Need help with my dog?

Question

Hi!
I have a dog that needs to take 4 pills a day for health problems. The problem is that she is very picky about food: does not like cream cheese, hot dogs etc. If I wrap it in the peace of ham she will eat the ham and spit the pills out. Today she almost choked on some cream cheese!! I am out of ideas. Please help! She is a big dog (Husky and German Sheppard mix). Thank you.

Answer 1

I had a Rottie once that could pick tiny orange pills out of a giant food bowl of wet and dry. The only way I could get him to take them was to take a big wad of peanut butter, put the pills inside, and then open his mouth and smear it across the roof of his mouth, towards the back. In trying to lick out the peanut butter, he would swallow the pills.

Answer 2

You can try a few things:

1. Compounding Pharmacy! Some medications can be compounded into a flavored liquid (like liver) that you could easily hide in a small amount of canned food. (You just have to make sure she eats all of the canned food.) This is the most expensive option but if you can afford it, it's worth it.

2. Some medications can also be crushed and mixed in with a small amount of wet food. You should check with your vet, though, because not all medications are safe to crush. And then you still have to make sure the dog eats all of the food.

2. If the meds can't be compounded, you can either pill the dog (as others have explained) OR get a pill gun--you can find them at the pet store. They look syringe-like and have a plunger on the end. You stick the pill in the tip of the pill gun, put that end into your dog's mouth, and push the plunger. Then hold your dog's mouth closed and either stroke her throat or blow into her nose (or both) until she swallows the pill. It's a better option if you think your dog might accidentally bite your fingers or if you can't pry your dog's mouth open.

Answer 3

Honestly, I've never dosed any of my dogs with food. I just take the pill, open the dog's mouth, and place the pill towards the back of the tongue. Most of the time the dog will swallow when you let go. THEN I give the reward. That way, the dog does not associate eating the food with the nasty pill. It associates the snack after the pill as a positive.

Answer 4

Actually, I give my dogs pills in a small spoon of cottage cheese. It's been working perfectly for the last 10 years, and I'll go on doing it.
The boys think they are getting a special treat . . . and the pill goes down without a problem.

Answer 5

Perhaps you could put them in warm water and allow them to dissolve, then take an appropriate sized syringe and give them to her with the syringe.

Does she like any soft dog food? Cottage cheese? Yogurt? Possibly mixing them in one of these may entice her??

The more fuss you make about her having to take them, it is possible the higher the likelihood that she will protest. After all, what a good way to get added attention.
She may be manipulating you... dogs are so, so smart :)

Good Luck! ~ C.H.

Answer 6

I don't use food to give pills to often. Normally I just open the dogs mouth, put the pill as far back as I can, hold their mouth closed, and then blow on their nose. Blowing on there nose will get them to lick, and when the lick they swallow. After that I give them a treat.

Answer 7

Try a cube of liver pate - it will hide the pills well, and I have yet to see a dog that will resist liver pate.

If those pills can be crushed, that would help, so she can't spit them out. The powder would also adhear well to the pate ... but be careful, some pills should not be split or crushed - please ask your vet.

Good luck,
Christina

Answer 8

As someone else said, she is a big dog it takes a matter of seconds to open the mouth pop a pill in stroke the throat to encourage her to swallow and its done..

Answer 9

Have someone hold her mouth open while you put the pills as far down the throat as you can. If you get it back there enough they stay down. You can even hold the mouth shut long enough so they have to swallow.

Answer 10

smash the pill up -
put it on a peice of peanut butter bread -

this is how i give all my dogs their pills i

since he has four - you could probally do 1/4th peiece of bread and fold it in half after youve put peanut butter and the medicine on it that way the medicine is between the two sides of peanut butter