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chiroptera thanks i also thought my friend was being heartless.. there are so many stressors in our lives.. children, inlaws, friends, pets, problems work etc but we adapt and overcome! we dont go around euthanizing all of our problems! my twin girls are hard work let me tell ya!.. but i wouldnt have it any other way!! i mean seriously, i was crying hysterical over the thought of putting my dog to sleep. although the thought of temporary euthanizing inlaws sounds like something out of a comic strip actually no.. more like a lifetime movie! lol
If you say that you can't handle this then I believe you. I would find her a home.
There is no reason to euth the dog, she's happy, eating and normal. Dogs do fine without sight they depend on nose more - scent. She can't play frisbee but she'd rather get walks anyway and they'd be more helpful. Yes, I realize you probably can't/don't do that and don't feel comfortable with her vision now. But plenty of other people would walk her.
You already had two other dogs? How is the dynamic among them? Let one of them be her guide dog if that works - next to her and you walking.
Contact all the rescues, there's a bunch of them here's just a couple and Dane specific, too:
I don't know them but my megaesophagus group is on there and the people are very knowledgeable like these posters here who answered you and it's not unusual for someone to offer to take the dog if the owner is over their heads. They have endless resources for info and contacts.
And to be honest your vet was ridiculous saying to euth a dog "before" she really gets symptoms or even sick. Who cares if she urinates when you're getting your kids ready for whatever? Throw a puppy pad over it and leave. Then you can address it. Her potentially peeing has nothing to do with diabetes it could have happened just because she's a rescue. You had no guarantee that she'd be house trained. Yes she may fall over or have an acute emergency but ok, fine, after THAT happens you can still deal with it. Also, I'm going to say when you have an actual SICK dog with symptoms (your dog is not sick, she has a CONDITION)... it's human nature to think the worst...they can look like on death's door and almost actually BE dead but guess what. It turns around and they are fine. So there are not many good reasons running to euth a dog sick or not without staying CALM and reasoning it out. Dog's aren't human they don't sit around worrying about their future they live in the NOW.
Also, don't make a big deal around her and use high pitch voices and all "concern" and don't constantly tell her "watch out" "big step" blah blah blah...she will smell her way around and compensate for sight. If she's circling around looking weird it's because she's catching scent from the air not being nervous haha. ( I saw that on TV the OWNER was making the dog nuts thinking the dog was frantic and upset simply because the dog was going in circles awhile sniffing air when new people came in the home.) I work for three blind dogs, you can't hardly tell. They do not like shadows outside in the sun, though because it throws them off kilter, and the one, I think it hurts her eyes - she has glaucoma.
But I'm not trying to talk you into keeping her. Find her a home even IF you have to offer to split some vet bills. A dog you "rescue" can get many things that you would still have to pay for, ( not euthanize) and be stuck with the bills. So that would be fair of you to offer to do. Good luck to her, I hope everything works out.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 06-15-2013 at 05:57 PM..
i havent even started the insulin treatment yet nor did i start the panel test. i started reading dog diabetes forums and its something that most people do. i really thought a diabetes diagnosis in a dog meant the end of the world. i thought that it was a constant administer insulin every few mins and check blood wait give more insulin..im learning that it isnt like that.
i have one rescue and then i hav another dog that was tied up to my doorstep. apparently someone thought that i would be able to take care of their pet better than they could and it all worked out. they all get along great. then came Texas, she is a gentle giant. although she lost weighht,, she is stil very big horse like, lanky lady.
i went to that diabetes forum that wartrace linked, (which was so helpful, thanks!)and i cant believe how many dogs have diabetes. i thought it was so uncommon. i guess insulin is the equivalent of giving a dog medicine like pills. i cant afford the eye surgery rite now.. but i will save up for at least one eye.
im learning more about dog diabetes and it isnt as scary as i thought it would be. i still cant believe how many are diagnosed each year. could it be the food? GMO's ugh thats a whole other topic!
up until last month, i was feeding my dogs kibbles and bits. i changed recently to pedigree complete nutrition with alpo prime cuts canned food. they like it so much better. im sure that the food will have to be changed though. but i plan to give meats that i can cook. like chop meat. grilled/baked chicken. rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. stuff like that.
Mandy I do think the kibble'/dry pellet diet that has become the norm with feeding dogs and cats is a huge problem and contributes to a lot of chronic health issues! I don't want to derail this thread but feel free to send me a DM if you're interested in alternatives.
Seriously this is not "the end of the world" for Texas...it is a fairly common and completely manageable condition! Dogs and animals in general are astonishingly well-adjusted and take in stride that which would be major drama for humans.
thanks. Texas is an easy going, go with the flow sorta dog. so im hoping she responds well. quick question.. when you all found out that your dog was diabetic, had your dogs already lost weight? and when u started insulin treatment, did the weight come back? since she has high ketones in her urine im wondering now if she was diagnosed too late or thats a usual symptom/sign at the diagnosis stage.
im starting her on insulin next week. i thank u all for your input it has really helped me see that there is a light in such a dark time!! i really couldnt put my dog to sleep over this.
ok, to sum it up.. about almost 3 months ago, i adopted a dog from an animal shelter. instant bond with the family we love her and shes been a loyal dog. Texas started walkin funny last week and i took her to the vet. she was also looking a bit skinnier. well the vet gave her a urine analysis and she tested 4+ for sugar and she also had high levels of ketones.. im forced to make a difficult decision. keep her alive or go thru insulin treatments. but here is the situation:
i dont know what to do. oh and the shelter guessed that she was 10 months old. (actually looking at papers now they said 8-10 months) i thought she was too huge to be a puppy but shes also a great dane. i wasnt wanting a puppy because i wanted an older dog because an older dog may be already house trained..
her teeth were nice and clean with healthy gums so i figured she was prob young. i put age aside and took her home anyway. she was just so friendly and well, she was scheduled to be euthanized later that day. i was out of state visiting my aunt at her new home and we were donating stuff to her local shelter that i got sidetracked lol
when i got Texas home, i was really surprised that she never chewed anything and never had an accident inside the house. the vet checked out her eyes teeth all that and said she was about 6-7yrs old. the age when diabetes starts to show up. my husband who i am divorcing, wants her to be treated. he still lives with me but will be deployed to afghanistan soon. im thinking to put her to sleep.
i have twin girls with autism. they go to therapy and they are starting a pre k program in the fall. between school , their after school therapies and my own health problems.. i have a hernia and anemia. i have 2 other dogs as well. my parents live about an hour away and my parents drive in to to watch my girls when i work, which is 3x a week.
i already put in my 2 weeks last week because of schedule conflicts with therapy and my parents have other obligations to tend to and they wont be able to watch my daughters for a little while.
anyways, why am i tellin u all all this? because i have no idea what to do1 the vet said that treating diabetes is a commitment and u have to give it 100%. she said i have alot on my plate and my hands are full. she said what happens if my dog has an insulin attack where shes vomiting and falling in her own pee and while that is happening, im getting my girls ready for school? or im constntly cleaning up urine when i have small children in the house. vet visits which will be necessary and will def interfere with my already hectic life.
shes right. we talked about the costs of insulin treatment and it would be alot but not crazy crazy alot. like around $100 for insulin, and checkups with testing can be around $100. she said diabetic dogs can develop secondary infections in teh skin and all that. and the cataract surgery can only be done when the insulin is regulated. it cost around $1500 for each eye. thats alot. i f i had all the money in the world i would hire around the clock care to heal my dog. not only can i not commit to the financial factor, i cant commit to the level of care. i have other priorities. im not trying to sound cruel but its the truth. her blindness seemed to happen overnite and she needs alot of guidance around the house. the vet said that usually diabetes causes cataracts to gradually develop, but in Texas' case, the diabetes is really aggressive and the cataracts developed extremly quick. she is totally blind. i hate to see her like this. it breaks my heart that she cant see. just last month she was catching frisbees at the park and running around without a care in the world. now she goes to the bathroom and comes back in.
u all who respond i assume have pets. am i wrong to put my dog to sleep? like i said the vet said in a situation like this, she would recommend it. i feel like its a question of keeping her happy (no treatment) vs keeping her alive (with treatment). when i told the girl at the counter that i prob wasnt going to start insulin treatment she nodded in agreement and said its better to keep her comfortable.
is insulin treatment that painful to a dog? my soon to be ex husband is telling me that im so wrong and cruel and that if he wasnt going to afghanistan he would start the insulin treatment but since im all by myself thats just an excuse and im just whimping out. he works in DC and leaves early in the morning and comes home late at nite.. so im left with everything as it is.
i feel like Texas is too sick and on top of everything else going on, caring for a sick dog would be alot for me to handle. am i being selfish? i feel so bad. i feel like im being wrong but noone is thinking of me in this. actually noone is my ex husband. he will throw this is my face for the rest of my life. my twin girls are with him so im sure i will be seeing him an awful lot once the divorce is finalized. actually when he signs the papers. he hasnt yet. ugh, thats a whole other story.
omg i dont know what to do. what if one of the twins gets sick at school and im at the vet with my sick dog. i feel like im 1 person when i needed to be 10/ ugh sorry, i know this is a long post.
if you was in this situation, what would u do?
shes eating well and is still a happy dog with a wagging tail. the vet said if we dont do treatment and we euthanize now or soon b4 my soon to be ex husband leaves for afghanistan, she will be put down peacefully before she really starts to feel pain and distress. what if you dog owners had your dog longer than the 3 months i had her? what would u do in this horrible situation?
thanks.
My dog was diagnosed as diabetic two years ago and lost her eyesight to cataracts on the third day at the vets. She is a happy dog and I test her blood sugar at least twice each day and give her shots also. She has never had an attack, but has had conjunctivitis twice. Diet and exercise work well for my dog. I feed her a WD prescription diet food, no table scraps, beef of any type will raise the blood sugar, but chicken is good with no skin or bones, they also make a treat for diabetic dogs. I get her insulin, needles etc from Walmart because their price is 1/6 the price of the pharmacy saving me a lot of money, it used to cost more than $300 a month for her supplies and now costs less than $50 a month, not including her food. My dog is 12 1/2 and doing great for a blind diabetic dog. I take her for 2 to 3 mile walks in the morning and it helps keep her blood sugar in line. If you are not able to care for you dog, please find someone who can, diabetes is not a death sentence, but euthanasia is. My dog is very happy, learned her way around the house and yard and does not bump into anything anymore, I even take her to the dog park and she roams around on her own with the other dogs. Most peopld do not even know that she is blind till they see her eyes. Giving insulin shots is very easy so is taking the blood sugar, I test my Chelsea on her elbows where she has these skin patches with no hair on them, she knows what I am doing and wags her tail while I do it. She was depressed for maybe two days and I was depressed for two weeks. I know how scary it is and at first it all seems hopeless, but after two years, it is all okay and I opted out of cataract surgery when I realized that she was just as happy as when she could see. First picture is of Chesea at the dog park costume party, I fashioned angel wings for feather boas attached to wire on her harness, second is with one of her favorite dogs, Rogue, she likes huskies.
what was the issue like? the vet told me that a dog, much like a human, can tolerate high sugar more so than low sugar. too much insulin or low sugar can make a dog have a seizure or convulse in extreme cases otherwise most usually vomit and get really sick.. is this tru? has this happened to your dogs?
also, lets say u had 2 special needs children, how would that affect your care of your dogs? what i mean to ask is that do the caretaking of your dogs take most of your day? lets say you had children and were all alone.. would u be able to take of your children or does your dogs health require your constant most of the day attention?
thanks/
I treat Chelsea as I always have and had before diabetes, it is not a constant care really, just a shot in the morning and one at night and a balanced diet. It took a while to get it adjusted, but it is all good now, she has a few days where it is high and it has never been low enough to cause her a problem. I give the shot in the back behind the shoulder and it does not hurt, neither does the poke of the pin for testing the blood. You can shave the elbow and test there and it will save you money and time. Needles are costing me $12 for 100, insulin is $25 for Novolon N, test strips are $9 for 50, her treats are $5 for a bag and her dry food is $25 for an 8 pound bag and another $25 for a case of wet food. I got her at 5 months old and would do anything for her. The expense was the six day vet stay with short acting insulin shots to get her bg down from the high of 685 when she went in and was in diabetic keto acidosis. Now I can tell her bg from her breath and am almost right every time I check it, I even do my own curves. I also have 14 parakeets, 9 cocatiels, 8 chickens and 2 roosters, 2 rabbits, a parrot, 3 dogs and 2 cats and 2 rabbits and also have a garden service with 34 yards I maintain and take Chelsea with me when I go to work. I have also since met a few other dogs with diabetes and blindness and they are also doing well. Right now for you it is scary as it was for me in the beginning. I feel your pain and anguish very much.
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although the thought of temporary euthanizing inlaws sounds like something out of a comic strip actually no.. more like a lifetime movie! lol
