advice on giving injectionFAILED P12

i have to do it again tomorrow and im worried as last week didnt go very well. charlie really flinched as i think i hurt him i couldnt do honeys and took her to the vet but i want to do it myself as they get stressed going to the vet. the major thing is them being wriggly-how can i get them to stay put?!! anyway- advice much appreciated :wave:

Can someone else hold them whilst you do the injection ?

mum tried but shes scared of them biting her :roll: and they still wriggled like mad! i might try having one on her lap and doing it there-if its on a table they try and jump ofhow do you know when the needle is in? i find it hard to tell

Where so you do the injection? I can't do Donny's in the shed where he lives as it is too familiar for him and he acts up. I always bring him indoors into the kitchen and he tends to be quieter.

I put him onto a towel on the worktop/sink drainer so that he doesn't slip around and then give him a cuddle/stroke to calm him down a bit first.

Take your time and don't rush it. I still get nervous and I have given loads of jabs to Donny. The times it has gone wrong for me is when I rush it.

Have the syringe ready in one hand and grab the scruff with the other. If i doesn't feel right grab the scruff again until you are comfortable. When the vets grab it there always seems to be loads of scruff there, which mysteriously vanishes when I try and grab it :lol:

Also find out which way for you is most comfortable to grab the scruff ie over his head, from the side or from the back.

When you are ready gently inset the needle and push slowly but steadily - again rushing it makes you more nervous.

Then give him a good rub/cuddle afterwards.

I am by no means an expert at this and still feel useless when doing it. However that said the last lot of jabs I gave recently went quite well as I stayed calm, and took my time.

Good luck :thumb:

cherylwares said:

Where so you do the injection? I can't do Donny's in the shed where he lives as it is too familiar for him and he acts up. I always bring him indoors into the kitchen and he tends to be quieter.

I put him onto a towel on the worktop/sink drainer so that he doesn't slip around and then give him a cuddle/stroke to calm him down a bit first.

Take your time and don't rush it. I still get nervous and I have given loads of jabs to Donny. The times it has gone wrong for me is when I rush it.

Have the syringe ready in one hand and grab the scruff with the other. If i doesn't feel right grab the scruff again until you are comfortable. When the vets grab it there always seems to be loads of scruff there, which mysteriously vanishes when I try and grab it :lol:

Also find out which way for you is most comfortable to grab the scruff ie over his head, from the side or from the back.

When you are ready gently inset the needle and push slowly but steadily - again rushing it makes you more nervous.

Then give him a good rub/cuddle afterwards.



I am by no means an expert at this and still feel useless when doing it. However that said the last lot of jabs I gave recently went quite well as I stayed calm, and took my time.

Good luck :thumb:

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tell me about it! it really does disappear doesnt it!:roll:

i did bring them in but they used to be house rabbits so they rule the roost a bit lol

Hi Lucy,
I'm having to give both Bingley and Blakey an injection everyday and it's still nerve wracking.
I bring them inside to do theirs (I have to clean Blakey's nose and give them Metacam as well so it's easier in the conservatory where one can run around whilst the other gets sorted). Is there anywhere in the house where they're less familiar with that you could do yours?
I find it's easier to do them in my lap as they tend to make a leap for it if I put them on a table. Also with having them on my lap they tend to tuck their heads under the crook of my elbow and calm down a little, also you can use that hand to gather the scruff, which yes I find is amazingly difficult to find, lol
I have the needle ready on the table and make sure I've got the tented skin taut enough so that the needle has good resistance as this makes it go in easier. The worst bit for me is the 'pop' the needle makes when it goes into the skin but it's how I know the tip is in. I find that if I have grabbed the scruff and go in with the syringe fairly flat along their back it's easier and when you know the needle is in if you drop the skin before injecting it makes it easier to depress the plunger.
Good luck tomorrow:thumb:, and I agree with Cherylwares, if you try and take it at your own pace you'll do grand, it's worse if you try and rush

I used to get someone else to sit on the floor with them and give them head snuggles. Then I'd grab the scruff and do it that way. Just on the floor of their place.

I tend to sit on a chair with them on my lap and do it there. I realised that while a table is great at the vets, you are holding them still, whereas if I try and do mine on a table or kitchen worktop, they just move :roll: If I get them on my lap on a single chair, there isn't anywhere they can go so they have to sit still. The other thing I've found really helpful is to pick up the scruff between the thumb and middle finger, and then use my index finger to push a divot into the side of the 'tent', keep the finger there and then guide the needle in underneath my index finger. It's much easier then to know that you're in the right place.

Good luck x

Even just reading these posts scares me!

Babsie said:

Even just reading these posts scares me!

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I thought you were a Nurse !! :shock: :lol:

Jack's-Jane said:

I thought you were a Nurse !! :shock: :lol:

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here i go ...

:evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

ive failed yet again!!! arghhhhhh! charlie was so good, i got the needle in he didnt wriggle but the meds wouldnt go in?! i tried 3 times and decided enough as poor charlie was being poked to no avail. i tried honey and the same thing happened-but she was so wriggly it was dangerous to do another atempt!

im going to the vets tomorrow im so tired and ill i dont want to but i have to grrrr

lucy24 said:

:evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

ive failed yet again!!! arghhhhhh! charlie was so good, i got the needle in he didnt wriggle but the meds wouldnt go in?! i tried 3 times and decided enough as poor charlie was being poked to no avail. i tried honey and the same thing happened-but she was so wriggly it was dangerous to do another atempt!

im going to the vets tomorrow im so tired and ill i dont want to but i have to grrrr

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Is it Depocillin you are injecting ?

I forgot to say that the injections I do are Ceporex and that I have to shake the syringe like mad, tap the side and turn the syringe up and down until I am sure that the mixture is free flowing. I then pull the syringe back slightly to "release" the mixture and then get it up to where I will actually inject - all before I go anywhere near Donny!!!

If it is any kind of penicillin then it is incredibly difficult -

various people will give you various 'infallible' hints - such as warm the meds, or use a bigger needle, or draw with one inject with another, or . . . . (the list is endless). At the end of the day this is a very difficult medicine to inject as it clogs the needle.

My own very very rabbit savvy vet once took THREE attempts!!! Personally I always go to the vets for it as I find I have such a wastage and then end up short of meds.

However I know some people do manage it .. .

it is penicillin but forgotten the name the vet did struggle once too so i know its not just me lol i have an appt with the nurse tomorrow

whats difficult is that the stuff is prepared in the syringe for me and i dont have any spare needles if i need to start again so the more i try im guessing the more the needle blunts.

ah well i tried...:roll:

lucy24 said:

it is penicillin but forgotten the name the vet did struggle once too so i know its not just me lol i have an appt with the nurse tomorrow

whats difficult is that the stuff is prepared in the syringe for me and i dont have any spare needles if i need to start again so the more i try im guessing the more the needle blunts.

ah well i tried...:roll:

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You definitely need to put a new needle on immediately before you inject. So I'd ask for some spares if I were you

I failed doing this too, the first one went perfectly, then it just wouldn't go in after that! good luck!! X

As well as a needle change, take it out the fridge a good half hour before giving it. Sorry it is proving such a struggle for you, it s a tricky one.