I thought this was going to be easy!

[Uabassoon]

So, I've read all those jokes about trying to give a cat a pill and how hard it's supposed to be and that dogs are so easy to pill. Those jokes are wrong!

I've never had much of a problem with my two, or when I've had to give pills to Alexa's cats. Never a problem! Now Dewey that is a whole different story! Both Alexa and I had the worst time trying to give him his medicine. I thought "oh.. just stick it in a treat or some peanut butter". The trick doesn't work when puppy has a lack of appetite! Alexa gave up on trying to give him his morning pill. Well she gave up after he finally did swallow it, then to mock Alexa he coughed it back up!

I went after work and spent 30 minutes trying to give him his pill! Plus he's little and he can hide! And now it's only a few more hours before we get to attempt this again.

Don't worry I'm not really that frustrated (although I think Alexa is :) ) I'm just really amused by this.

[LKPike]

we usually hide Jillians pheno in dog cookie or peanut butter, and we give Frankie some too so theyll swallow it quick out of jealousy.

when Frankie was on medication for his last uti we had to hold him down, lift his head back, drop the pill on the back of his tounge and hold his mouth closed until he swallows. [sometimes helps to rub the throat too :)]


If hes vomiting(?), do you have the option of using a rectal? I dont know what its called :o rudely - a pill by the bum.

[Uabassoon]

I tried pushing the pill back and holding up his head until he swallows because that's how I pill the cats. But maybe I'm doing it wrong or something because he still manages to spit it out when I let go of him! He hasn't vomited at all except for that one time when he spit up after Alexa tried to give him the pill. I'm sure with time we'll get better! I'm going to try buying some hotdogs and see if maybe that will work.

[LKPike]

lol hot dogs solve everything from booboo's to hurt feelings ;)

but if hes still spitting it out then your not holding his mouth closed long enough :) some puppers are just so stubborn. cooperate with your mommys Dewey!

[Luvin Labs]

LOL

we tried and succeeded with using a slice of cheese.

almost failed once since he spit it out, but he ended up eating cheese and pill in all!

[Ginger's Mom]

I was never good at holding the head back and rubbing the throat thing either. My RB girl was almost impossible to give a pill to. Hot dogs did work with her, untli she figured it out. The she stopped eating hot dogs, even when there was nothing in them. Peanut Butter does work pretty good with Ginger. But if that doesn't work, try cream cheese. I had a foster dog that had to take a pill every morning. My coordinator suggested cream cheese, stating that she never met a dog that didn't like it. It worked like a charm for the whole six weeks she was here. :) Good luck to you.

[lizbud]

Brauschweiger is a sure thing for me in getting a reluctant
dog to take a pill. They love that liver smell.:D Velvetta cheese
works pretty good too.:D

[cali]

lol when Happy needed anti-biotics after she ripped her nail out(it was infected) the only way I could get her to take the thing was by forcing it down her throat, she is too smart and got around every trick in the book, I gave up after I broke up a hot dog, hid the pill in one of them, pluged the hole back up so that not even I could tell which had the pill, I mixed them up and randomly handed her peices of hot dog, when I handed her the one with the pill she took it in her mouth, gentaly squeezed it till the pill popped out then ate the hot dog and left! :eek: that was the last straw and I quite trying to fool her, and just placed it at the back of her tounge held her mouth shut and up and stroked her throat till she swallowed it, that usually took a while lol I would be sitting there sometimes for 5 minuts stroking her throat :rolleyes:

[anna_66]

Oh yes how fun it is pilling a puppy:p Have you tried the cheese? That seems to work pretty well most of the time.
And I'm sure after a while you'll get pretty good at popping it in, just take a litte practice;)

[PJ's Mom]

LOL

I love it when you think the pill is down and 5 minutes later you hear a little "eck" and it's on the floor. :D

[Vette]

I had to learn how to make my dog sawllow lots of pills when he almost died on me. he had the dog version of AIDS.. where his body quit making enough red blood cells.. and the only thing that ould be done to save his butt was to put him on some kind of steroid pill. :eek: im just so glad my little fuzbucket came out of it... the vet didnt give too good of odds... he said 50% of a chance he could come back.. and 50% he could go the other way...


but anyway,, i had to give him one pill every 5 hours or something like that the first week. at first it was real easy because he was so weak.. but once he started to feel better he was a nightmare to give the medication too...

you know where their main chewing teeth are,, those really big oddball shaped teeth way in the back of their mouths? well what you do is open their mouth up wide,, and you lay your palm on the dogs head,, and you press in gently his cheeks,, so if he trys to bite down he cant.. and you gently cram the pill in the back of his throat. remove your fingers off his cheeks and close his jaws and rub his throat...

that was kinda hard to explain.. so i hope it made sense. :o

[NoahsMommy]

Wait...a dog is harder than a cat?? Really??

You haven't met Basil... ;)

Dewey....now, you take those pills, honey!! No more coughing them back up or hiding!

[Bigyummydog]

MAXIMUS is pretty easy to pill, even when he was so sick last month.....he had to take six or seven pills twice a day...i have a few cans of dog food just for pills....he'll eat almost anything from a spoon...i just poke a pill in a scoop of food, and he eats it........peanut butter works pretty well too....anyway, good luck :p

and DEWEY, com'on, quit givin' evrbudy such a hard time...;)

[Sevens]

What's working for me right now is cheap American sliced cheese. Guinness has to take quite a few Benadryl for his allergies. Also chicken nuggets work well too.

Another thing I've noticed is that sometimes he won't take it if "he's the only one". Sometimes I have to cut the cheese slice into four little pieces, then hide the pills in one of the pieces (he doesn't see me do this part), then eat a piece while he's watching. Then I guess he thinks it's safe for him to eat. How I love being the food taster for the king! :rolleyes: :D Actually, I hate it, cause that cheese is icky, but gotta do what I gotta do...

Perhaps you could try those meaty pill pockets? I think I've seen them at Petsmart. Good luck!:D

[IRescue452]

I have a sneaky solution that may work for your dogs. Our dogs catch treats thrown to them in the air so why not a pill. I throw half a treat, then the pill which they catch and swallow before they know what it is, then the other half of the treat. They never know!

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by IRescue452
I have a sneaky solution that may work for your dogs. Our dogs catch treats thrown to them in the air so why not a pill. I throw half a treat, then the pill which they catch and swallow before they know what it is, then the other half of the treat. They never know!

You are so lucky! Peej has to wait until the treat hits the floor, sniff it, lick it, then if it's worthy, he'll eat it. :rolleyes: That trick would never work with him.

[finn's mom]

I wish I could give you different advice. When I was caring for two senior pets (both teens), a dog and a cat (Bruno and Dusty), I was the pill master. ;) But, they were so easy! I had a pill plunger for Dusty and Bruno would eat his pills out of cheese. Finn hasn't had to have any pills, yet, but, I don't imagine he'll be really difficult. As he will literally eat anything out of my hand. :)

[Cinder & Smoke]

.
"Pilling" the Dawg is almost the same as Pillin da KAT -
except the TEETH are Bigger and the JAW *SNAPS* shut with more force!

Problem with most Kats & Dawgs is when you open their jaws,
that darn TONGUE tends to fall back and fill up the back of their mouth
and the top of their throat - so "Tossing" a pill in there puts the pill ON
top of the tougue rather than DOWN the throat. - Not good.

SmokeMutt is EEzee to "pill" ~
I call him over with "Hey Smoke - PILL TIME" and he trotts over and <SITs>
at my feet and sort of "hands" me his head.
Left hand rests on his forehead with thumb & finger <opening> his mouth;
Right hand has pill between first & middle fingers -
3rd & 4th fingers give a lil <push> down on his lower jaw;
then it's *IN* with the pill -
gently pushing DOWN on the tongue and sliding the pill back over
the tongue.
He says "*Gaaaaaak*" as I withdraw my fingers, I <close>
his jaws and, if he doesn't <swallow> right away, give him a lil throat "rub".
*GULP* and it's over with!

New-Comer BOWSER gets the same every-other-day Glucosamine pill ...
But he "resists" ...

Techinque WAS the same as with Smokey ... except HIDE the pill hand
from view to avoid the "catch me if you can" game.

Getting him to <open up> and then sliding the pill *IN* was not much
of a problem (he did "fight" with his tongue a bit more) -
but we got the pill into position without TOO much difficulty.

The big PROBLEM was getting my FINNERS <OUT> in one piece!
Seems when I'd let go of the pill and begin to withdraw my finners;
Bowzie took that as his signal to :eek: *SNAP* SHUT!

Then, with me tied up counting & nursing "pinched finners",
HE had the opportunity to "work" with his tongue and often managed
to >spit< a now very soggy Capsule back out! :mad:

The "solution" came one day when he wandered into the baffroom
just as I was "Pillin da KAT" with his daily urine acidifier pill.
*BOING* went the lil Bell in my head!!

WHY NOT??

I loaded a Glucosamine cap into Boots' Pill Shooter
"Hey Bowz ~ Step over here for a minute!"

A firm grip on his upper jaw;
a lil push down on the lower one ... nice target ...
Ready ... Aim ... *FIRE*!

**SNAP** ~ *GULP* and it was DOWN da Hatch!! :D

I felt the Pill Shooter <Take a HIT< from his front teeth;
but it didn't hurt (ME) a bit!!

Soooo ... Here's the Pill Shooter Story >>>


Originally posted by Cinder & Smoke

How to *PILL da Kat* reference materials >>>
Substitute "DAWG" where you see "KAT" below. :p

Firstly ~
NO Self-Respektin KAT will "knowlingly" consume Medications -
when "hidden" in treats or food -
no matter HOW *tastey* the treat or food may be!

Here's Dad's Oft-Repeated "How to Pill da Kat" article >>

Here's a good article on How to PILL da Kat ~
with minimal loss of blood...

How to PILL the Kat article (http://www.hsus2.org/international/library/eng_ht_pill_cat.html)

And we'll repeat *our* method ~
Get youselves a Pill Shooter!

They are *cheap* - less than $5.00 US;
should be availabe in any Pet Store - US and elsewhere:
cause little *stress* to either Kitty OR the Human;
almost Guarantee a successful *pilling* on the first *shot* :p

Here's a poor picture of ours - all soft plastic and made by
"Four Paws".

Pix - "Four Paws Pill Dispenser" (http://www.petdiscounters.com/dog/health/nutritional/fp_pill_dispenser.html)

Dad *loves* it; Boots tolerates it;
and there hasn't been a lost or spit-out pill in years! :cool:

Y'all really Otta Get One!!

WHERE to get a Pill Shooter?
Almost ALL Pet Shops sell them...
Usually less than $5.00 gets you a reasonably good Plastic one.

Your VET may have a loaner; but you might as well buy your own.
And you do NOT need a fancy Chrome-Plated "Vet model" your Vet
may offer to SELL you!
The Pet Shop "cheepie" works just as well!

To get meds on-board over the weekend - if the
"Using your Fingers" method in the article above doesn't work ~

Get a STRAW - plain ole Drinking Straw - semi-large diameter -
(thick milk-shake size)...

Insert pill in one end of Straw ...
Take deep breath and secure Kat ...
Insert Opposite end in your mouth ...

Open Kat's mouth with methods from above articles...
Insert KAT End of straw over Kat tongue at back of throat...

*BLOW* through YOUR end of straw -
NOTE! Important! **BLOW** ~ (Do NOT *:eek: *suck*!!)

"Verify" Pill came OUT (in KAT) -
before re-inserting straw in your milk-shake!


Hope this Helps!

/s/ Phred
..

[KYS]

I had to brag on how easy it is to give ROcky a pill.
His throat is so wide I can practially fit my fist down it.
So needless to say puting a pill down his throat is
soooo easy. :p

Sheba is pretty easy too, but if the pill is to big,
I have to put it in a piece of hot dog, or
mash it up in her food with some great tasting
meat juice.