Dog Insulin

The diagnosis of a dog diabetes can be stressful for both the owner and the dog.



However, if the owner is willing to put in some effort and time into monitoring the dog’s condition on a regular basis, then even a diabetic dog can continue to live happy, normal and healthy life.



In cases where the owners are required to administer dog insulin injections on a daily basis, they should spend as much time as possible getting trained by the vet  to ensure that they known  exactly how and when to administer insulin and the appropriate dog insulin dosage.



Sometimes dog owners with diabetic dogs may get too enthusiastic about trying to keep their dog’s blood glucose at normal levels and may be overzealous in the administration of dog insulin, accidentally causing a dog insulin overdose, which may put the dog at risk of hypoglycemia or very low blood glucose. The vet may also take several months till he is finally able to fine tune or fix the dog insulin dosage as diabetic dogs are known to experience large fluctuation in blood glucose levels on a day to day basis even if they are constantly treated and given the appropriate dog insulin doses and food. Most vets will recommend that diabetic dog owners should administer the dog insulin injection immediately after the dog has eaten. Hence if the dog has vomited or eaten only half its food then the vet may ask the owner to give the dog only half of the dosage of insulin, however one should never skip the dog insulin dosage completely. One should also keep in mind that cold insulin from the refrigerator tends to hurt more while it is injected into the dog and hence it is desirable to allow the insulin to come to room temperature first and then only inject the dog with it.

Dog insulin prices will typically vary depending on the brand the vet has recommended and what is available. One should also keep in mind that all unopened or unused vials of insulin should be stored in the refrigerator and the dog owner should also write the date of the opening of the vial on the label so as to serve as reminder to discard the vial after one month from the date of it being opened. Dog owners who have to put their dog on daily dog insulin injections should ask their groomer or vet to shave the dog’s fur around the injection sites.