My little Cockapoo is 8 years old and we have been so lucky so far that no medical issues have ever come up...until this year. For the second time in as many months, I'm faced with have to administer antibiotics daily. She is NOT a willing participant.
I finally asked my vet for some tips, because all the advice on Google ("place near the back of the dog's tongue" and "hold their mouth closed") wasn't cutting it. She was upset, I was upset and at the end of it all there was still a pill lying on the floor.
First, choose a soft treat they really love, like hotdogs or cheese. I chose hotdog and cut off about an inch long piece which I cut in half.
Second, press the pill into the treat.
Third, with treats each hand place the first treat (with the pill) into the dogs mouth and immediately hold the second treat in front of her face. She will rush to eat the first treat (sometimes swallowing whole) to get to the second treat!
It worked like a charm and we are almost through our 10 day prescription without a single struggle!
Do you have any other tips to get your dog to take medicine?
Dogs are so much easier to give medicine to than cats in my experience, cats always eat the treat and still manage to spit out the pill!! great post :)
ReplyDeleteBee happy x
Aww, she's so cute! I hope the meds fix her right up.
ReplyDeleteI've used peanut butter before. Our dog just slurped it right of the spoon, pill and all. It was kind of funny to watch also because he had to keep licking his chops. Of course I was nice enough to give him some water to wash it all down. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have to give my dog prozac every day (yes, I know) and he will spit it out of everything. The only way he will eat it is when I crush it up and mix it with wet canned dog food. He is basically so smart that he has found a way to ensure he gets canned dog food every day! He is also incredibly anxious, hence the prozac :).
ReplyDeleteWe have to give pills to our 15-year-old cat once a day and tried the approach of covering it with a treat food, but it didn't work with him at all (he ate around the treat lol). Our currently successful approach is to wait until he's napping in his bed, then catch him off-guard with a pill-popper! (And give him treats immediately afterwards, of course :D)
ReplyDeleteI've had great success with peanut butter too. Our aging basset has to take 3 pills 2x a day and she gets excited when she sees the peanut butter come out. No more wondering if she's going to spit the darn thing out anymore.
ReplyDeleteMy Labradoodle needs a pill (capsule) daily. I open his mouth, toss the capsule into the very back of his throat, then swipe my finger (which has a bit of canned dog food on it) across his front lip or teeth. He licks, then swallows, and the pill is down! Then I praise him. I had tried cheese and also peanut butter, but that didn't work.
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