Still can't do the injection *sigh*

I tried to give Yuki an injection by myself today, but I just couldn't do it. I should have quit trying after the second poke because I know I hurt him when I kept trying. I did get the needle under his skin once, but he flinched, and I reacted by pulling it out. Then I tried again, and I'm not even sure if it got under the skin that time, but it didn't matter because the penicillin wouldn't come out. It was stuck in the needle. Finally I just broke down and called the vet to do it for me. I was crying a lot because I'm sure I hurt my poor baby. I'm just not comfortable doing this at all, and I don't think it's safe for Yuki if I can't do it. The vet is going to show me again on Monday, then I'm going to try one more time by myself on Thursday, but if I just can't get it, do you think it's ok to bring him to the vet everytime? It's only 2 days a week, and the tech doesn't mind doing it, and they do it for free too. My concern was that Yuki might get too stressed out, but he's always fine when we get home. I'm not sure how long he'll have to get these injections, possibly forever now, so if I absolutely can't bring myself to give the needles, do you think bringing him to the vet twice a week for possibly the rest of his life would be ok for him? I just want what's best for him, and I absolutely do not ever want to hurt him again.

Penicillin is a beggar for blocking the needle. Are you drawing it up and injecting it fresh or has the vet given you ready made syringes of the stuff? the latter are more likely to block.
It might help to change the needle for a fresh one before you inject it. A wider bore needle may help too- we usually use green ones- I don't know whether these are the same in Canada.

It might help if you take him to the vets a few times, but do the injection yourself with the vet or nurse watching so they can check you are doing it correctly xx

The syringes aren't ready made, I draw the penicillin up from a vial. The vet tech has no problem injecting it, probably because she does the injection right away. I think it may have taken too long to inject him because I was having too many problems, so maybe that's why it got blocked. I think I may have forgotten to shake the vial before drawing, I can't remember for sure, but that could have been why.

I really don't know if I can ever get used to injecting him. But I'll try again next week and hopefully I'll have better luck.

Hi there :wave: I also found injecting animals can be a bit stressful to begin with & I have the added advantage of being a human RN.
It becomes easier with practice. If you try to change your mind set from 'I'm hurting my animal' to 'I'm helping my animal get well' then that may help. If you are stressed & upset then Yuki will sense that so try to think calm, positive thoughts & project that.
Also instead of getting the vet/vet tech to do the injection next ask them to supervise you doing it. Then they can give you help with improving your technique. Oops I see someone else suggested this too - it must be a good idea!!
Good luck with this, I'm sure you will get it sorted out

Hey up,

We've been injecting Walter for a few weeks but it wasn't going well so we went back to the vets and she let us practise with a couple injections of water which really helped. Before that we were just watching the vet do it and they make it look so easy! Then we went back for his next injection and this time did it ourselves infront of the vet. Its just about confidence really, which we lost after having one bad injection.

Good luck with it!

Sometimes people practise injecting water into an orange before they have to start with insulin etc injections into themselves. Maybe that would help - a bit of an initial push is the scary bit I believe.

Thank you everyone for the advice and reassurance. I actually have done it at the vet before while she supervised, and I could do it no problem. I actually felt confident that I would be able to do it quite easily yesterday, but lost that confidence when I couldn't get the needle under the skin. He has so much fur, and his skin is so thick, and it was so much easier doing it at the vet! Part of the problem was I was trying to do it with him sitting on the couch and therefore couldn't get a proper angle to insert the needle. I will practice more at the vet next week, then have another go by myself and this time put him on the table, no matter how my mom protests. It's just better that way.

The worst part of it for me is not knowing if it got under the skin or not. I'm deathly afraid of injecting the penicillin on his fur. It's really hard to tell if the needle is in or not. And I hate when he flinches! That just freaks me out because I don't want to hurt him when I do this.

I think if your vet is offering to do it for free, I would have it done there. You are having real problems with this task, as I would, so I would have it done there.

I was thinking that too since it's so much easier and it just makes me feel better having a professional do it, and the stress level is definitely less. But I will try again since it would be better if I could do it at home, especially since he has to be on it long term. If I don't get it this time, and it goes as bad as the last time I tried, then I will have no choice but to bring him to the vet twice a week to get it done.

I understand your frustration with injecting. I kept records from April 2007 of my lop's treatment until last month and find he had 240 separate antibiotic injections. I had the same problem that his skin had become so tough that I could not tell when the needle was through and resorted to utilising a local vet to give the injections.

Depocillin is quite thick and some of the things I found useful when doing the injections myself were:
Drawing the dose with one needle and using a fresh one for the actual injection.
Storing the Depocillin in the fridge but cupping the drawn syringe in my hand for a few minutes to warm and thin it before use.
Having someone stroke his head to distract him while I injected from behind.

Ultimately though, I had to rely on the vets. Luckily my little man did not dislike riding in the car.

Good luck, I am sure you will do the right thing by your baby.

Thanks for the advice. I actually take the depocillin out of the fridge for 20 minutes or so before the injection to make sure it's warm enough. I was thinking that injecting it cold would hurt more. I think the reason the needle got blocked up last time was because I forgot to shake the depocillin. The tech at the vet had trouble with it blocking once, but the other times there were no problems.

I think if it doesn't work out this week, then I will continue bringing him to the vet for his shots. It's only twice a week, and he doesn't get too stressed out by it. When we get home, he's absolutely fine.

Grim has started to get stressed and wriggles. I have to be firm with him, hold him down and say 'shhhh'. You can 'feel' when the needle goes into the skin properly because it's really tough and then it kind of pops in. It sounds horrible and Grimlock doesn't like it, but as soon as it's over he's running all around me begging for the treats he knows are coming. :lol: