Help please :) (Vet nurses will be able to answer best i think)

[KathyM]

Originally Posted by corny girl

A fair few Vets will take blood from the Jugular Vein, so no need to raise the vein in the legs. Have held loads of Dogs that have needed blood tests but these were Greyhounds so very docile & used to being handled. I guess Vets are all different & have different methods of doing the same things.

For taking blood from the Jugular you just hold the Dog steady(it's stood up, this is for large Dogs), usually one arm around the Dog just behind the head (so Dogs throat is resting on the crook of your arm). Other arm under the Dog, just behind the rib cage holding it so you are supporting it & can stop it moving. It also helps if you are sat on a chair with the Dog across you (again i only have experience with Greyhounds which are a large breed). By holding them this way they feel secure & have never had one struggle.

I wouldn't say it was routine to take from the jugular, and it's more stressful for the animal. It is done though, yes. Not sure whether that was more for when extremities have collapsed in shock, or certain specific tests though, although it's a long time since I was involved in all that. Most take blood from the leg.

[catastrophyrat]

Sometimes as said vets use Jugular when the leg veins have collapsed for whatever reasons-sometimes if it's hard to get from the leg or if too many attempts are made in the leg /legs.
Cats are nearly always taken from Jugular for blood testing.

[MissCat]

Well thanks to the advice you've given me (as well advice from a couple of other people not on here) The practical part of my assignment went very smoothly
Many thanks

[KathyM]

Well done! Congratulations! xx

[Frogmad]

Originally Posted by KathyM

I wouldn't say it was routine to take from the jugular, and it's more stressful for the animal. It is done though, yes. Not sure whether that was more for when extremities have collapsed in shock, or certain specific tests though, although it's a long time since I was involved in all that. Most take blood from the leg.

Errrmmmmm hate to diasagree but MOST vets these days will and SHOULD take blood from the jugular vein. This is to prevent fibrosis of the cephalic (leg) veins after repeated stabs as should the animal come in collapsed or needs an IV drip put in and you have fibrosed both legs it is very difficult to get a line in quickly!!! Also the blood flows quicker from the jugular and tends not to clot as quickly - essential for most blood samples!!!!
It is not more stressful for the animal - usually it is just restraint full stop that they object to not where the needle is going.
I have found it is the older vets that still take from the cephalic, although we are slowly training them out of that habit now...either that or they tell us nurses to take the blood!!

The only time we would take blood from a cephalic vein is when we suspect a blood clotting problem as it is a lot easier to bandage the leg with a pressure dressing than the neck!

Oh and in your original post you don't mention anything about restraining the head so the dog can't bite think this is one of the main points to remember when restraining animals for anything!!

PS I have been in practice for 12 years and qualified as a veterinary nurse for 7 of those!!!

PPS Congrats on passing OP!!

[KathyM]

Ooo ge you with your competitive streak!

If you read my post I did mention that the animal needs to be suitably restrained. As there are many ways of doing this, I left the OP to decide if she needed more info. As for jugular vein vs cephalic, I would still say cephalic is the preferred route - I didn't say (and the OP didn't ask) what to do if there were "repeated stabbings" as it wasn't asked for - I have yet to see a vet perform a jugular on any dog that wasn't unable to be sampled via cephalic. Get over yourself, it's rude to shout and it wasn't a competition - perhaps the OP doing well this morning says that you were a bit late with your advice!