Giving Eye Drops To Puppy

Does anyone have any tricks or tips for giving eyes drops to a puppy? We have tried to do the slow approach of introducing them slowly with treats and doing the touching the eyes than treating etc. It worked for the first drop last night but after that we gave up trying to give the second one because she started to get aggressive. Fast forward to this morning we tried that again and she was not having it. We did finally manage to get one in after putting on top of the table after 30 minutes but not ideal as she almost came off of the table.

Bubba hates getting eyedrops but gets goopy allergy eyes about twice a year. I found one really good technique on youtube, i'll try to find the video, and it really made things a lot easier. Basically hold the puppy in a sit position between your legs but facing away from you while you're sitting in a chair or on the couch. Place your arm/wrist that is holding the eye drops on top of the puppy's head. Use the other hand to cup under the chin and angle up using those fingers to open the eye wider. Keep your arm on the head to deliver the eyedrops. The reason that this technique is useful is becuase even if the puppy is moving it's head, your arm is anchored to the head and moves with it so you're usually still able to get some of the eyedrops in.

Edit: I haven't been able to find the video, but let me know if you have any clarifying questions, it's a bit hard to describe in writing.

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Originally Posted by zd262

Bubba hates getting eyedrops but gets goopy allergy eyes about twice a year. I found one really good technique on youtube, i'll try to find the video, and it really made things a lot easier. Basically hold the puppy in a sit position between your legs but facing away from you while you're sitting in a chair or on the couch. Place your arm/wrist that is holding the eye drops on top of the puppy's head. Use the other hand to cup under the chin and angle up using those fingers to open the eye wider. Keep your arm on the head to deliver the eyedrops. The reason that this technique is useful is becuase even if the puppy is moving it's head, your arm is anchored to the head and moves with it so you're usually still able to get some of the eyedrops in.

Edit: I haven't been able to find the video, but let me know if you have any clarifying questions, it's a bit hard to describe in writing.

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Thanks zd262 ... I will try and give that a go. We just don't want to hurt her trying to restrain her and we also don't want her to form a fear of having it done in case like your poor pup she is going to need to have this done more in the future (which I have a feeling she is :-(). This is already the second time we have had to give her eyes drop and she is not even 5 months old. But it was much easier at 2 1/2 months than it is now.

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Originally Posted by Stephveda

Does anyone have any tricks or tips for giving eyes drops to a puppy? We have tried to do the slow approach of introducing them slowly with treats and doing the touching the eyes than treating etc. It worked for the first drop last night but after that we gave up trying to give the second one because she started to get aggressive. Fast forward to this morning we tried that again and she was not having it. We did finally manage to get one in after putting on top of the table after 30 minutes but not ideal as she almost came off of the table.

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First, you're not actually "touching the eyes" right? You definitely don't want to contaminate any medication bottles by touching the tip to their eyes, also the dog's cornea could get scratched.

My dogs get their eyes examined each year by an ACVO diplomate (vet with a specialty in opthamology). When I have to give eyedrops at home or at an eye clinic, I leash the dog in question, tilt their head up slightly from under their chin with my left hand (I'm right-handed), and with my other hand I pull down gently on the skin below each eye to create a pocket that allows me to drop the eyedrops from the corner of the eye; the drop then pools into the lower eyelid and when the dog blinks it gets distributed across the eye's entire surface.

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Originally Posted by dxboon

First, you're not actually "touching the eyes" right? You definitely don't want to contaminate any medication bottles by touching the tip to their eyes, also the dog's cornea could get scratched.

My dogs get their eyes examined each year by an ACVO diplomate (vet with a specialty in opthamology). When I have to give eyedrops at home or at an eye clinic, I leash the dog in question, tilt their head up slightly from under their chin with my left hand (I'm right-handed), and with my other hand I pull down gently on the skin below each eye to create a pocket that allows me to drop the eyedrops from the corner of the eye; the drop then pools into the lower eyelid and when the dog blinks it gets distributed across the eye's entire surface.

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I do the same thing

Thank you both