Diabetes in our dogs is more common than we know. In fact, I never even knew dogs could be diabetic until my very recent scary experience with my 8 year old maltese, Casey.
I noticed Casey was drinking water and urinating at an elevated rate. At first I attributed it to the extreme heat we were experiencing. Then Casey seemed to be lethargic and would not eat (not even his favorite treat, carrots). Casey had been slightly overweight but I noticed how much lighter he felt when I picked him up and also how "boney" he felt. One other symptom I noticed...his eyes seemed to have a thin, milky film in them. I immediately took him to the vet where they examined him thoroughly.
Casey had lost three pounds in two months. For a little breed, like a maltese, that is a huge loss. The vet took blood and a urine sample to be tested and said she would call me the next morning. The vet called and told me that Casey had diabetes and would need to be given two insulin shots every day for the rest of his life! After the shock of this information, I took Casey back to the vet's office for an entire day so that he could be monitored and start his first insulin shot. It takes a while for the correct dosage to be determined. I also had to learn how to give Casey his shots every day. The milky film I noticed in his eyes are probably the beginning of cataracts, also a result of the diabetes.
Right now, Casey only needs one shot every day and we are still working on finding the correct dosage. After his first week of shots, we went back to the vet so they could test his glucose level. Still too high, so we elevated the dosage and will go back again this week to see if that does the trick. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Casey will not need a second daily shot.
