As for the injections, like I think others here have done, I have a special place in the house for that. I have a mat in the kitchen where he sits.
Did your vet show you how to give an injection? It seems like they would but I kind of had a different experience so just thought I would ask. First I was told to go get the insulin somewhere. It took me a while to track that down and find out that I could get a single pen at Sam's Club. That was on a Friday night and the vet had not written the number of refills so I had to wait until Saturday morning to get it filled. I finally arrive at the vet's office on a busy Saturday morning. I pull out the pen so the vet tech can show me and her response was, "Oh, I've never used one of those before." And then she asked when was the last time I had fed Franklin. I'm new to the whole thing and frustrated so I said two or three hours ago, why? Well, it turns out you need to give them the insulin shortly after they have eaten. (No one had told me this or I would have fed him before leaving for the vet's office.) What she decided to do was show me how to inject with a syringe full of saline. She taught me to hold his scruff and put it in there. So I did learn where to inject him but since I had a pen and wasn't using a syringe...
After I had been given him insulin for a week or so, I read somewhere that you are supposed to shoot 2 units of insulin in the sink or somewhere before you give the shot to make sure there are no air bubbles? Is that right? (Maybe a question for the Lantus forum.)
And since you are new, how many units are you giving him? My vet had me giving him 3 units twice a day. I learned from this forum, that is kind of a high starting dose. I also learned from these folks that I can get a syringe and take the dose out of the top of the pen, instead of using the dial. I read somewhere that the pen sometimes is not as accurate with the dose amount below 3 units, is that right?
Anyways, pick one spot where you will give her the shot. And have that treat available so she gets it right after the shot. You'll be surprised how quickly she can be treat-trained.
Franklin's sister had an 18-month period where she had to get eye drops, sometimes two different ones 10 or 15 minutes apart. I would give her one, set the timer on the microwave and we would both be off to do our own thing. The timer would go off and we both met in the kitchen. Yes, she came on her own. Because she knew after that second drop, she was getting a treat. And she only responded to that timer when she had the one eye drop. When I used the timer for cooking or other things, she didn't run to the kitchen. She knew--eye drop, timer, other eye drop, treat.
Good luck with Callie.
