Senior Dogs: Giving Easy Under the Skin (SQ) Injections

We are the vet waiting for some further direction on giving injections “under the skin” or SQ/Sub-Q shortened for subcutaneous. 

Every dog owner will get to the point where an injection is needed for a variety of reasons. My dog Bruiser is being given Vitamin B12 injections every other week to help boost his immune system and it’s generally just a great way to increase his appetite which isn’t great now that he’s on heart medications.

Other under the skin or subcutaneous injections common as dog’s age:

• Adequan injections: for arthritis and fine to give SQ and not in the muscle
• Fluids: Many animals with (one example) kidney disease will need to be given daily fluids
• Antibiotics may be needed at some point

Consider a vet visit and demo before giving injections at home. And also consider a “handler” or someone you trust to help you hold your dogs while you’re giving the injection. This will make you more comfortable and may be necessary unless your dog is SUPER easy and just stands there… some do.

I find it easier to give these at home rather than going to the vet since I have two dogs that require injections of some kind each week. So I wanted to share how easy this is to do at home. This isn’t specific to seniors but I have found that I’m mostly giving these to my now “aging” dogs and any injection previously wasn’t a regular injection like the vitamin B12 I refer to above.

And if you have other animals like chickens, for example, you may need to give them a vaccination – so this can come in handy for animals of all shapes and sizes.

Supplies:

• Needles and a syringe (you will always change your needle before giving the injection so you need multiple needles)
• The needle gauge will be determined by your vet but I opted for smaller needles even if the injection takes longer
• Muzzle that fits your dog and your vet can help you order the right one
• The medication from your vet
• Sharps container for your used needles and syringes which you can drop off at your vet’s office when full
• Treats for before and afterward

Injection process and steps:

• A handler should be considered as even with my dog Sherman who melts when he has his muzzle on, sometimes needs a good distraction like a scratch on the head or under his muzzle.
• Draw up the amount for the injection (see below the amount for Sherm’s Adequan injection) – 0.75 ml
• Change needles so there is a fresh and sharp needle! A needle that already went into the bottle is DULL. You cannot see it but you can under a microscope  You’ll see I change the needle below to a 25 gauge.
• Once you try this you’ll see how easy it is – even if you don’t love needles.

Tenting the skin:

Lift the skin up and determine the best place to inject the medication – here’s a visual:

“Correct way to give an injection when “tenting” the skin. This makes sure the medication is injected into the skin flap created by “tenting” it. When the skin “tent” is released, the injected medication is under it, or subcutaneous.”

Seniors:

Senior dogs tend to benefit from a variety of pain management medications. Bruiser has heart disease and GI issues and that’s just the two of the organ systems failing him. Rather than spending all our time traveling to the vet where he’s stressed out and in the car during hot summer months, these injections can be done at home and they take minutes.

Questions?

Practice makes perfect. Leave some comments if you have questions or want any help talking through administering an injection. I’d love to be a sounding board for you. If you talk to your vet about this and they give you the green light your life with your senior dog will be a lot easier and your stress levels will drop. Don’t overthink it – just have your vet give a demo and you can practice with some saline. This is what our vet did for us!

 

Syringes, needles and a Sharp’s container. And a muzzle for Bruiser. 

25 gauge needles

0.75 ml is what Sherman gets for his Adequan injections.

My husband is distracting Sherm here by scratching his head while I look for a place to tent.

This is where I’ve decided to tent the skin and administer the injection. 

Disclaimer -I’m not a Vet so please check with your Vet or tech when you consider at home injections. A video of Bruiser’s injection will be posted here shortly.

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