Can I pre-fill syringes for kennel stay?

[Wartrace]

I am going out of town from Tuesday til Saturday and leaving my dog Moe at the kennel. The owner of the kennel has no problem giving shots.

I am wondering if I should pre-fill the shots or rely on the kennel owner to dose right? Is there any harm in filling the syringes ahead of time as long as they stay in the fridge?

My thought is I could have all doses ready to go and it would be easy for the kennel owner.

[amydunn19]

Re: Can I pre-fill syringes for kennel stay?

Some people pre-fill syringes. i have always felt it was not the best idea but with this situation, it might work. I think the syringes might need to be gently rolled to re-mix the insulin before he gives the shot.

I get really nervous with people administering too much insulin. Especially someone who doesn't do it every day.

[Eddie]

Re: Can I pre-fill syringes for kennel stay?

I think when something similar was discussed recently the general feeling was that people might do it for one or two injections but not for a long time in advance because of the problems with insulin separating, and people not being sure if you would be able to roll it enough to mix it up well.

I have always relied on the people doing the injecting to get the dose right - but that may be in part because it is quite easy with our dog to use the whole units marked on the syringe, and as he is quite big, a bit of variation in dosage would probably do little harm. If he needed to be given fractions on units or was very small and needed a tiny dose I might feel differently.

Antonia

[Patty]

Re: Can I pre-fill syringes for kennel stay?

This question has come up a number of times. You might search for "prefill" syringes for more answers.

If you do prefill them, you'll want to carefully store them with the needle end up in a glass so that the crystals don't clog the needle. You'd also want a back up in case something happened. And, as Amy said re-roll to mix insulin before using.

I didn't like to pre-fill syringes for more than a couple of days or so personally because the plastic isn't meant for insulin storage. I think it clings to the sides and you may loose some insulin.

But really it's the lesser of 2 evils. How comfortable you feel with the kennel owner vs. how sensitive/stable your dog is on the current insulin dose.