So, my dog needs fluid injections.

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1

Something like that. Haplo got some blood tests to see what sort of arthritis medication he should be on, and it turns out to look like he has kidney disease. (He’s 16, so I guess it’s not surprising, but still.) The vet’s put him on some expensive-ass food (Jesus H Christ - I have a cat on prescription food, but that’s just a half a cup of kibble a day and the bag lasts months. This is canned and a lot more expensive day to day) and says that fluids given by needle (I assume an injection rather than an IV) will help his kidneys out a lot, and that I can get it done there once or twice a week or I could be taught to do it myself. Well, obviously I can do it myself unless the dog starts to fight me or something - who has the time to take the dog to the vet a couple times a week?

Has anybody else had to do this? Haplo IMHO isn’t showing any symptoms - he’s pretty much as lively as he’s always been, although his hearing and sight aren’t so good, so I figured it was an appropriate measure to take, but I feel I can’t really measure its effectiveness since he doesn’t appear outwardly to be sick. I’m going on Friday for them to teach me how to do it. Is it hard? Does the dog start to hate you for it? He’s a little snappish, particularly as his hearing and sight deteriorate, but I can handle him all right. Will it hurt him?

2

I have a diabetic cat & he gets insulin injections twice a day. We also check his blood sugar periodically.

He’s good about it. Just put some food in front of him, and you can pretty much do anything you want. When we got him, I was terrified of giving him shots, but he barely notices, and he’s a sweet, loving kitty all the time, he does not hate us for giving him shots. When we first started doing it, I think it was harder on us than the cat, because we were so afraid of hurting him.

How is your dog about getting shots at the vet? If he’s pretty calm about it, you probably won’t have too hard a time doing it yourself. It really does sound a lot scarier than it really is, both for you & your pet. My sister’s cat had kidney issues later in life, and they had to give him fluids. Apparently, he handled it pretty well.

3

A friend of mine had to inject her elderly whippet. It does not hurt the dog but looks rather odd. The injections are sub-cutaneous, I believe, and leave a bulge until absorbed. You should be able to learn how to do it without any problems. IMO, it will be less stressful for you dog than being lugged to the vets twice a week.

4

I had to do this exact thing with a cat with failed kidneys. It was pretty easy, I guess one could argue whether it’s easier to wrangle a cat or a dog. We had a bag of saline solution, a tube, and a needle (just like the fluid drip at the hospital, etc.). The needle went in between her shoulder blades, you roll the little wheel to open the tube, and just wait until the level in the bag drops by whatever amount.

Yes, it leaves a bulge until it’s all absorbed, but it made her feel infinitely better, and was a rather inexpensive way to keep her feeling well–though it only gave her an extra few months. Animals are often too good at hiding discomfort; we didn’t notice anything until she stopped eating and lost a bunch of weight, and by that time she had essentially no kidney function at all. Her subcutaneous injections were daily, around 100 mL, IIRC. So like I said, even at that level of advanced failure, it kept her active for a few months, so it really is a helpful technique. And she didn’t hate us for it because she did eventually associate it with making her feel better. And it’s good that your dog isn’t showing symptoms of sickness, because by the time he actually shows sickness, his blood may be incredibly poisoned already, indicating more advanced failure.

Good luck!

5

I did sub-Q fluids with my dog for well over a year, so it can be done. It depends a bit on the dog, though. When I first started, I had to have someone help me hold the dog (mostly because I was nervous, but she did not like being stuck with a needle!). I was able to do it by myself fairly soon, and by the end was giving her fluids almost daily.

6

How much does all of this cost? Are the supplies reusable? You get them at the vet? I’m sure they’ll tell me all this, but I want to be a little forewarned.

7

I did sub-q fluids on a cat, too. I reused tubing and needles (needles only a couple of times, since they dull) and bought my needles cheaply at the farm store. The bags of saline weren’t that expensive, but I don’t know if you’ll need to use a lot more fluid with a dog.

It was much harder to give my cat her oral meds than her needle. She just curled up on my lab and purred.

Good luck!

StG

8

Giving SQ fluids isn’t difficult to learn but it also depends on the patient. Frankly, I think dogs are more difficult because they often have less loose skin than cats, especially if they’re chubby. If their skin is tight they may feel the fluids entering and move around on you. You may also need to give it in several spots if it does not spread out well, which means several needle sticks.

Some things to remember; the needle you have to use is a large gauge, a little fluids may leak back out the hole but they won’t all come back out. Hold a cotton ball or gauze pad over the hole with a little pressure to help it to close up. After you insert the needle you can pull it slightly back out and reposition it but never fan it under the skin to reposition it. Never give cold fluids but also never microwave them to warm them up because you could create hot spots. A hot water bath would work best for warming fluids or even a baby bottle warmer if you have one. You don’t need them to be the same as the dogs body temp., you can warm them to yours, if they don’t feel too hot or too cold to you they should be okay. Room temperature fluids are usually fine unless your room is really cold.

9

I gave my dog sub-qs when his kidneys started to go. I bought the bags (lactose ringers) from the local people hospital, they were $5/bag as opposed to the $20/bag my vet charged. I ordered the needles and bag tubing (I forget the term for this stuff) online. One bag will last awhile, depending on how much your dog weighs. Warm the bag in warm water (never use the microwave) before administering; warm fluids are much more comfortable than room temp fluids for the animal. You can’t reuse the needles, so a sharps container is necessary for disposal. I did reuse the bag tubing.

I would do it when my dog ate. His mind would be on food and I know he would stand still in one spot (or in his case, he’d lay down) while eating.

The hardest part for me was the ooginess of sticking the needle in. I found when I wasn’t as confident I couldn’t make a good poke and the needle would pop out and leak.

I seem to recall there are YouTube videos online that demonstrate the process.

10

I gave my cat subcutaneous fluids for a few days due to her failing kidneys. Unfortunately, one of the rarer side effects of the fluids is heart failure. So after a couple days of fluids, she was having difficulty breathing and her heart was racing. I took her back to the vet and a few days later put her down.

Which is to say, ask your vet if there are side effects or symptoms you should look for in your dog that would indicate problems. Best of luck.

11

We gave our Mewkitty sub-q fluids for 5 years. It’s really easy peasy. We ordered our supplies in bulk through Valley Vet, as they were the cheapest (at the time - you may find better).

Lactated Ringer’s Solution
18 guage needles
Fluids line

We set up a “fluids station” in a corner on our kitchen counter. You might try the same if Haplo is a small enough dog. Lay out a folded towel for him to lay on, or if he has a favorite blanket or small doggie bed, you could use that, too. Fold a wire hanger so that it will hang over the cabinet door above the fluids area, where the bag can hang at a comfortable height. Here are pictures of our set-up so you can see better what I’m describing; pic 1, pic 2.

The needles are NOT reusable, and they are considered environmental waste. Your vet should allow you to bring in the used needles for them to properly dispose of. We cut a small opening in the top of an empty coffee can and dropped the used needles in that until it was full enough to take to the vet for disposal. You can re-use the fluids line twice, so order 1 line for every 2 bags of fluids.

The other thing we found that was extremely helpful to her overall health, was giving her a high calorie vitamin supplement called Nutri-Stat. It’s available without a prescription, but before giving it to Haplo, talk to your vet about it. Ours supported using it 100%. They may try to sell you Nutri-Cal at their offices, but here’s a hint: they are the EXACT same thing. I read the descriptions for both and they were identical, so I phoned the manufacturer and learned that they are made on the exact same assembly line and squished out of the exact same vat, just into different tubes. Why? Because way back in the day, Nutri-Cal was “for veterinary use only”, so they could get away with charging more for it (and still do!), and Nutri-Stat was available at pet stores over the counter. Nifty little marketing trick, huh?

The other thing to discuss with your vet may be antacid use. Kidney failure causes the liver to work harder at cleaning the system and can cause stomach upset which may affect Haplo’s appetite. Our first vet had us using appetite stimulants which were horrible (wailing and pacing for hours). We switched vets, who explained the kidneys/liver relationship and prescribed 1/4 Pepcid AC twice a day. It did, indeed, make a HUGE difference.

Eventually, Mew started having a hard time jumping up on things (the couch, the bed, etc.), so, with our vet’s aproval, we started giving her glucosamine supplements. I cannot begin to tell you the difference they made! She started jumping like she was 5 years old again! We used Glycoflex, but there are many brands out there, so again, ask your vet, especially since he’s already being treated for arthritis.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

All the best to you and Haplo!

12

Just an echo of what others have said. I had two cats that required subcutaneous fluid. They both squirmed a bit at first, but soon got used to it.

13

I knew I’d forget something; food! You’re going to want to switch to a food that is low in protein and phosphorous. Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has a convenient chart of dog foods that meet that criteria.

14

We’ve already switched to prescription kidney food (ouch!). He also needs antibiotics for a bladder infection, poor little guy.

We will not have any problems with his appetite. If we did, I’d have to go over and kick him to make sure he was dead. The dog will eat straight mustard out of the bottle if you leave it out.

15

I gave sub-q’s to my cat for about a year before she died (at the age of 20). It was a little bit of a struggle at first, but then we got the hang of it and it was a piece of cake.

I got the supplies here. You have to fax a prescription from your doctor the first time you order, but they keep it on file after that. The prices where very reasonable compared to what the vet wanted to charge us.