So, 1st lot of eye drops due to go into Maisie's eye (one drop in each twice a day), casually got the little bottle and sat on the floor and called Maisie over. How on earth did she know that she was going to have something done to her?! No way would she come near me, so OH held her and she pulled away like mad and went and hid! She was also very nervous at the vets this morning (serious "white coat syndrome"!). Finally manged by OH holding her firmly, but she was scared, and I'm not sure how much actually went in. Any ideas on how to keep her calm?
Re: How to apply eye drops! Poor girl :'( Harley wouldn't let me do eye drops when she had conjunctivitis, but would let my daughter! Might be worth asking OH to have a go??
Re: How to apply eye drops! I'll give it a go Ternya, hadn't thought of that, I'll have to see if my son can help in the morning!
Re: How to apply eye drops! I sort of managed to clicker train Charlie staying still for his ears - but he needed treatment for months, so I had time to do that. When he needed eye drops, we went for bribery - he got stacks of roast chicken associated with eye drops. I can't say he ever came to like having them done, and he would sulk, and wouldn't eat the chicken until the drops were in one eye, done, scoff chicken, next eye, sulk, done, scoff chicken... So although he was so not keen, I can say he looked more sulky than traumatised at least....best you can do, really, I think.
Re: How to apply eye drops! Is it that kind of greasy cream in a tube (for conjunctivitis), or something different? M didn't seem to mind the cream stuff, but I'll share my toenail cutting strategy which might be useful: Dog lying on sofa, with head roughly in the vicinity of the arm of the sofa. Me sitting on edge of sofa, kind of leaning on her, firmly but not so I'd actually squish her, obviously. Succession of cocktail sausages on arm of sofa, placed while the procedure is in progress and then snaffled at the end of each stage ;D I find the sofa thing loads more comfortable than trying to wrestle with her in the floor :
Re: How to apply eye drops! It's really difficult isn't it - Molly was the same when she had to have ear drops some while ago. I think I decided it was best just to get it over with, so grabbed her, held tight and put drops in as quickly as possible. But I imagine getting drops in an eye is a bit more tricky and even offering food won't be easy while she has her stomach upset. Sorry no help.
Re: How to apply eye drops! Going through this right now with Kenzi, first few times were a nightmare but now it's me being very calm, holding her head firm but not too tight, quickly pull lowere lid down & drop in & very quickly repeat with other eye... She gets a treat when done nicely. Seems to be working.
Re: How to apply eye drops! My technique for this is a 2 man job. One person gently cups the chin whilst pushing the lower lid down with your thumb and applying gentle pressure on the eye through the lower lid. Hold the upper lid steady with your other thumb. This causes the third eyelid to come across the eye whilst exposing the conjunctiva. The big advantage is that the dog cannot now see the second person applying the drops to the exposed conjunctiva, hence generally reducing the fear of what's coming. Might be worth a go.
Re: How to apply eye drops! Ah great tip Lochan! I was going to say that we managed the eye drops in Lilly and cousin Georgie no problem, but...... That doggy Gaviscon stuff we had to give one year - THAT was a challenge!!
Re: How to apply eye drops! Thankfully haven't had to apply medication into Snowie's eyes, but every now and then he gets something in his eyes (probably dust that is irritating them) and then I put saline (that I use for my contact lenses) in his eyes to wash them out. He knows what "Look at me" means and will look up into my eyes (we do "Look at me" before every meal and before every time he's allowed off leash, so it has a great association), although the first few times he was not happy to get saline in his eyes, and in fact, after the first drop he refused to let me put in more. But over time I have persevered with "Look at me" while standing over him. So he looks up and I quickly squirt the saline into his eyes. Thankfully it doesn't sting so he won't have a bad association with it, just that he's not particularly happy having liquid squirted into his eyes. But I tell him it's lovely (all kinds of adjectives to make ME feel good about doing it to him) and I smile a lot and he ends up wagging his tail!
Re: How to apply eye drops! Oh, another thing that I do regularly (at least once a day) is use my finger to wipe any stuff coming out of his eyes -- again, probably from dust after playing in the park, the usual goo in the corner of each eye. It usually happens when I'm seated at my desk and I tell him to come to me so that I can clean his eyes. He seems to know exactly what this means and allows me to hold the loose skin under his jaw to direct his head onto my lap where he rests his head. Then I gently use my thumb to wipe away the goo. Then he quickly needs to inspect my thumb and lick off the goo!! Then he allows me to do the same to his other eye. Sometimes I use a tissue instead of my thumb. Hopefully, if I ever have to apply medication to his eyes, he will be so willing as he is now to have his eyes wiped in this way. It wasn't always like this -- I had to persevere to get him comfortable having me put my fingers so close to his eyes, but I am exceptionally careful never to hurt him, always very gentle. My husband is always amazed how Snowie allows this to be done to him! Me, too!
Re: How to apply eye drops! Thanks everyone for all your comnents and advice. I managed to sit and hold her this morning without too much trouble, but this evening she was wise to whst was happening. Tried a couple of the suggested techniques with epic failure! She just knows what is going to happen and tries to escape. OH tried as well and managed one eye! She was very stressed so I have left it for tonight. She is currently sulking in my sons room on his bed which she never does.....I think I am being punished!
Re: How to apply eye drops! Charlie was so like this with his ears until we got it sorted (but his ears were a mess for ages...so we had time to get it sorted). In the end, we would just put a collar and lead on him - or kept a collar and lead on him if he already had them on - held him gentle but firmly, got it done then gave him a fantastic reward - his dinner etc. It's all you can do, really. Just get it over with and make sure the lovely treats keep flowing...
Re: How to apply eye drops! It's tricky applying eye drops but we have a slightly alternative way. David sits in Charlie's bed he bends his head right back, David has dropper ready and from a little height drops it in, plenty of lovely treats no problem. We had a week or so of drops when Charlie had an ulcerated eye and that's the only way it could be done and have to say most of it actually went into his eye!! Whatever works go with it x
