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Oh When "little sister" Cricket was getting a daily med....usually in a piece of hot dog...McKenzie had to get "her" medicine (plain piece of hot dog) but when it started holding her real pill she learned to extract the pill and spit it out or test it...then gag.... and spit the whole thing out! That was when the pill pockets came into play. She would "wolf them down" and never caught on.
My Bulldog is quite special when it comes to swallowing pills. He will not eat his food if I put fish oil in it, so I got the pills instead. Normally, I'd wrap pills in ham, but since this is a daily thing, I don't want him ingesting all that ham. So, I put it in his food and hoped for the best. The first night, he was very hungry and devoured his food and pill, without noticing the pill. The second night? He found the pill among the kibble and became very dramatic, choking and coughing and spit the pill out and left it on the floor. He gave me the dirtiest look and went back to eating. So, we are back to using a treat with the pill, followed quickly by another treat so that he has no time to spit it out. Yes, my boy is quite special!
Oh, and I tried blowing in his face, since this trick works very well for infants. He looked at me like I was deranged and tried to lick my face. So, no blowing on this boy!
I was having a hard time giving him the pills. Our vet told me put them as far back in his mouth as I could.
The hold his mouth closed and blow in his face, he would swallow.
He did!!!! Three days now!!!!
Gently rubbing/scratching the chin down the neck will also encourage my dog to swallow his pills (antibiotics). I've never tried the blow in the face method. Really I just need to get to the store to buy more liverworst to conceal the pills in so he thinks he's getting a special treat.
This fish oil pill I found that dissolved in a bit of hot water and poured over the food, stir into a gravy, works fine for my lab whou would otherwise eat the kibble and leave the fish oil pill behind.
I know someone else already recommended pill pockets. I totally agree. My kitty needs to take a blood pressure pill every day for years and we use pill pockets. He loves his pill time! He thinks he's getting a treat. LOL. I'd say totally try them. Usually animals think it's a treat. Good luck.
When peanut butter and cheese both stopped working I went to liverwurst for a dog on long term meds. That worked fine all the way to the end of life. Sometimes I would be extra nice and give all the other dogs a smidge of it, but mostly they just got a small biscuit.
If the trick stops working, I have a few other tricks that you can try:
1. The pill squished deep into a gob of peanut butter. Artie eats the entire gob in one shot, so the pill is in his belly in seconds.
2. Pill Pockets. They *apparently* taste like chicken. Artie loves 'em. It's a little pocket of "chicken"-flavored goop, you put the pill in the pocket, seal it, and your guy will just suck down the whole pocket, pill included.
works like a charm for dave .... he is so lanky and slithery, throwing one down his throat and then holding his mouth shut was an absolute exercise in futility......
Quote:
Originally Posted by elston
I had a dog who had to take a large anti-biotic pill with meals for a period of days....the peanut butter and the hot dogs couldnt mask the bitter taste...and the dog not only was refusing treats but was so suspicious of dinner....that it had pretty much stopped eating......I got Greenies pill pockets....and instantly solved the problem! They are pretty expensive.....but well worth it. My dog stopped fearing its food and stopped being suspicious of me offering treats. Everything is back to normal.....and normal is all about Love and Trust.
i'm chuckling at the idea of a dog being suspicious of his dinner..... although at the time, i can imagine it was no laughing matter.......
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimboburnsy
I have yet to meet a dog that wouldn't eat a pill so long as it was surrounded by cheese or butter. Placing the pill on the back of my dog's tongue has never worked for me. In spite of my best efforts, he just will not accept having his mouth held shut and seems to have an amazingly dexterous tongue.
yep.... thats davey-long-legs too......
Quote:
Originally Posted by elston
Oh When "little sister" Cricket was getting a daily med....usually in a piece of hot dog...McKenzie had to get "her" medicine (plain piece of hot dog) but when it started holding her real pill she learned to extract the pill and spit it out or test it...then gag.... and spit the whole thing out! That was when the pill pockets came into play. She would "wolf them down" and never caught on.
would have to do the same thing with bailey..... swiped dave's pill through some peanut butter (the dogs have their own jar) and he would scarf the pb and pill right off my finger..... then of course, bailey had to have some.... same drill, just no pill in the peanut butter........
My Layla would sit there with me holding her mouth shut, stroking her throat, lightly tapping her throat - 5 min later when I was convinced she had swallowed, out came the pill. Pill Pockets are amazing. All 3 of my dogs "need" their treat, so one gets his pill in a pocket and I split another one so the other 2 get a treat also. A bit expensive but VERY easy to use.
My dad's dogs both need daily meds for seizures... He puts a little dab of (cold) bacon grease on a piece of bread & pushes the pill inside. It's the only way they'll take it.
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