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SubQ Fluids (fluids under the skin)

Subcutaneous fluids or fluids under the skin is defined here.  Several months ago, Roxie's current vet (Dr. Roe) suggested fluid therapy twice weekly.  Since I'm very squeamish, I took her in, twice a week for a month so a vet tech could administer it.  Then Dr. Roe thought three times a week may be better.  So I decided I had to put on my big girl panties & learn how to do this at home.  I've now been doing it about three months.  Although it's going better, it's still not something I look forward to doing.  Roxie knows when I get the equipment out.  I don't think it really hurts her, but she does get fussy & I'm sure it's not something she enjoys. 

I did have a vet tech show me a couple of times.  But the first few weeks, I always needed a refresher course.  There are many tutorials on Youtube, but this one is the one I referred to most often. 
I prefer to do this in the bathroom.  I leash Roxie to a clothes hook, so that if she gets away from me, I don't have to get up & track her down & bring her back.  I hang the bag from a clothes hanger that is hung on the shower stall door handle.  I then sit on fhe floor, Indian style & hold her in my "lap".  I hook the little & ring fingers of my left hand under her collar (to keep her contained) and the other fingers on my left hand to help hold the needle in place.  This frees up my right hand to insert the needle, control the on/off latch on the bag, squeeze the bag (if it's going rather slowly) or give her a rub.  Roxie is small (about 10 pounds) so it's pretty easy for me to do this alone.  If your dog is a lot bigger, you may need to have someone help you. 

As I researched this on the internet, I found some people preferred to use Terumo needles.  They come in the same gauges as the needles that you get from your vet (probably Monojet brand).  But they are supposed to be sharper (therefore less painful) and have a thinner wall, that is supposed to make fluid delivery faster.  However, after using several of them & comparing them to the ones my vet gives me, I can't say as I notice a difference.  If you want to try them, I bought mine from ThrivingPet.com