What are the medication precautions for dogs? Owners should keep these points in mind

There are 4 commonly used methods of administration: oral, injection, enema and topical, and each of them has several ways.

(1) Oral administration

1) Mixing with feed. Mix the drug directly into an appropriate amount of feed the dog likes and stir well, letting it eat on its own. If necessary, withhold one meal beforehand. This method is suitable when the sick dog still has an appetite and the drug has no unusual taste, is non-irritating and the dose is not large.

2) Oral dosing. When the dose of tablets, pills or capsules is not large, they can be wrapped directly in soft paper, the sick dog's mouth opened, and the packet placed over the surface of the tongue to the base of the tongue, then immediately close its mouth and hold it firmly; usually the dog will swallow automatically; if it does not swallow, you can stimulate its throat with a finger through the skin to induce swallowing. You can also first crush the tablets, etc., add a little warm water to make a paste, scoop it up with a bamboo spatula with a blunt rounded end, and smear it on the base of the dog's tongue.

3) Drenching. Suitable for cases where the above methods cannot be used, especially for drugs with an unusual taste or for dogs that have completely lost their appetite. Crush the drug, add an appropriate amount of water to make a suspension, put it into a plastic bottle or draw it into a metal syringe, and slowly inject it from one side of the corner of the mouth, letting it swallow on its own. When drenching, raise the dog's lower jaw slightly so the liquid does not flow back. Note that the corner of the mouth must not be higher than the base of the ear, to prevent the liquid from accidentally flowing into the respiratory tract and causing an accident.

4) Gastric tube dosing. Suitable for administering large doses of liquid medication. Insert the gastric tube through the small hole of the mouth gag and slowly push it along above the surface of the tongue; after it reaches the pharynx, follow the dog's swallowing and insert it into the esophagus; when it reaches a certain depth, check whether the tube is really in the esophagus; if it is indeed in the esophagus, raise the end of the tube and pour in the liquid; if it has been inserted into the trachea, pull it out immediately and reinsert it, and only administer the drug once the position is confirmed correct.

(2) Injection

1) Intramuscular injection. Liquid medications that are relatively hard to absorb and have weak irritation, as well as rabies vaccine (single vaccine), can be given by intramuscular injection. Strongly irritating drugs such as calcium chloride and hypertonic saline cannot be given by intramuscular injection. The injection site should be chosen at the buttocks, the lumbar muscles on both sides of the spine, or both sides of the neck, where the muscles are full and there are no large blood vessels.

2) Subcutaneous injection. Non-irritating liquid medications and many vaccines (bacterial vaccines) can be given by subcutaneous injection. The injection site is generally the shoulder or the outer side of the thigh, where the skin is relatively thin, the subcutaneous tissue is loose and there are few blood vessels.

3) Intravenous injection. The drug takes effect fastest, but the duration of action is relatively short. Suitable for strongly irritating drugs and large-dose liquid medications such as calcium chloride, hypertonic glucose injection and certain antibiotics. The injection site can be the lateral vein of the forelimb, the small saphenous vein on the outer side of the hindlimb, or the jugular vein. The injection speed should be slow. When infusing, drain all air from the infusion tube, secure the injection needle with adhesive tape, open the stop valve and slowly drip in the liquid medication (intravenous drip). A drip rate of 25-60 drops per minute is appropriate; too fast a drip rate can cause cardiac dilation leading to shock or even death.

4) Intraperitoneal injection. Often used when treating diseases of the abdominal organs or when intravenous injection cannot be performed. A large amount of liquid medication can be injected into the abdominal cavity, and the absorption speed is fast, making it especially suitable for rescuing critical cases.

5) Intratracheal injection. Often used to treat respiratory tract diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia, as well as lung deworming. The injected drug should be easily absorbed and must be completely dissolved; the volume of liquid medication should be small, at a temperature of about 38°C. The injection site is inside the trachea at the center of the neck. Before injection, first clip the hair and disinfect, then insert the needle vertically; after a feeling of loss of resistance appears, pull back on the plunger, and when bubbles are seen entering the syringe, slowly inject the liquid medication. During injection, hold the trachea fixed with your hand to prevent the sick dog from coughing, tossing its head and struggling, which could cause the needle to come out.

(3) Intrarectal administration, also called enema, is often used to treat constipation in dogs. When oral administration would cause vomiting, it can also be changed to rectal administration. The temperature of the enema liquid should be close to body temperature, and the volume is usually 20-100 ml, but when treating constipation the volume can be appropriately increased.

Intrarectal administration has 2 methods: the catheter method and the enema device method. The former generally requires 3 people to cooperate in the procedure. First restrain the dog's mouth properly; the first assistant grasps the dog's two hindlimbs and raises the rear body, pulling the tail upward or to one side; the operator inserts a rubber catheter with its tip coated in liquid paraffin (paraffin oil) or vegetable oil through the anus into the rectum 8-15 cm. The second assistant pinches the outer edge of the anus and the catheter tightly with the hand, and the operator then connects the syringe to the catheter and slowly injects the liquid medication. After injection, immediately pull out the catheter and press down the base of the dog's tail to prevent it from straining and expelling the liquid medication too early.

When treating constipation, after each infusion the dog can be allowed to defecate, and then the enema can be given again until the dry, hardened retained feces in the rectum have been completely expelled. Using an enema device to inject the liquid medication directly into the anus is much more convenient and can save 1 assistant.

(4) Topical administration is often used to treat diseases of a dog's nasal cavity, eyes, skin and other areas, and the drugs used are mostly special external-use drugs that must not be used by other routes.

For nasal drops or eye drops, only 1-2 drops are placed in each nostril or eye each time, about once every 2 hours. When instilling, the tip of the bottle or dropper must not touch the dog's nasal mucosa or eyes, to avoid causing discomfort or injury.

External ointments (salves) and eye ointments are used respectively for the topical treatment of skin diseases and eye diseases, but they are not suitable for use when there is inflammatory exudate flowing out.

Ordinarily, effective measures taken against the 3 links of the source of infection, the route of transmission and the susceptible dog population can achieve the purpose of prevention.