was sitting a little way off, probably hoping I wouldn't notice the difference in dog.... sneaky little beasts.

[BuddysMom]

The rascals!!
That was really funny, thanks for sharing! :)

[DogPaddle]

That's awsome, they are both so smart . . . and tricksy too. :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

lol smart dogs!

[imported_Kat]

lol oh dear! Sneaky Goo :wink: The worst time trying to do vaccinations I found was when someone brought in a litter of 10 pups that all looked the same (like Rotts). What I ended up doing so none got 4 vaccs instead of 1 was to tie a ribbon around their neck when they were done :lol:

[ellieangel]

Woah that was a close one :o

[sarahmyjoy]

What the little beggers wont do for some 'treat' but I dont think she would have liked it if she got it LOL :lol:

[courtnek]

oh man Gooey.....I am SOOO glad you noticed in time.....

Do you take Haley's blood sugar too?

How does she handle that?

[gooeydog]

Well, it really isn't too hard to tell them apart, Haley's neck is white, Goo's is nearly black. I've gotten so used to giving the shots though that going through the motions are automatic, so I don't really pay close attention to what I'm doing until I actually give the shot, though now I know I can't trust the little sneaks to not try to confuse me, hehe.

Court, we don't test at home, though I've told my mom (about half dozen times) we probably should. She goes in to work with my mom (at the clinic where her vet works) every few weeks and gets tested, but I know it'd be better if it was done more often. My mom thinks though that we'd have to draw blood like the vets do to test, and doesn't want to do that so often (I've tried to explain to her that you can use the lancets just like people, but she doesn't believe me). I think she'd probably do ok for it, though it might take some time for her to understand the addition to the routine.

[ESSlover]

Oh the sneaky little Goober! Good thing you didn't put the needle in! :o

[courtnek]

the lancets would work, but only in a place with little fur and thin skin.
the ear, or the paw would probably work. the ear would work better, since the skin there is much thinner, but you'd have to make sure that the lancet is new every time, so it's really really sharp. If you decide to try it, I would muzzle her the first time, just to be certain of her reaction. Some dogs dont like their ears jacked with. The only reason I even suggest this is that you get much better control with a blood sugar before the shot.

PM me or open another thread if you need any help.

8)

[courtnek]

urinalisys works, but only for "right then"...bloodwork is better. I and my son are diabetics....bloodwork is best.

[Guest Mutts4Me]

[quote name='DivineOblivion19'][color=indigo]Goo, you don't test her urine sugar twice a day?![/color][/quote]

I, for one, know how stressful it can be not being in charge of "your" dog/s. We can come on here and post about our dogs and what we do with them, but when it comes down to it, they're not exactly [b]our[/b] dogs.

When we got our lab, Bandit, I was in fifth grade. There are a lot of things I would have done differently with Bandit had I been old enough and had he been my dog, but he wasn't. So my parents made those decisions, and I had to live with them. I never did talk much about Bandit because some of the stuff I would have to say would probably cause questions that I would feel bad about.

I got Sasha in high school, a barely-trained, 1-year-old stray. Over the course of a couple years, I boundary-trained her to the point where she can be in our yard unrestrained, though she is always supervised. Have also jumped into several dogfights and prevented others because she has territory issues. She's a great dog, but severely lacking in manners. I take her to Petsmart as often as I can because we both love it. But I'm walking this wheezing dog who's straining at the end of her leash, and it's ridiculous. And if I tell her "Sit!" loud enough a couple times in the store, she will sit for 2 seconds and up goes her butt. Somehow, we never did teach her to stay. It's frustrating when an employee or someone with a well-behaved dog looks at us like we're heathens or tries to be helpful by giving me tips. But my parents never were interested in the whole Obedience Class idea, I went to college for 4 years and was never home to work with her consitantly, and now she's 8! So I'm not about to start making her life difficult now.

I have major plans for when I get MY dog. Real training right from the start, not the Sit, Shake, Lay and (sometimes) Stay commands I can teach at home. Walking properly on a leash. "Leave it!" would be excellent. Recall as well. Heck, I want a APBT therapy dog. I'm ready for major commitment. Medical concerns will be addressed as [b]I[/b] see fit, not anyone else. Diet will be my choice - it will be healthy and consistant, not based on what's on sale. That will be [b]my[/b] dog.

Until then, I do the best I can with this situation, and I may leave some stuff out now and then for fear of being judged. I never do [i]lie[/i] though, and I am in no way suggesting anything my parents have done is/was bad or harmful to my animals; they just simply aren't exactly what I would have done if it were up to me.

[courtnek]

Amber, Haley is a diabetic dog. so am I. so is my son. I only respond to this because I have 31 years of experience with it. and 4 years with my son. I hope I dont come across as a know it all, I dont mean to. But this is not a normal dog thing. It requires more work than the average dog.
I am only trying to help...

:fadein:

[gooeydog]

I don't think any of you are really in the wrong, just trying to help :)

Amber is right though that I don't have much say in Haley's medical care. We share the work involved in Haley's care, but I can't afford to properly take care of Haley considering that I also take care of Annie and Goo, who are both "my" dogs (I'm responsible for pretty much all their care, if I were to move out tonight, they'd be going with me). For those reasons, though I help take care of Hale, and can (and do) give my input on her care, the ultimate decision in how to handle something is my mothers. I try to take the best care I can of my two, and when I can, I make suggestions to my mom for the others, but that's about all I can do.

My mom actually was going to get a glucometer when she was first diagnosed, as her sugar levels were all over the place until we got her weight back up (and up and up :roll: ), but she didn't get around to looking until around the time she was better regulated, and Hale's vet said it probably wouldn't be necessary, as long as she was brought in for regular checks.

From what I've read and seen at the vets (plus a few diabetic relatives), the urine tests aren't nearly as accurate as the blood tests, the urine models only measure sugar expelled in the urine (ie: high sugar in urine=high blood sugar), but won't tell you much if the dog is in the normal or low range, a blood meter is much more accurate.

Court, in checking with other diabetic dog owners, it seems you can take blood from the tail (I'm guessing underneath, where there isn't much hair), the inside of the lip, between the toes, or under the flap of the ear. I don't think she'd put up too much fuss (do the lancets hurt more or less than a shot from a 29g needle?), but someone else would definitely be holding her to be sure.

[courtnek]

[quote]do the lancets hurt more or less than a shot from a 29g needle?[/quote]

thats a hard question to answer. the shots go into an area where there is much flesh, so a needle going in can be easily overlooked/avoided.
there is little pain there. I couldnt do a bloodwork on Free's tail, because itis fanned. there is so much fur I wouldnt get good blood. I could on Laurel's thin haired tail. with a thick tail, on the ears and between the paws would be best. The shots dont hurt because of where they are being injected. Like I said, the ears and paws are best, but it depends on the dogs tolerances. I personally think the lancets may cause a tiff, but only because its required in a non-fleshy area, multiple times a day.

[courtnek]

dear DO dont worry!! I give unwanted diabetic advice all the time. I've been one for 31 years!! yes, urinalisis is useful, but being a diabetic, I always go for the bloodwork if possible!! just tell me to shut up, ok?


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Cairn6]

Wow talk about being desperate for a treat!! I only had one dog when I used to give my dog Brandy shots so I have never experienced anything like that. Brandy was good but of course wasn't crazy about the process. She wasn't diabetic though these were allergy shots.

[Guest Mutts4Me]

[quote name='courtnek']Amber, Haley is a diabetic dog. so am I. so is my son. I only respond to this because I have 31 years of experience with it. and 4 years with my son. I hope I dont come across as a know it all, I dont mean to.[/quote]

:oops: Oh no, I wasn't meaning to suggest any such thing. I'm sorry you got that impression.

DO, I wasn't at all angry when I wrote that response. I just know that gooeydog lives with her parents like I do, and it can just be somewhat frustrating when you can't do everything you'd like for "your" dog because it's not really [i]your[/i] dog, and as far as everyone on a message board is probably concerned, it is your dog.

I wasn't angry, and I didn't mean to imply that [i]you[/i] were judging anyone. I also wasn't trying to speak for gooeydog, nor anyone else. I'm sensitive about my situation, so I probably over-empathize with others in similar situations.

Plus, a few days ago, a well-intentioned employee at Petsmart made me look like an idiot, which didn't help the situation. Again, she was just trying to help, and I'm not upset with her. C'est la vie.

Anyway, sorry for the misunderstanding. I'm back from Arkansas and actually have time to get into the forums again... I forgot why I don't post much. I somehow always upset someone or another :wink: