Toby!, Toby!, Toby!. If we yell this once a day, we yell it 50 times a day. Our 8 year old male Yorkie/mix pet dog has gone blind due to diabetes. He has been doing great getting around the house and yard, but every once in a while he gets in a hurry and runs into the butt of one of our other 4 dogs. Three of them don't seem to mind , but our 3 year old male black lab/mix gets quite cross with Toby. I am not sure that Thomas (the black lab) would physically hurt Toby, but we try to prevent the occassion from occurring
We first noticed something wrong about two months ago when Toby started nipping our fingers when being hand fed a treat. Then we noticed him drinking large amounts of water. Thenhe started to run into objects. Off to the vet we went. His blood sugar was over 600 and he was totally blind
The vet told us his blood sugar would need to be checked twice a day and insulin given. It took us several days to get it regulated. We now schedule glucose checking at 7am and 7pm with 10 units of insulin given each time.
I got on the internet and researched the subject of canine diabetes and found that there were several places on a dog that you can stick for blood, without trying to hit a vein. One was the lips. No way!!! One was the paw pads, but the lancets I had were not long enough to get a good enough stick for sufficient blood. The last one was the ear lobes, and that is where I stick. The meters thatwe use does notrequire much blood, but I know Toby's ears are getting sore. I get teary eyed some times. He always seems so eager to get stuck, since he knows this is when he gets fed.
Besides the blood glucose supplies of the meter, lancets, testing strips, needles, and insulin, Toby has to have a special diet. Diabetic dog food is slightly expensive therefore, we make our own. It consist of boilded chicken, salmon (if on sale), rice, oatmeal, cooked carrots and cooked green peas. We make enough to last two weeks, freezing the extra bags. All the dogs seem to like it and it is helping to keep thier weights down
Toby would make a good therapy dog. His courage and stamina is remarkable. His illness has made more of an impression and me and my husband than on him. He still patrols the yard as master of his domain.
