Thursday Barks And Bytes - Eye Drops

Earl has had to have a course of eye drops in both eyes, twice daily, for a week due to a minor infection in them. It isn't at all serious; its simply to clear up some eye bogies and them watering a little. 

So this post is dedicated to successfully inserting eye drops into your own dog's eyes.

We hope you find this post on eye drops for dogs helpful. If you see something obscure about your dogs eyes, take him/her to your vet and they may be able to prescribe you with some drops like Earl's. 
You should help accustom your dog to drops before the actual process. Let him get used to you lifting him up and opening his eyes, then lifting the drop bottle above his head.

1. Accustom your dog to the drops and it's process. You may want to practice lifting your dog up onto your knee and into the light (this proves easier than bending down to your dog's level to put the drops in, because here he can easily run away). Clasp your dog firmly but gently and reassure him but discipline him if he wriggles, whines or looks uncomfortable or scared. Then practice opening your dog's eyes with your fingers (this must be done VERY GENTLY as to not strain the dogs eyes. This should also only be a drill, no actual dropping of the eye drops as of yet. Now, practice holding the drop bottle over the dogs eyes, but not actually dropping them yet.

Picking your dog up in your arms and on your lap as you sit down will make everything easier, and your dog feel more secure. Your grip must be firm but gentle.

2. It's time now to get going! Firstly, sit your dog on your lap (photo above).

3. Now, use your finger and thumb on the hand which is the same as the dogs eye side (e.g. hold around dog's eye with your right hand if the eye in the right eye). 

4. Get another person to hold a treat a distance above your dog's head, so he looks at it. This way, your dog's eyes will be open and staring and his head will be up, which is easier for putting drops in to prevent running as much as possible. 

5. Hold the bottle above your dog's eye and squeeze gently until drop comes out. If the drop obviously hasn't entered the eye, re-drop. Have another person with a tissue at hand to quickly wipe debris away if the drops run. The dog will blink more than usual (understandably!) and look like he's crying, but don't worry, this will clear.

6. Finally, give your dog a nice big treat (preferably the one the other person was holding during the eye dropping process!) to show him that eye drops bring yummy food!

Here is some of Earl's eye debris. If you see this on your own dog's eye, take a photo and wipe away ASAP to avoid further irritation but to have something to show your vet to prove a problem just in case its gone when you visit the vet.

Eye drops should be no problem with the correct method of administration.

Good luck!

The Thursday Barks And Bytes Blog Hop is hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs Blog and Heart Like A Dog - kindly - thanks guys! It is fairly new, so make sure you hop along! There's no blog hop quite like it - anything goes, and its not only for dog blogs, hence the Bytes!