How to Start Your Dog on Insulin

So your dog has been diagnosed with diabetes and the vet has prescribed insulin. Don't be alarmed. With new technology in needles, giving your pet a shot is no big deal and can add many healthy years to your dog's life.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Insulin
• Syringes

Learn How to Give Your Dog a Shot

1. Ask your veterinarian to show you how to draw up the insulin into the syringe, measure the proper dosage and inject the insulin into your dog. Insulin is injected subcutaneously---under the skin---so it doesn't hurt as much as you might think.

2. Store unopened insulin vials in the refrigerator. Once opened, insulin can be unrefrigerated up to 30 days without losing its effectiveness.

3. Ask your vet to prescribe the smallest-gauge needles that will hold your dog's dosage. The smaller the gauge, the more comfortable the shot.

4. Fill the needle. Remove the needle cap from the syringe and draw the plunger back to the dosage marking, filling the needle with air. Push the needle into the rubber center on the insulin bottle and depress the plunger, forcing the air into the bottle. This prevents a vacuum from forming and making it impossible to draw up the insulin. Draw the plunger back again, this time filling the syringe with insulin to the dosage mark. Hold the bottle upside down so you can keep any bubbles at the top of the syringe. When the syringe is full, push the plunger to remove bubbles and add more insulin if necessary. Remove the syringe from the bottle.

5. Give the shot. Hold the skin on your dog's neck away from the body. Quickly jab the needle into the skin at about a 45-degree angle. Don't be shy. The quicker the needle goes in, the less your dog will feel it. Depress the plunger to expel the insulin and pull the needle out. Rub the spot a bit and give your dog a veterinarian-approved diabetic treat.

6. If you are on a tight budget, you can reuse the syringe a few times. Each time it is used, it will become a bit more blunt until it is difficult to push into your dog's skin. Experiment to find out what this point is.

7. Dispose needles in an approved sharps container. Many county recycling programs offer free sharps containers and will exchange filled ones for proper disposal. Do not use anything except an approved container.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you have white corn syrup (or a tube of sweetened paste) on hand in case your dog becomes hypoglycemic. If your dog is shaky, acting oddly or you suspect he has low blood sugar, give the dog a small amount of corn syrup. Repeat every 15 minutes until your dog is acting normal again. If your dog is unconscious, assume she is hypoglycemic and force some corn syrup into her mouth. If this does not revive her, take her to the vet immediately. Add a medic alert tag to your dog's collar with your vet's phone number. Also indicate that you will pay all expenses. This will increase the likelihood that someone will take your pet to the vet.

References

• Canine Diabetes

Resources

• Pet Diabetes Easy Reference List

Who Can Help Sponsored