Would something like peanut butter or primula cheese keep her attention long enough?

Some training exercises like the video below perhaps? You could do something similar for her eyes. Make it more of a positive experience although it will take time - but maybe multiple fun, short sessions a day might speed up the process. Not sure how practical it might be.

 

Thank you for the video. I will definitely try it tomorrow and I'll probably use something high value like peanut butter. We tried with kibble but i think by that point she had become too unsure and was fully aware what we were up to.

Make a big fuss of her while holding her head close to you. Lift up an ear and still fussing her pop the drops in and give the base of the ear a good rub. A good game when you have finished. Make the whole thing relaxed and fun. Dogs have to learn to allow you to do anything you need to do to any part of their anatomy. The best time to teach them is as a pup. My puppies have their eyelids opened, their mouth opened, lips pulled back and ears lifted up and handled - and feet handled too. Not too difficult with an adult dog though. I find the answer is to keep the dog held securely without a choice if you have to do something they are not going to find very pleasant. If you do it right they soon get their confidence.

Thank you and you are right. I need to do some sessions of checking her anatomy in a positive way so she becomes used to for situations like this. And you are right about the doing it right part. I have just been watching some vet videos of how to apply ear/eye drops and we have been doing it all wrong (in terms of restraining her,etc) - or at least not the recommended way!

 

Make a big fuss of her while holding her head close to you. Lift up an ear and still fussing her pop the drops in and give the base of the ear a good rub. A good game when you have finished. Make the whole thing relaxed and fun. Dogs have to learn to allow you to do anything you need to do to any part of their anatomy. The best time to teach them is as a pup. My puppies have their eyelids opened, their mouth opened, lips pulled back and ears lifted up and handled - and feet handled too. Not too difficult with an adult dog though. I find the answer is to keep the dog held securely without a choice if you have to do something they are not going to find very pleasant. If you do it right they soon get their confidence.

 

It's not quite the same thing but Timber hated his spot-on flea treatment until I had the idea of bringing it up to body temperature by tucking the pipette into my clothes for 10 minutes before using it. If the ear drops don't have to be kept refrigerated for any reason it might be worth a try.

 

I think it is more the handling and restraining she is fearful but definitely something I'll remember for future reference.

 

Use a mega tasty, irresistible treat to get her focus on that, holding it so she can nibble/taste while the drops are administered but not eat until they are in, then release the treat and make a huge fuss of her.

 

Thank you for the reply. I definitely am going to do this tomorrow. Now that I have a clear head it seems obvious. I think I was just stressed and worried before in the heat of things and the OH debating with me.

 

There are plenty of good videos on youtube how to teach various handling exercises - fun for the dog to practice and fun to teach too

Lily loves them - sometimes she gets too optimistic and tries to guess what I'm going to ask for :Hilarious I'd much prefer Lily be happy about allowing me to check her over - rather than just simply tolerating it.

 

It's horrible to have to administer these things but remember you are doing it to make your best friend better.
The above video us excellent for reference & once Addy is all sorted for future reference whenever Addy is sitting or laying beside you, practice massage of all parts of his body, don't look at him just do it whilst you watch TV not only will he get used to being felt but he may well drop off to sleep & it's very relaxing for you too. Hope Addy is better soon.

 

Oh I sympathize. I remember Kenzie needed ear drops as a pup and it was a nightmare. Luckily Elliot tolerates it because he’s had his share of ear infections, and Kenzie’s ok with most things now.

Just as a general thing, my two know that I give treats after anything they have to put up with - grooming, nails, ear drops etc which helps I think.

 

Oooh you hit the nail on the head there 'hubby leans right over them' a real no no - Very frightening/intimidating for an animal, get him to watch the video (watch together) & get him to stand to the side or behind Addy.
Good luck, if the next lot of drops is not till Monday YOU have the opportunity to start the body/ear massaging right now

 

Hmm easier said than done. I've been trying to educate my husband for over 50 years and he still says to the dogs "sit down"....LOL

 

Over the years I've had to administer drops into various places, but with the eyes, I have found it easier to wash my hands thoroughly, have your dog sitting in-front of you facing you, then put a bit of the ointment on a finger or thumb and apply to the corner of the eye accordingly. Sometimes tubes of stuff can scare a dog, and as already been discussed, a hold on them can un-nerve them also, This method works for me because I am constantly stroking my dogs when they're close, so a hand coming towards them with sticky fingers isn't new to them. Ear drops are a different kettle of fish altogether though. I sit with them between my knees, facing away from me and fold their ear flaps back, massage the ear canal. (I also use this as a great excuse to scratch and stroke their chests). I tend to do this when they don't need drops putting in so they just get used to their ears being massaged. When drops are administered there is still a shake, but they like the massage bit afterwards.

Lots of ways to do it without the help of an unhelpful husband, I know, I've tried using him too, and after 30 years together, my husband still insists on telling the dogs to "sit down" or "get down"... easier training dogs IMO.

Good luck!

 

I prefer to put eye ointment on the eye rather than in the corner. My dogs stand or sit while I open the eye and drop it directly where it is needed. tbh I have never needed them held for that and I have done loads of other peoples dogs with no problems too.

 

You have my sympathy I had to do ears for about 3 months when we first got Pickle, I can assure you they recover from being wary.

I did two things to help I had lots of positive sessions of clicker training so that she also associated me with fun, it didn't stop her being wary when we were going to do the drops but it helped with other stuff.

Two for the ear cleaner I warmed it and then got a cotton wool make up cleaning pad, Pickle is quite small so I cut them in half soaked them in the cleaner and rolled the pad lengthwise. I put the rolled cleaner soaked pad into the ear making sure I could still get it out easily and massaged the ear canal with the pad in it and repeated with several pads until they started to come out clean or cleaner. My dog definitely preferred this method to me trying to hold a struggling dog and put the nozzle of a cleaning bottle in her ear to pour the liquid in and then wiping it out. It is better to use cotton make up pads rather than cotton wool as they won't shed bits into your dog's ear.

As for eyedrops, I'm a retired nurse and for eyedrops I was taught this easy method for humans - tip the persons head back, close the eyes and put a drop into corner of the eye where the tear duct is (next to the nose) when the person opens their eyes the drops just go into the eye naturally, keep the head back for a minute to help the drop stay in the eye area. I have done this with my dogs and it works no need to struggle to hold the eyes open just sit them on your knee tip the head back and put the drop into the eye at the tear duct corner the natural blinking spreads the drops over the eyes. You will see if the drop didn't go over the eye as it will be seen on the nose fur or cheek. I have never understood why everyone isn't shown this method of eyedrop application it works and is so simple.

 

Hide the tube in your hand so that it only comes out at the moment you want to use it when you have her relaxed with the stroking.

 

So when my boy was a pup he ended up with an eye graft...48 drops a day was a challenge. We could not hold him (took 4 of us), so ende up getting him to watch, and drop them into his eye. Not perfect but 5 years on he still has his eye and most can't see the graft and he can see