When cleaning the nasal and oral cavities, let the dog's head tilt slightly downward

When inflammation occurs in the nasal and oral cavities, we can appropriately rinse them. This is firstly to clear out some foreign objects to prevent infection, and also to achieve a certain anti-inflammatory effect to prevent worsening of the condition. During the cleaning process, the operation must be accurate to avoid choking or the dog accidentally ingesting the cleaning fluid, which would adversely affect health.

1. Nasal Cavity Rinse

To rinse a dog’s nasal cavity, you can use a discharge catheter connected to a syringe to draw the medication. When washing, insert the discharge catheter into the nasal cavity to a certain depth, pinch the external nasal wing with your fingers, then push the syringe piston so the medication flows into the nose to achieve rinsing.

When rinsing the nose, be sure to fix the dog’s head so it tilts slightly downward. The temperature of the rinse should not be too high or too low to avoid stimulating the dog. The rinse solution should have sterilizing, disinfecting, and astringent properties. Commonly used options include saline solution, 2% boric acid solution, 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, and 0.1% Rifnovol solution.

The rinse solution can be saline, boric acid solution, etc.

2. Oral Cavity Cleaning

Oral cleaning is primarily used for treating stomatitis, tongue, and teeth diseases, and sometimes for flushing out foreign objects from the mouth or teeth. When cleaning the mouth, first have the dog stand firmly; the owner or the person cleaning the dog’s mouth can hold the dog’s upper and lower jaws with one hand to open them, while the other hand pushes the medication in the syringe connected to a discharge catheter into the dog’s mouth to clean it. Fluid flowing from the mouth can be caught in a container below, or if acceptable, allowed to flow on the ground and cleaned later. Rinse options include saline, astringents, or low-concentration antiseptics.

Similarly, when cleaning the dog’s mouth, tilt the dog’s head slightly downward to prevent the rinse fluid from entering the throat, causing discomfort and refusal of cleaning. It is essential to fix the dog’s head when rinsing to prevent the fluid from flowing into the throat, making the process easier and preventing the dog from attacking due to discomfort.