What if My Vet Says No About My Diabetic Dog
I see this question over and over again. In all different scenarios, “What if my vet says no I can’t test at home”, “What if my vet says no I can’t feed anything but prescription food”, “What if my vet says to give a full dose even though my pup didn’t eat”.
Let’s start this discussion with the fact that this is YOUR dog, YOU are responsible for his/her care. If what you’re being told doesn’t sound right to you or you don’t agree with it, then ask questions. Always understand why your vet feels the way that they do before you discount the advice. As you learn more about Canine Diabetes Management, you will be able to make your points clearly and with good data to back yourself up. It is important to have a good working relationship with your vet with mutual respect and your pup’s wellbeing as your focus.
I would always ask the question, “Do you have a Diabetic dog at home?” “Do you live with this disease 24/7?” If the answer is no, then it’s time to realize that your vet may learn more from you about this disease than the other way around. Be fair here, you have a singular focus on this one disease while your vet has to know about hundreds! It’s not realistic to expect them to know the daily nuances of this disease that you are now living with. Your biggest hurdle here may be that your vet isn’t open to trusting your knowledge of Canine Diabetes. If that is the case, then either find a different vet or agree to disagree.
What is important here is that you learn everything that you can and educate your vet if they are open to it. Not all of them are. The vet that diagnosed my Max was not a fan of being questioned; in fact I’m told that if a newly diagnosed client wants to home test he tells them to go find another vet! I kid you not. Keep in mind that just because they don’t agree or “approve”, that does not mean that you shouldn’t do what is right for your pup. Again I remind you that this is YOUR pup, you get to decide how to treat him/her.
I am not encouraging you to be openly defiant, I am encouraging you to learn about this disease and be secure in your treatment of your “sugar baby”. Always keeping in mind that it’s easier to see a patient for 10 minutes in an exam room and send them on their way than it is to be the one that is going home and living with the disease day in and day out. You are also the one that is “on call” 24/7, there are no “office hours” when it comes to caring for your pup. We all know that nothing good ever happens outside of office hours and your vet isn’t going to give you their cell phone number (or most won’t) to call when you are following their advice and something goes terribly wrong.
This is where I encourage you to find “community”, find a group that lives with this disease 24/7 also. Learn from those people. They have all been where you are and are willing to help when you need it most. I have written a couple posts about finding community and you can find one of them here:
https://shoppettest.com/blog/how-do-i-find-community-for-my-diabetic-dog/
I was lost until I found my “Facebook Home” in a Canine Diabetes community. All of those people had lived or were living with the disease daily. They know the nuances, they know the “rules”, and they know how to keep your pup safe at all times. I’m not saying that you don’t need your vet, you do, I’m just saying that expecting your vet to manage this disease for you is not realistic. They don’t have the time or the knowledge to do so, that is up to you. Rise to the challenge, you CAN do this!!
Notice that for most of the products or groups that I mention, the text is linked to a website that you can purchase that item or a link to join the group mentioned. Just click on the colored text (red or blue, depending what device you are on) and it should take you right to the item or group. If you have any thoughts or ideas for topics that you’d like to see covered here, please feel free to comment below or send me an email at NancyForPetTest@PharmaSupply.com. As always, please “like” this blog post or any of the others that have helped you or just refreshed your memory. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!
Until next time…