Getting bad tasting pills into dogs (vet, diet, natural, best)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Our senior dog has developed a painful limp, and we have no idea as to the cause (and, yes, we are taking her to the vet tomorrow, hopefully). Although she can walk, one of her upper thighs is painful to the touch. We have Tramadol pills left over from a previous episode, and our vet said on our last visit that it is okay to give them to her if she ever shows any kind of pain.
She has always hatted those pills, but we were able to "force" the pills into her by way of ice cream, smuggled into a piece of banana, or mashed into applesauce or some other food, but she is having none of that now; and we don't want to risk injuring her any more or cause her any more pain by forcing it into the back of her throat.
My dog has taken Tramadol twice daily for the last three years for arthritis because she can't take Rimadyl. She does well with Pedigree canned food (chopped only), finding fewer than one out of fifty. She will also normally take it wrapped in Velveeta or liverwurst. We did have a problem a few months ago when she started looking carefully for them, but this only lasted a few days. The liverwurst worked.
I wish you and her the best news possible at the vet.
On my last trip to the vets, I noticed they were selling treats at the counter that were hollow and specially made for sticking in a pill. They had both dog and cat pill treats, and I thought it was a great idea. Your vet might offer them too. Next time my dog gets pills, I’ll be trying them out.
You might try a hot dog or a cooked piece of hamburger. It’s a pain when they figure it out and start sniffing at the treat. Cooked meat will kind of override the taste of the pill.
I tried everything with Rufus,,,,meatballs, Greenies pill pockets, cheese, mashed up and mixed with peanut butter - nothing worked. Unfortunately I ended up just having to pill him by pushing it down. I made it a little easier by splitting the pill in half, although of course I then had to do it twice.
He then started bringing them up. Luckily we got a better tasting alternative that he eats down, but I was just about to inquire of my vet whether the medication could be put in suspension. If nothing else works you could check to see if the medication can be used in suspension (not all can, I've no idea why). It's still "forcing" it but much easier on the dog.
My late little dog had to take a huge pill for CHF, but she loved peanut butter, so I buried the pill in peanut butter...it has to be something like Skippy or Jif, so it won’t just get runny, like natural peanut butter will. I would put the peanut butter on a teaspoon, then kind of bury/nestle the pill in it and she would eat it off the spoon, pill and all.
I use this same technique with my big dog, who takes a time-released, capsule medication.
Neither dog ever was/is “suspicious”, so great was/is their love of cheap peanut butter.
I’ve never had to give pills for long but i use the frozen meatballs. Put in microwave 30 to 40 sec then push a pill to the center and feed it. The trick might be that i feed a meatball without a pill first to show how yummy it is.
With bitter pills I think its easy on you & the dog to just put then down the back of the throat & get them to swallow THEN Quickly give really super treat. Peanut butter is ok but tends to stick to the roof of their mouth & NEVER use Diet peanut Butter it Toxic to dogs.
well by golly stop tasting the pills before giving it to em
Did the pet fill out a survey and say they tasted bad?
( Btw- just trying a tad bit of humor above)
I had to hide the grind up pill in his homemade snack treats. He was soo used to a "reward" for going outside that I don't think it registered that the medicine was in the treat. He was determined to remind me every day that He got a treat. I miss his "spinny spin" he did .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
