Gently and slowly expel the air bubble by moving the plunger upward.
When this has been done, check that you have the correct amount of insulin in the syringe. The correct dose of insulin can be assured if you measure from the needle end, or "0" on the syringe barrel, to the end of the plunger nearest the needle.
How do you inject the Insulin?
The steps to follow for injecting insulin are:
Hold the syringe in your right hand (switch hands if you are left-handed).
Have someone hold your dog while you pick up a fold of skin from somewhere along your dog's back in the "scruff" region with your free hand. Try to pick up a slightly different spot each day.
Gently but firmly push the very sharp, very thin needle through your dog's skin. This should be easy and painless. However, take care to push the needle through only one layer of skin and not into your finger or through two layers of skin. The latter will result in injecting the insulin onto your dog's haircoat or onto the floor. The needle should be directed parallel to the backbone or angled slightly downward.
Gently draw back on the plunger to ensure there is no blood in the hub of the needle. To inject the insulin, place your thumb on the plunger and push it all the way into the syringe barrel. If blood is noticed, simply remove the syringe and start the process again.
Withdraw the needle from your dog's skin. Immediately place the needle guard over the needle and discard the needle and syringe into the sharps container provided. Stroke and praise your dog to reward it for sitting quietly.
Once the sharps container is full it can be brought back to your veterinarian for disposal as appropriate for medical waste and a new sharps container purchased.
It is neither necessary nor desirable to swab the skin with alcohol to "sterilise" it. There are four reasons:
Due to the nature of the thick hair coat and the type of bacteria that live near the skin of dogs, brief swabbing with alcohol or any other antiseptic is not effective.
Because a small amount of alcohol can be carried through the skin by the needle, it may actually carry bacteria with it into the skin.
The sting caused by the alcohol can make your dog dislike the injections.
If you have accidentally injected the insulin on the surface of the skin, you will not know it. If you do not use alcohol and the skin or hair is wet following an injection, you know the injection was not done properly.
Although the above procedures may at first seem complicated and somewhat overwhelming, they will very quickly become second nature. Your dog will soon learn that once or twice each day it has to sit still for a few minutes. In most cases, a reward of stroking results in a fully cooperative dog that eventually may not even need to be held.
- See more at: http://www.vetwest.com.au/pet-library/diabetes-mellitus-in-dogs#sthash.Cm0bJg26.dpuf