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Best Practices: Pilling a dog?

Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
in All Saints
All right folks, Snoopy has figured out (at the worst possible time) that the treats she loves have pills in them. Right when she needs freaking FIVE pills a day to help her recover from some sort of digestive crisis (ulcers, we don't know yet). And sneaking them to her in a spoonful of ... anything, isn't working, for the same reason. She's grown suspicious of ALL treats, including pizza (Yeah, I know) taken straight from my plate.

My only other option that I'm aware of is the one I've been using with great dislike: opening her clenched jaws and putting the pill as far back on her tongue as I can possibly get it, closing her mouth, and gently blowing on her nose. This was what the vets recommended.

I'm wondering if anyone else has insights. We want her to start eating again, and being automatically suspicious of all food is NOT a good habit to be starting. I'm considering going straight for the open pill down the hatch method for a few days, just to get her past the food suspicion...

Comments

  • ArethosemyfeetArethosemyfeet Shipmate, Heaven Host
    In the mouth, hold chin up and gently rub throat was the last resort I was taught.
  • Lily PadLily Pad Shipmate
    Mine takes her treats in a little bit of a cheese slice. Whatever you use to bribe has the risk of becoming negative for her, like the pizza has.

    If you do try forcing it, coat the pill in something to help it slip down. Butter? Cheese whiz?

    Oh, one more trick I've used is to have three high value treats, put the pill in one and hold them so she can see all three. Feed them one at a time. That way, the treat goes down as the dog anticipates the next treat. Make it something she knows is good so she wants the next ones. This works remarkably well with blueberries for my dog.

    I wish you luck. It is not easy.
  • Stercus TauriStercus Tauri Shipmate
    edited April 26
    I've never tried it, but have heard it said that if you hold the pill right in front of the mouth and then clap a handful of ice cubes to the other end, the resulting gasp will cause the beast to suck it in. I have no idea if it really works, but would be interested to know.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Have you tried a pill-popper? It’s a little plunger you can use to shoot the pill to the back of her mouth/into her throat. Amazon has them, and they’re not expensive. And they have ends you can switch out for different sized pills.

    And when you do need to force her mouth open, do it by squeezing on the sides of her jaw instead of trying to pull it open.

    One other thought—ask your vet if pills can be crushed, or if capsules can be pulled apart. Sometimes it’s okay to do that and sometimes it’s not. If you can do that, then mixing the ground-up pill in some wet food might hide it better.


  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    I put it in little chunks of sausage. Three or four pill-free pieces to each pill laden one. 🐾🙂
  • DoublethinkDoublethink Admin, 8th Day Host
    For my cat, I wrap the pills in a putty called easypill, and then he believes he is getting an extra cat treat. I believe there is a dog version. He seems to just find easypill very tasty.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    edited April 26
    Nick Tamen wrote: »
    One other thought—ask your vet if pills can be crushed, or if capsules can be pulled apart. Sometimes it’s okay to do that and sometimes it’s not. If you can do that, then mixing the ground-up pill in some wet food might hide it better.
    One other thing I’ve done if the pill can be crushed or the capsule can be opened is to mix the powder with enough water to make a little slurry and then use an oral syringe to squirt it in the dog’s mouth. If you gently press the end of the syringe against the side of the dog’s mouth, she’ll generally open her mouth enough for you to squirt it toward the back of her tongue, then her tongue can take care of the rest.

    Crushing pills might not be an option for you. It wasn’t for us when we were dealing with things in the digestive tract, since the meds needed to get through the stomach intact. But it never hurts to ask.


  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    Thank you—if there are more ideas. Keep them coming! Mr Lamb says she ate the whole inside of a Vietnanese banh bao this morning!!!!! I am astonished. I have told everybody that I’m the designated villain = pill-giver) going forward, so that she will hopefully trust food given by the other two people.
  • Jane RJane R Shipmate
    Hiding the pill inside giant lumps of cheese works for us. She knows it's there, of course, but she loves cheese so much she wags her tail when she sees the pills because she knows what's coming with them.
  • Graven ImageGraven Image Shipmate
    Frito Bean dip is Molly's pill delivery method of choice. Now I just say pill time, and she comes on a run. I put the pill in a blob of dip on my finger, and she licks it off.
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