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Zeke has gone crazy..well, not really. But, we have to give him drops in his eyes, and he HATES IT! He won't sit still, and he yelps and cries even when we haven't put the drops in. It's almost impossible to get him to hold still..this is with my bro AND dad holding him..!
Is there a better position to have him in where we're in control more so it's easier on us and him??
Nebo has had a couple of eye infections himself. Instead of drops, we had a cream type stuff (looked like neosporin..no clue how to spell that). I'm not sure which is worse, lol.
I had to put this stuff in 6 times a day, so I'm sure you can imagine how fun it was. First I tried holding him in my lap and doing it. He would always freak out and try to get away. Towards the end, I figured out a better way to do it. I'd make him sit in a corner, and be sitting in front of him. I would give him a fairly good sized hard dog treat, and put the eye cream in when he was eating the treat. I gave him a treat for each eye. Of course, I'm not sure how well Zeke would react, but it's worth a try! Nebo is such a butt when I do anything to him (clip nails, brush him) I keep having to give him treats to keep him occupied while I do it lol.
This how we do it (Cookie had eye problems last winter when there was a lot of wind):
Take a spoon filled with peanut butter and feed it to the dog. Another can take care of the eyes while the dog takes care of the spoon.
It worked for us. Especially if she got another extra treat afterwards.
I dont think there is a good position for that task. We had to do that this winter when my parents dog Snoopy got an eye infection, it took me, my mom and my brother to do it. But my dad could do it alone for some reason Snoopy was calm for him. Go figure.
The way you see vet & vet techs hold is probably the best. You will need 2 people one to hold & one to apply the drops. (kind of hard to explain in writing but you can have your vet show you) You sit or stand facing the dog with the arm closest to the dog you wrap around the neck (start from the top of the neck and your hand should rest under the throat) then with the other hand you grab the muzzle. Not too much pressure. Also if you can lift your dog up onto a table or something sometimes it helps as this is not the dogs ground or territory. Keeping the dog preoccupied is helpful too, peanut butter works good as the dog does not have to chew much, also the spray cheese in a can works great just keep spraying while the dog licks it! Also a couple times a day I would just hold the dog as this way he will think that something bad is not going to happen every time he gets restrained. If you continue to do this even when no meds are needed it will greatly help for the next time. Also do not talk in a baby squeeky voice when he is not cooperating as this only praises the dog for acting like that. Be firm so he knows you are the leader and PRAISE when he behaves!!!!