Surgery and Radiology Section

HANDLING AND RESTRAINING OF DOGS

• Advise must be given to the owners to have their dogs on a leash upon admission to the veterinary hospital.
• Some dogs are normal at home can become vary nervous (or) even vicious in hospital.
• The information about the dog’s temperament should be collected prior to handling.
• The owners should be advised to lift the dog placing one arm around the animal’s neck to control the head and using the second arm to scoop up rear end.
• The other method is scooping the animals around the rear legs and abdomen and the other arm to the front leg and lifted but second method is not suitable for animals having abdominal injury (or) pregnancy. If heavy animals it must be lifted to the table by two persons.
• Examination table should be smooth surfaced to prevent animals from attaining grip.
• The technician or animal attender should stand on the opposite side of the examination table from the veterinarian.
• If the animal is placed in sternal recumbency the front legs should be stretched out in front. The head must be controlled.
• Nervous animals hugging grip with arm around the neck, allow the best control.
• In a standing restraint the owner should be asked to stand in front of the animal.
• To restrain a dog on its side the forelegs are held in one hand with the middle finger separating the tags. The second hand holds the rear legs in similar manner.
• The dog should be positioned with the legs away from the handler and using one elbow to hold the dog’s neck on the table prevents raising the head.
• The other elbow can be used to press down on the dog’s rear quarters.
• For ear examination one hand should be placed on the muzzle and second behind the skull, with the elbow holding the animal’s chest and trunk into the attender’s body.
• Animals that are excessively nervous, reluctant (or) vicious may require a muzzle for the safety of the handler.
• The muzzle should be applied from behind by taking a appropriate length of gauze tied over the nose with the knot on the lower mandible and taken behind the ears and tied over the pole region with a slip knot.
• For extremely unmanageable dog, a restraint pole (or) dog catcher (come along) may be used to allow injection of a sedative.
• On alternative method for restraint pole is to thread the dogs leash through the cage bars.
• By pulling the hand against the bars, a rear leg can be safely grasped and the injection is administered.
• The neck collar should be checked for fitness, that may at times get loosened during pulling and struggling during injection.
• If a dog is known to be difficult to handle, tranquilizers may be administered before the animal is admitted to the hospital.
• Routine sedation/ tranquilization may not be advisable because it masks the animal’s signs of illness.
• Handling of a dog should be calm and slow without making unnecessary noise as it enable the animal’s handler and veterinarian to examine most of the animals.
• Those animals do not respond to gentle handling requires more physical restraint (or) use of tranquilizers.
• Under no circumstances should a dog be picked up from the ground using the loose skin over the neck and back area due to pain caused by this procedure.

LIFTING THE DOG VIDEO