no luck with dogs

[max]

[FONT=Arial]I have had two cavalier king Charles both Blenheim the first one “Jake� was poorly from day one, we was at the vets 2/3 times every month with alleges, bad eyes and heart trouble. He was 6 ½ when he died, it broke my heart. well two weeks passed and hated living without a dog so we brought another called “max� he was full of life and so soft. Everything was going great until about a month ago. He started to urinate at night and drink a lot of water. We took him to the vet and was diagnosed being diabetes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]We now have to inject insulin twice a day (it so hard to do because he cries) I feel so sorry for him because he’s only 2 ½ years old .anyone else have a similar problem?[/FONT]

[Barbara Nixon]

Poor little dog. Can your vet not show you how to inject with the minimum of discomfort ?

Until recently , I had four dogs, and only once ever, has one cried when they've had a vaccination. It was done by a newly qualified vet and my regular said it was down to technique, when she, herself , did the next one, with never a squeak.

[Caraline]

I am sorry about the heartache you have had with your dogs. Poor little Max. Maybe in time he will get used to his injections and they won't worry him quite as much. I really empathise with you though.

Welcome to the forum. I hope we can be some comfort to you here.

[Karlin]

Sorry to hear of your experiences. On the injections -- as Caraline says a vet can help you find the best way to do these injections -- they shouldn't really be noticeable to the dog when done just right. Also -- if the injections are being done in the neck/shoulder area, please ask your vet to show you how to give them in the thigh. Many neurologists now feel that because of the very high incidence of syringomyelia and Chiari-like malformation in the breed, injections into the neck and shoulder can cause pain even in asymptomatic dogs.

Lots more info on SM here including several documents with background that you can print out and bring to your vet:

www.smcavalier.com

Max should do well. I've known lots of dogs with diabetes and they all tend to do very well once the right insulin dose is found. They also grow very accustomed to the injections. I've rehomed a diabetic cavalier before through rescue and he is doing very well.

More generally: the breed *does* have many health problems which is why it is so important to only get puppies from reputable breeders who do full health testing, understand genetics, and know their pedigrees and the health history going several generations back of their lines. At a minimum, they should be following the MVD protocol (if they are, this vastly reduces the chances of early onset MVD and an early death; many breeders regularly produce dogs that live til 10-14), cardiologist (not just vet!) testing their dog's hearts annually; checking for ip dysplasia, patellas and eyes. Ideally -- and increasingly -- many are also choosing to MRI for syringomyelia as well. It is unfortunate the breed has some of these problems but all purebreds have a more limited gene pool so specific problems arise in every breed; cavaliers are all closely related and come from a very small gene pool originally, so a knowledgeable, truly health- committed breeder should alsways be the first choise for a puppy buyer (and expect to pay more because following the health protocols adds more costs for the committed breeder .

[max]

HI
the vet has shown us how to inject which we are doing but as you all know all theses dogs a wimps, slight bit of pain. i know i have to do this and would not give up on him (hes my world)but its sooooooooo hard and upsetting. i just hope that he get use to it and understands i trying to help him.

glenn

[Barbara Nixon]

Perhaps, if you do a jab with the vet present, he can help you modify your technique. Two of mine are real cowards, but have never even noticed vaccinations being done.

[Davy]

HI
the vet has shown us how to inject which we are doing but as you all know all theses dogs a wimps, slight bit of pain. i know i have to do this and would not give up on him (hes my world)but its sooooooooo hard and upsetting. i just hope that he get use to it and understands i trying to help him.

glenn

Hi Glenn

I have a diabetic dog, she's my second one. The reason I was asked to take her on was because her owner could not cope with her reaction to the injections. She can be a right little drama queen when she wants to be and nearly had a vet in tears with the way she cried out with a blood test.

I had been looking after my other dog for two years and was experience by then but SiânE nearly turned me in to a nervous wreck.

But I kept to the same trick I used with the other one (who cried with joy on seeing her needle ) She gets a treat. She only gets it when she has an injection. She has a smacko in the morning after her injection and the night time (now her favourite time) she gets half a pigs ear.

She now sits and waits, giving me the look of 'come on its time for my injection' because she knows it treat time. Four years on now and it's hard to believe she was like that. My brother says she is sick in the head because she likes her injections now and runs with her tail wagging when its time. But then again hes a big wuss and scared of needles .

I know it hard in the beginning but you can get there. Make a big fuss after the injection that the treat is coming and they soon learn that the needle is a good thing.

If you have any other questions you can Pm me

[Cathy T]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. But glad some others were able to give you some advice.

[max]

Just to let you all know how its going:
just got back from the vets after maxs blood test and it looks as if we have got the right dose of insulin stable (still a nightmare he still screams but oh well im doing it to help him)got to take him back in two weeks. he seams to be back to his mad self lol (£600 so far but i would spend what ever on him)

glenn
ps big thanks to davy for your advice

[Caraline]

I am pleased to hear that you are on the right track there with Max. I do hope the shots become less of an issue for him as time goes by. Thanks for the update.