How people do a
leg-callous stick on their dog
| How people do a
leg-callous stick on their dog |
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| Dixie is a 90 lb yellow lab. She is usually
pretty mellow and most times will let me do what I want to her. She does have her moments
though, like when I try to do the lip prick. She jerks her head away, and then shakes it
and tries to hide her head from me. So I prick the calloused area on her leg. I make her
lie down on her side on the floor and I kneel beside her. Of course she's a bit
curious and tries to see what I'm doing but I just push her head back down and tell her to
be still. At first I had a hard time getting the blood and pricked her several times trying to get enough blood.
Then I found a neat little trick, quite by accident, that works every time. First I wipe
the area with a wet cloth and then dry it well just to remove any excess dirt. I make her
lay down on her side because it is much easier to gain access to the site and I can see
what I'm doing. I then pinch up the calloused skin and firmly insert the lancet. I leave
the lancet in for maybe a second or two with a little pressure. It seems to work better if
I do that. After removing the lancet, release the skin and allow it to go back to it's
normal position. Then gently but firmly re-pinch the skin and a perfect bead of blood will
appear. I guess by releasing the skin you allow the blood flow back to the site. If you
keep squeezing without releasing the skin you will have a hard time getting enough blood
for the test. Like I said it was quite by accident that I discovered the release
technique. I was frustrated when I wasn't getting any blood so I sat back for a moment. I
then noticed a tiny speck of blood coming from the prick so I squeezed and got a perfect
bead of blood. I do it this way all the time now and it works like a charm. I use the glucometer elite because it was the one recommended by other pet
owners. After getting the drop of blood I don't need to put any pressure on the prick spot
because it stops bleeding on it's own. I just wipe the excess off so it doesn't get on the
carpet. I really don't think she even feels the prick, she doesn't jump or jerk or
anything like that. Most of the time her only reward is a "Good Girl!" and a
kiss and a hug. Every now and then she gets a little adamant about the other kind of treat
so I usually give in and get her a small biscuit. Terry & Dixie I take Maggie's blood the same way as Terry and Dixie's technique for drawing blood from a callous. Maggie is a 110 pound rottweiler. She is obedience trained. My very first instructor always told me the most important thing you can teach a dog is a strong "stay" command. He said it will be the handiest thing you ever use when you go to the vet with this big dog. She is a very obedient dog. I tell her "down" and she lays on her stomach. I get down on the floor next to her. I shine a flashlight on her elbow callous (easier to see blood on a black dog). I do not use any type of automatic lancing device. I just squeeze an area of the callous, push the lance in, wait 2 seconds, release, pick up my Elite bg meter, squeeze the area to produce a nice drop of blood, then touch the test strip to the drop of blood. I do not need to apply pressure to area afterward - it stops bleeding immediately. I don't need to give her a treat because to tell you the truth, I don't even think she felt anything. -- Nancy
Updated October 2000 |
