I have just heard this and thought people might like to know

> I did want to take time to tell you all about the hard lesson we
> learned this weekend.
> On Friday we (hubby and I) drove out to Brighton, and surprised his
> older sister with a puppy. She had one last year (from another breeder)
> that died from what I thought was Hypoglycaemia.
> So we take the puppy over and everyone loves it and she does great
> and kisses and loves on her new mommy and family. So we go home.
>
> Well the next morning we get a phone call, something is wrong with
> the puppy, it's having all the same signs that the other puppy had,
> drooling, seizures, body temp very low, then semi coma.
> So I tell her rush this puppy to a vet. She does and I'm sitting here
> thinking, there's no way one of my puppies is sick...just cant
> be...they have had shots, dewormed, no fleas, fed extremely
> well...there'<WBR>well...there'
>
> And then it just hits me....My hubby's sister is a diabetic. She
> takes insulin. I call her and tell her to tell the vet to give the puppy
> glucose. Her vet says well I have to test for low blood sugar first.
> and Parvo and Cocidia and Giardia....I'<WBR>and Parvo and Cocidia and Giar
> tests will be neg, just give the damn dog Glucose.
>
> So they get the test back in 10 minutes or so and sure enough nothing
> is wrong other then NO blood sugar. They give Glucose...DUHHHHHHH<WBR>i
> And hook up an IV, by this time I've got my husband already on his
> way to Brighton to remove the dog from the brain dead vet out there and
> bring it back here to our vet, which he does and our vet treats over

night

> and today
> we got her home, and she's totally fine.
>
> So, you say how did one dog die of this last year and this perfectly
> healthy puppy get so sick so quickly....well it's simple actually...
> when you draw insulin or any medication into a needle you are
> taught to squirt out the excess and any air bubbles....where do
> those drops go?
>
> They go onto your clothing or roll off onto your hand holding the
> needle. So the puppy licked her hands (both puppies) and just a few drops
> injested into a 1 lb puppy is all it takes to shut off all blood sugar
> and send them into a shock, a coma and finally death.
>
> So for all of you with dogs, If you are diabetic or you live with
> someone who is....it is a MUST MUST MUST that you do all your
> insulin draws over a sink and wash your hands right after and the
> injection site as well. And always keep the needles and bottles out
> of the animals reach as well.

interesting but as a nurse im pretty sure you cant injest insulin orally thats why you have to inject it

Hm me too & I'm a diabetic I could have understood if it was tablets the dog had eaten but drinking insulin I would love to take mine that way instead of via a needle
I found this
Researchers are exploring other drug-delivery options. Ingesting insulin through pills is one possibility. The challenge with edible insulin is that the stomach's high acidic environment destroys the protein before it can move into the blood. Researchers are working on coating insulin with plastic the width of a few human hairs. The coverings would protect the drugs from the stomach's acid.

what breed was the puppy? some toy breeds can get hypoglyceamia because they are so small

well i thought i would pass it on just in case. I don't know any more details but i think the breed is chihuahua.
You r probably all right but it is always worth mentioning just in case.
sorry

This Link might be of interest if it is a Chihuahua

Very interesting. I don't know the person persoonally but will pass it on if I can

I didn't reply as I was extremely suspicious.  My dad is an insulin dependant diabetic and injects numerous times per day this does not affect our dogs.

I would be a bit worried as to maybe what food they are giving the pups when they have them, but also a bit of glucose in a small breeds water does them no harm and is always handy to have in.

Chi's, Pomeranian's are known to ahve this problem and it's nothing to do with people being diabetic I'm afraid.

fair enough. Maybe the people were just looking for a solution as to why it happened

Ditto forr me too...I'm Diabetic and a retired Nurse and always thought it was destroyed orally!

You are quite right, newfiedreams. Insulin cannot be taken orally, unfortunatelly. It's possibly on it's way to be taken as a nose spray, but then again it's through the bloodvessels in the nose, not through the stomach. Reading the article on hypoglycemia in tiny toy breed pups, makes this a much more plausible cause.  However, this thread has brought something to attention, that might one day save another little pups life. So even if the reason for the pups ilness was wrong, it has helped in making all of us aware that this can happen to small dogs.
Karen

ok i am no nurse or doctor but what i am wondering is - as Karen has said it may be made into a nasel spray then why can't it be taken throught the tongue and cheeks. I am only wondering because alcohol can be absorbed throught these areas so is it possible insulin could in a liquid form. Also if it is destroyed in the stomach therefore cannot be taken orally i presume we are talking about tablets which wouldn't be absorbed through the mouth.

Just a thought. I could be completely wrong. Plus i may not have explained my self very well - i don't usually so if you don't understand i will try and re write it in a better way

Sorry,
Best wishes
Anna

Tablets for the early onset of diabetes are taken but for the more acute insulin, at the moment, is the only way that it can be effectively administered.

It would have been great if this was the case for the two Chi's but unfortunately it is a well known fact of the small breeds that they can suffer in the way that the two chi's did. 

tongue and cheeks have acid in them