So the thing about giving Estelle insulin is this a situation neither of us are happy with.
I know I'm not the best at giving injections and I don't like hurting her even a small amount but I don't really have a choice. She needs the insulin and me giving her the shot is better than having to drive her around early in the morning and late at night to have someone else give it to her.
Estelle, of course, does not understand why she needs the insulin and thus does not understand why I'm now hurting her twice a day. It may not be a big hurt, but it's a hurt and she does not like it. I've tried to make it palatable with training treats and that helps. But she's annoyed with this new 'normal' and sometimes it bubbles over.
So tonight right as I was about to successfully give her the evening dose of insulin, she managed to launch herself off my lap on onto the couch next to me. Thankfully I did not waste the insulin in a fur shot or anything but she thought she was free and made it very clear - all snippy and snarly - that she was not going to get back on my lap for the shot.
To be clear, she got her shot. She was not happy but she got it. Right now the only way she gets to miss a dose is if I'm absent minded and forget to set the reminder alarm. Especially after Sunday's lethargy scare.
First, I did not get angry with her. Estelle does not understand what's going on or why it's bad for her not to have her insulin. Getting angry won't help. But we were both frustrated. I did, however, use my disappointed voice. Estelle does not like disappointing me and dogs? Very much understand disappointment.
Me being angry would have made her defensive and angry and then there would have definitely been no shot and bad behavior reinforced. Instead I waited for her to calm down, letting her know I disapproved of her behavior. Talked to her about why this was important even though she still won't understand me, more because I needed to soothe us both than anything. We were both frustrated, we both needed to settle.
I'd put aside the hypodermic at this point which probably helped her calm down too. Once she was calm, I moved her back onto my lap and asked her to be a good girl for me. Petted her some more, got her to relax a little more. And then it was back to shot time, 2.0. Which was successful. She was immediately free to flee my lap, I gave her another training treat, and added the spent hypodermic to the sharps container.
She really, really hates getting her shots. But nights like tonight aren't the norm, usually she'll be squirmy and sulky but she'll let me give her the shot without too much fuss. And hopefully the way I'm reacting when we do have nights like this, when she is fussy and upset and needs more soothing than normal, is helping reinforce that they're not the norm. I suppose only time will tell.