"Also try working on the handling of her face and being near her eyes at times when you do not have apply the drops. Incorporate treats and make it a training session"
and
"If the dog is sassy I'd only do one eye. I'd make it quick. Maybe the first two times you hardly get any in. She will learn it does not hurt and it yields hamburger."


Yup. And in between, brief brief brief touch only, then HV reward. Nothing but a touch in the area, the HV reward and then go away until next time.

Two things: the dog becomes more accustomed to "procedures," and you learn to get in, get out, reward, and go away, all calmly.

I also have the HV reward right there, like Betty, in smelling and viewing distance, and whatever the word you use for treat is, I murmur it for that second that I am touching. Then no fumbling for it -- hand it over instantly.


Debbie, you probably also gather from all this that the time to accustom the dog to procedures by you is when no procedure is needed. (Unfortunately, we all learn it the hard way.)

You will never regret the time spent the way CJ describes. And your vet will kiss you.


eta

I forgot to add that, kinda like Will's ointment-on-clean-fingertip, when you do drops, you want them too to be ready to go. So you shake or squeeze the liquid down into that applicator tip first so you don't just squirt air onto the eye. The dog hates that, and then you have to start over. I'd rather lose a drop along the way than get to the eye and have an applicator full of air.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (06/11/2011 10:47 AM)
Edit reason: eta

Success!!! I put a few of your suggestions together and was able to medicate both eyes with minimal problems. She was half sleep, I used a piece of chicken, put her in a down stay, put the chicken on the floor and told her to leave it. While she was locked onto the chicken I quicky put the meds on my finger, took a deep breath, popped her eye open with one hand and swiped the stuff in with the other, then told her to take it (the chicken that is). Yuck, what a gross feeling putting my finger in her eye!

I think it really helped that I was sitting beside her on the floor, facing the same direction as her and not facing her square on which to her is a challeging position.

I play with her mouth all the time; rubbing her gums, playing with her tongue, flapping her big jowls etc. My mistake for not thinking about handling the rest of her face. That is something we will start immediately. Her reward will be chicken, mine will be ice cream.

I don't like the idea of drops because if she would happen to move her head while the applicator is at her eye, she could potentially jab herself in the eye and then we would have a bigger problem to deal with.

Yes, I should have said not to face the dog head on. Good for you!

Isn't it a dillion times easier when you have your "stuff" all in place, the HV treat in plain sight, and, as you said, take a deep breath and do it quickly and calmly?

About the drops, if you do have to use them, I aim the nozzle at the side of the eye, not at the iris/pupil.

Eyes and ears are biggies for handling ahead of time.

I've found that rinsing an eye or instilling something in it is easiest with the dog laying on his side, head on the ground. Then you've got gravity helping. This is a very good use (among many) of the "settle" command (lay down on your side and don't move or get up). This is how I do ears too, or investigate boo-boos anywhere on the body.

Great suggestion Tracy. She already has a "go settle" command but in my case it means, "go find a bed and chill for a few minutes. I don't have time for you right now." Later when I do have time, we have a play or snuggle session.

I think I'll teach her your version of settle, but just put a different command on it. It sounds very useful for many things.

P.S. Second application of ointment went well. Yeah!

Well the conjunctivitis is back. Is there anything I can buy at the drugstore that would work as good as the ointment I got from my vet? I really didn't like paying $30 a tube but I also don't want to mess around where Sasha's sight may be involved.

Terramycin ointment is available without a prescription. Not sure if that's what your vet prescribed, but it's a common med for eye infections. Foster and Smith and many other online pet product vendors sell it for about $10 a tube, no Rx needed.

If your vet recommends something else, I'd go with their professional recommendation.

Debbie, thanks for posting this! I am having twice-a-day drops in Melody's eyes for pannus and all these suggestions have been a big help. Hope the conjunctivitis clears up soon.
I tried the colloidal silver a couple of times over this summer and it helped but I wasn't faithful or consistent about maintaining the treatment for more than a couple of days.