What is the best way to give my dog their eye medication?

With eye medication, having a friend is helpful. Doing it alone can be challenging, but if you are by yourself and if your dog's good, have it sit in your lap or in a corner where they can't back away from you. You're going to want to use gravity as your friend. You want to lift their head and have their eye facing upwards so you can have the drop dropping down. You can pull an eyelid down or pull it up to aim for it. I always tell people one to two drops in the eye is enough even if it means it took 10 drops to get it in there because you got one in the nose, one on the forehead, one on the face because they moved their head, or you're not sure if they blinked. It can sometimes be a process.

Depending on your dog's temperament, you can either approach from the front or from behind. For dogs that are head shy, coming from behind the head and using a finger to drop the medication in can be more comfortable. Always reward them with a treat or praise afterwards to reinforce positive behavior.

It's best to use a food reward since dogs are food-motivated. Have your dog look up, then bring your hand up and around the back to apply the medication from the top down. Use one drop or a grain-of-rice-sized amount of ointment between the eyelids, then gently massage the area. It could be helpful to place a treat, like peanut butter or squeeze cheese, on a wall to have the dog look up while you apply the medication.