Administering Ear infection med ~ Help ~Suggestions?

[Wylie's Mom]

Kellie - do you have add'l restraint tips for giving a subQ injection...ie, near the neck or just above shoulders?

Or, anyone else?

[AlicetheYorkie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Kellie - do you have add'l restraint tips for giving a subQ injection...ie, near the neck or just above shoulders?

Or, anyone else?

That should always be a two person job. I'm assuming you're asking about a Yorkie? For samll dogs, there's two options, depending on the dogs behavior. If it's a puppy or and adult dog that is going to behave well - the dog should be facing away from the person giving the injection, while the second person can simply hold the dogs head "cupped" in their two hands - carefull to keep fingers away from the mouth and holding the head firmly enough that the dogs can't turn to bite either person. You can also create a sort of muzzle with your hands in this position by wrapping one hand completely around the dogs muzzle while stablizing the head with the other hand. The person giving the injection will already have a hold of some skin at the dog's scruff to lift the skin for the SubQ injection, so that helps stablize a small dogs body pretty well.

If the dog is not happy - watch the video that Kellie posted, you'd basically do the same thing (hold the dog close to you while restraining the head and face with one hand the the body with the other) but the holder would just kind of pull their chest back and out of the way a bit so the person administering the injection has room to work.

If you're talking about a bigger dog, let me know and I can explain that

[Wylie's Mom]

Thanks so much! It's for a 3-pounder who absolutely hates his allergy shots - he's so traumatized by it and we feel so bad giving them. I've even put lido on the injection site and occluded the area for 1-2 hrs - but still, he hates them. Since my degree is in nursing, I know how to give shots - but it's SO different giving them to dogs.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Kellie - do you have add'l restraint tips for giving a subQ injection...ie, near the neck or just above shoulders?

Or, anyone else?

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Thanks so much! It's for a 3-pounder who absolutely hates his allergy shots - he's so traumatized by it and we feel so bad giving them. I've even put lido on the injection site and occluded the area for 1-2 hrs - but still, he hates them. Since my degree is in nursing, I know how to give shots - but it's SO different giving them to dogs.

This is for Marcel? What gauge needle are you using on him? Is he just a wiggle worm or does he fight you tooth and nail? The scruff is suppose to be the least sensitive area to give sub-q injections but if location doesn't matter then you can basically give them anywhere you can pull up skin into a tent. The upper thigh is also a popular area, like where vet's give injections.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by kalina82

This is for Marcel? What gauge needle are you using on him? Is he just a wiggle worm or does he fight you tooth and nail? The scruff is suppose to be the least sensitive area to give sub-q injections but if location doesn't matter then you can basically give them anywhere you can pull up skin into a tent. The upper thigh is also a popular area, like where vet's give injections.

Yup, for Marcel. He fights tooth and nail. He just hates it. His skin tents poorly bc....well it's hard to explain - he's just a solid little man so the only spots I can 'tent' are the scruff or just up from the shoulder. His skin is tighter everywhere else.

The derm gives out 25g, and I felt this was possibly just to big for him. So then I tried 31g and 30g - and these are like a filament, but it freaked the heck out of me bc it could break off inside him if he jerked right. Now, I'm at 27g - and I think the size is perfect for his size, but he still hates it.

I've tried all of these needles on myself to see how they feel and they really barely hurt at all. He's a tough little guy - so I don't think it's pain tolerance...I think it has a lot to do w/ fear and anticipation (even tho we hide the needle and have tried every suggestion to distract him). Poor little guy.

[Ellie May]

How does he react at the vet's with needles? The same?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

How does he react at the vet's with needles? The same?

He used to be just fine...barely a reaction; but now, he goes berserk .

[Ellie May]

My guess is that it either caused severe pain once and now he hates it or too much of an ordeal is happening and he has learned to get worked up..

How long does he have to be on these?

I feel so bad for him (and you) . The most restraint I have to use when giving fluids to Ellie is to hold her by the scruff area so she can't walk away. Oh how often do they have to be given?

[kalina82]

have you tried a insulin syringe? would his dose fit in there? I'm not even sure what gauge the needle is on those little things but i know its small enough to bend easily.

have you tried surprising him with the injection when he's not suspecting it? like when your laying on the couch with him and giving him a massage and then just sneak it in there? try rubbing the area where your going to inject a little harder then normal and then BAM LOL this way he can't anticipate it

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by kalina82

have you tried a insulin syringe? would his dose fit in there? I'm not even sure what gauge the needle is on those little things but i know its small enough to bend easily.

have you tried surprising him with the injection when he's not suspecting it? like when your laying on the couch with him and giving him a massage and then just sneak it in there? try rubbing the area where your going to inject a little harder then normal and then BAM LOL this way he can't anticipate it

lol, this is just what I'm thinking, but them I'm thinking maybe it's a mean thought.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

lol, this is just what I'm thinking, but them I'm thinking maybe it's a mean thought.

LOL sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. if he's not suspecting it he may not even notice since the needle is so small. I watched the pediatrician do the rub and poke method (god that sounds dirty) on my two 3 month old nieces today. One of them didn't notice a thing, but the other was already crying so she just got louder.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

My guess is that it either caused severe pain once and now he hates it or too much of an ordeal is happening and he has learned to get worked up..

How long does he have to be on these?

I feel so bad for him (and you) . The most restraint I have to use when giving fluids to Ellie is to hold her by the scruff area so she can't walk away. Oh how often do they have to be given?

They have to be given every 2wks right now, but we may move to q week - bc that can boost the positive response even more. After time, you then taper off. Many allergy shots will have to be given for life - but often at longer intervals as the immune system better responds.

It's so weird bc the area on the counter where we give the shot, is the same spot where we do his topknot, where I put on the lidocaine, give eyedrops or whatevs. He doesn't flinch. But SOMEhow, I swear he can smell that needle.

We've tried diff areas in the house too. I'm ready to try giving it in the dang car, just bc he might be distracted.

Originally Posted by kalina82

have you tried a insulin syringe? would his dose fit in there? I'm not even sure what gauge the needle is on those little things but i know its small enough to bend easily.

have you tried surprising him with the injection when he's not suspecting it? like when your laying on the couch with him and giving him a massage and then just sneak it in there? try rubbing the area where your going to inject a little harder then normal and then BAM LOL this way he can't anticipate it

Yup, the insulin syringes we tried were like for newborns - the 30g and 31g. They're really like a teensy filament...very flimsy, and they just won't work for a jerking dog (we tried).

The surprise method just might be the way to go. Hmmmm. It's worth a try. Anything to make it less of an ordeal for him. Good idea!

Oh, edited to add - his dose is only .25cc.

[LDMomma]

I sit Lily on my lap and hold her head against my chest. Hubby does the actual ear cleaning. Are you using the liquid cleaner or the paste (or both)? We've done both. She seems to tolerate the paste better. For the cleaner part, she wants to shake it all out before you get to clean the ear!

[Presto]

When Presto had an ear infection I would hold him down and DH would quickly put the med in the ear. sadly that was the only way to get it done