Hi, I am a former vet tech with a lot of experience restraining dogs to treat them. Unfortunately we sometimes had to resort to using muscle to restrain dogs for treatments that they needed. I can offer a few tips:
- I second the idea of muzzling your dog for treatments. The sock idea is a good one. If you come across an affordable muzzle that fits your dog, get it, it will make things a little easier. Here's how I would use the sock, however it might not be long enough so experiment. you can also use fabirc, an old tie, wide shoelace....use your imagination (at the vet hospital where rolls of gauze were readily available, we used that):
-get all treatment materials ready to go - it is best to go as quickly as possible. animals tend to build up a resistance/panic response, so the faster you get it done, the better off they are. If they get really panicked during the treatment, give them a break, let them get some air, give some treats
-best way to restrain a dog of yours' size is to have dog sit or lay down and have some one use one arm for a head lock and the other to restrain legs and body. If your dog really fights back, you can have the dog lay down (not on side, but with chest on floor), and have someone straddle her at the shoulders, and use one arm for a head lock around the neck
-tie a not in the middle of the sock, it weighs it down and makes it easier to maneuver
-hold the sock under your dogs chin, with knot directly under their chin
-quickly wrap the sock over the top of the muzzle, tie a single knot on top of the muzzle (1/2 way between nose and eyes)
-you can either tie a double knot on top of the muzzle and leave it like this if someone restrains the dog from moving around and sliding the sock/muzzle off, however for extra securement, you can leave the single knot and then wrap the sock/fabric under the dogs chin so that it crosses over each end, then run the sock/fabric behind their head and tie into a firm knot
for the ear treatment:
-as soon as the dog is restrained, squirt the stuff in and massage the ear from the outside; dog will try to shake head to get the stuff out, try to keep them from doing this. Wipe ear out with cotton ball (note: I have found a mix of tea trea oil and witch hazel to work well as an ear treatment, but use what your vet recommends)
Other options:
You can also try to leash the dog with a choker coller, run the leash through something like a chain link fence and pull the leash through towards you. This 'sandwiches' the dog up against the fence and can give you some leverage. Be careful not to choke the dog. You can also use a long leash around their hips/tummy and run the leash through the fence the same way for extra securement. We did this with especially difficult dogs.
After you treat them, even if they misbehave, give them some treats.
For a big, determined pit bull, there are times when 2 people may be needed to restrain the dog, one for the head/front legs, one for the back end.
Good luck!
Colleen
