Vaccinations at home

A trip to the clinic every year can be costly and time consuming.  Vaccinating at home is a much less expensive way to vaccinate your pets.  You can save a lot of money doing some of your pet's vaccinations yourself.

While you may feel a little nervous the first time, it gets easier every time you do it.  The process is less stressful on your pet as it is in a familiar setting with familiar people.

The first step to vaccinating your pet at home is purchasing the nessicary supplies.  If you aren't certain which vaccines your pet needs consult your vet clinic.  You can purchase vaccines online or at your local pet care store.

Once you have the supplies you need to prepare the vaccine for administration.  To prepare these vaccines tighten a clean needle onto the end of your syringe.  Insert the needle into the top of the liquid vaccine vail and pull back the plunger until you have drawn 1 cc (1 cubic centimeter or 1 mL) from the vial.  Remove the needle from the vial.  If a second vial contains freeze-dried or powdered portion of vaccine, inject the liquid into that vial. If there is no second vial, proceed to the next step.  Remove needle and syringe and shake vial as shown for a few seconds to mix the solution. Insert the needle back into the vial and withdraw the entire mixed contents.  Inject any large amount of excess air in the syringe back into the vial. Remove the needle and syringe from the vial. 

After preparing the vaccine you need to be sure you have the correct tip on the syringe.  The tip will depend on the type of vaccination.  If it is a subcutaneous (under the skin) injection or an intramuscular (into the muscle) the needle will remain on the syringe.  However, if the vaccine is a intranasal (into the nose) vaccine the syringe either needs to be tipped with a nasal adapter or the vaccine needs to be drawn into a dropper.

After preparing the vaccine and the syringe and before administering it you must restrain your animal.  While your pet may be docile and calm in ordinary situations when you try to vaccinate it may get scared and try to bite you or get away.  Ask a friend or family member for help.  When restraining a dog the restrainer needs to hook one arm underneath the dogs jaw, holding the dogs head close to the restrainers body.  The other arm can restrain the hind end to keep the animal from moving around.  When restraining a cat the restrainer should hold the cat tightly by the scruff of the neck (called scruffing) and the second hand can either control the legs to protect from scratching or control the hind quarters.

While those restraints may work for a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection you may need to adapt your technique when restraining for an intranasal injection.  The hand restraining the hind quarters or feet can stay where they are, but the hand working with the head needs some adjusting.  In the case of a dog, the hand needs to wrap around the muzzle and tilt the dogs head so that the nose is pointed up.  When restraining the cat, the hand needs to hold the head under neath the jaw bone and on the brow giving the same tilt to the head pointing the nose up.

You are now ready to administer the vaccine.  

First, the easiest and safest method of administration is the subcutaneous injection given just beneath the skin.  The best and least sensitive area is the loose skin over either shoulder. Try to avoid the area between the shoulder blades. Simply lift the skin by pinching it in between your fingers, insert the needle, pull back slightly on the syringe plunger to be sure the needle is not in a blood vessel (if it is, blood will enter the syringe as you pull back the plunger), and then administer the vaccine by pushing the plunger to the end of the syringe.  Neither the skin nor the fur should be wet after you administer the vaccine.  If it is you weren't into the skin deep enough and the vaccine was wasted.  If there is a slight bulge or bubble under your pet's skin don't be alarmed.  It just means the animal's body is taking a little longer to absorb the liquid.

Second, when subcutaneous injection isn't an option then intramuscular is needed. There are certain vaccines that must be given intramuscularly. Have a veterinary professional show you how to give an intramuscular vaccine.

Lastly, an intranasal vaccine is injected into the nose.  With the noses animal pointed up, insert the adapter tip or dropper tip into one nostril. Generally the entire dose is given, half in each nostril. The slower you administer the vaccine the more time you give your animal to get away. Animals don't like liquid being shot up their nose so it is normal for animals to sneeze or shake their heads after the vaccine is given. 

Note: With any vaccine or injectable medication, always use a separate sterile needle and syringe for each injection. Safely dispose of all used syringes and needles.