How to give dog eye drops?

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My poor pooch has sore eyes and needs 2 types of eye drops a total of 6 times a day. The more important antibiotic drops are near impossible to administer, he closes his eye and turns his head away. I don't want to risk hurting him by holding him too tight and pulling up his eyelid at the corner, but most of the drops have ended up on the floor today. At least the other type are more viscous so while they are also difficult, I'm aiming them onto the meeting of his eyelids and hoping for the best. Are there any surefire tricks the vet forgot to tell me? He's in pain so it's really important he's well dosed. He's a big greyhound so it's hard to wrestle him into submission.

Following with interest.

Do you also have an ailing mutt, Cupid, or just a fascination for the mad queries that pop up on MN? 😂

Not an ailing mutt no, but I do have many many human clients (I'm a carer) that I occasionally have to do eye drops for.

For some bizzare reason, they won't lean their heads back. Which means i have to try to put drops in an eye thats vertical, not horizontal. I tell them this but they don't make their head horizontal, they just seem happy with the eye drop lotion dripping down their cheek.

then I sign the chart to say I've given it.

Our greyhound has pannus so has drops twice a day every day. I've found the best way with him is to just be firm (but gentle) and always treat after (he's food obsessed) to the extent now that when he sees me walking over with his drops he tries to eat them 😄hold his face and pull out his lower lid and it's done. He's much more relaxed about it now he knows something good happens afterwards!

Two of mine have had ulcers in the eye needing a lot of drops. One of them yelled the place down at first and it was a real struggle. But it's amazing how quickly she got used to it, just with consistency. She has a preventive drop every day now and just sits meekly while we put it in.

It did help that they are small so one person could hold them like a baby lying on their back and the other could administer the torture medicine.

Just do your best and persevere.

Like Twin I pull out the lower lid and always do drops after I've put the food in bowls but before I put it down, so it's like a signal she's about to eat.

I posted about this recently, getting drops into a wriggly springer was fun!

Best tip was to sit them between your legs and tip their head back, good luck

Thanks all. He has ulcers on both eyes. Probably from frolicking in the park in the long grass on his morning walk. He's too big to sit on my lap so I'll have to resort to treats, although the vet regularly gives out to me about his teeth so he's not supposed to have too many...oh so delicate 🙄

Stand behind him and lift his head and then drop the drops in. You can hold him in place with your legs on either side.

He's too tall! (Or I'm too short)

You have to train him to not be afraid of them. When he needs them is the worst time to attempt it. (I speak from experience.)

Since the last time we’ve been using standard eye drops regularly to get her used to the process. We touch the bottle (lid on) around her head and close to her eye and reward when she doesn’t flinch. After about 10 of those I’ll put a drop or 2 near her eye and reward her, then she will accept me getting close to her eye.

Unfortunately it's too late for that.

You can still do the training as part of the delivery of the drops. Just be prepared to spend time on it.

Have you tried liver cream (in tubes)? My dog will let me do anything (even clip his nails and brush out the knots in his tail) while licking at it. If he's big, then you'll probably need someone else at first to administer the drugs cream while you put in the eye drops, but it's worth a try.

I've always touched my cockers ears, face, eye area, scruff of neck (came in handy when he jumped in a water works 😏) so he is used to it.
I'd sit on the floor, back to my front, hand under chin, with hand putting gentle force upwards on an angle to each eye