Many people give their own vaccinations to their dogs, and they save a bundle of money by doing so. It's really not that hard. Just follow these easy steps.
Instructions
1. Order your vaccinations.
2. Once your vaccinations arrive, either immediately use them or immediately get them into the refrigerator to preserve their freshness.
3. Mix the two vials. You will note that 1/2 your vaccination vials are a powder and the other half are liquid. Use your syringe/needle to draw up the liquid and then insert it with the same needle into the vial of powder.
Shake really well.
4. Draw up the now mixed vaccination into your syringe.
5. Pour a bit of alcohol on your injection site. This will be the area at the back of the dog's neck, just in front of the front shoulder.
6. Lift the loose skin at the back of the dog's neck, near the front shoulder, to form a 'tent'.
7. Insert the needle under the skin of your 'tent' area.
8. Draw back on the syringe as if you were trying to draw something up into your syringe. You won't have to draw far. The purpose of this is to check to be sure you are not in a vein. If you draw up blood, start over. If no blood is present, your good to go.
9. Inject the vaccination liquid into the dog.
10. Pull out the needle and rub the injection site gently with your fingers while comforting the dog.
11. Remove the label on the vial that lists the type of vaccinations the vial contains. This will be a sticker. Place this on an index card or other record keeping material and date it along with the dog's name.
The vial sticker will serve to answer any questions a vet may have on the exact type of immunization you have given and keep a record of batch #'s, etc should a problem ever arise. It can also be given to a new owner if your puppy/dog should change hands.
12. Most vaccinations need to be done on a yearly basis.
Tags: your syringe, back neck, front shoulder, immediately them, injection site