Tips for Giving Medications
Giving your dog a tablet can become fairly difficult, particularly if your dog is less of the Labrador-eat-anything type and more discerning about what they put in their mouths. Given that dogs can smell a fingerprint on a pane of glass 6 weeks after it was made, it is no wonder they can sniff out a tablet a mile off. They do however have ⅙ of the taste sensitivity of humans, so working on hiding that smell is the key here.
The following tips and tricks are based on what I’ve found works for the many clients I’ve helped with medicating their pets. Intrinsically some medications are more bitter, like trazodone or strong-smelling like fluoxetine and therefore harder to disguise.
And if these tips do not help, there are many ways of compounding medications, such as flavoured liquids or chews and some can be made into a transdermal paste that can simply be rubbed onto the ear. Many medications also come in a capsule or flavoured form as well, so you can always check if you can switch medications.
Giving your dog a tablet can become fairly difficult, particularly if your dog is less of the Labrador-eat-anything type and more discerning about what they put in their mouths. Given that dogs can smell a fingerprint on a pane of glass 6 weeks after it was made, it is no wonder they can sniff out a tablet a mile off. They do however have ⅙ of the taste sensitivity of humans, so working on hiding that smell is the key here.
The following tips and tricks are based on what I’ve found works for the many clients I’ve helped with medicating their pets. Intrinsically some medications are more bitter, like trazodone or strong-smelling like fluoxetine and therefore harder to disguise.
And if these tips do not help, there are many ways of compounding medications, such as flavoured liquids or chews and some can be made into a transdermal paste that can simply be rubbed onto the ear. Many medications also come in a capsule or flavoured form as well, so you can always check if you can switch medications.
- Given dogs are pretty suspicious sometimes, opening the pill packet or bottle away from your dog and getting everything ready out of sight can help with the whole process. Often they are tipped off that you are up to something and primed to sniff out your deviousness. Wash your hands well after handling the tablet and before attempting to medicate your dog.
- BBQ chicken (just the meat part) can be a great option for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Simply buy the chook and pull all the meat off (avoiding the fatty skin), then make a small slice in a good-sized piece and put the tablet inside. Save the rest in the fridge for 3 days or freeze in zip-lock bags.
- Make up a series of biscuit-dough balls using liver paste, peanut butter or anchovette. These can be made in bulk by adding a little flour to the paste until you have a firmish consistency that can be rolled into balls. Store these in the fridge for 3 days or freezer for longer. The key when later adding the tablet is to avoid getting any of the tablet residue on the outside. Make sure you wait until the last minute to add the tablet, as some medications are not stable once added to things.
- If your dog likes to hang around while you are cooking or eating, have the tablet (disguised in something like BBQ chicken or one of the options above) ready to go. Drop a piece of non-tampered with chicken, then in quick succession the tablet-containing-chicken, then another piece. Some dogs will eat forbidden human foods like this so quickly they won’t even stop to smell or taste it.
- Similar to this idea, use a strong cheddar to hide the tablet, using a ‘biscuit crumb’ of liver treats or a ground up treat that your dog loves. Ask your dog to sit, then administer the disguised tablet alongside a few other treats. This often works well if you give the medication somewhere where you might do training, rather than the area associated with giving nasty medications.
- Teach your dog to catch treats by throwing them. This is often fun, as well as a sneaky way of later giving medications without your dog noticing. Catching something usually involves it going down pretty quickly without stopping to sniff it first.
- Use one of the dog rolls or loafs you can buy from the supermarket. They seem to be very tasty and will hide medications very well. Prime 100 have various different types for dogs prone to food allergies or pancreatitis.
- If you need to give multiple medications, you can buy empty gelatin capsules to place the medications inside. You can even buy flavoured ones! Size 000 is the biggest and is 26mm long, while size 5 is the smallest at 11mm long.
- Take your dog's medication along with some treats on a walk. Dogs are often so distracted by the smells on walks they will eat anything.
- Peanut butter, sardines, cat food, cream cheese, butter and human foods are other great ways to disguise medications. Even better if you pretend to eat it first, then offer your dog some (or pretend to drop it).
- If you have a second dog, hold out a treat for both of them (one has the medication inside for the correct dog), a bit of competition will sometimes encourage pets to eat quickly. Just be careful if your dog gets grumpy with other dogs around high value foods.
- Use a pill popper. The rubber tips are split, so you can hold the tablet steady. With your body behind your dogs, so he can’t back away from you, hold the top jaw and tip your dog’s head back. The power of physics means when your dog’s head is back, their bottom jaw will open (saving you the trouble of prying it open), you can then use the pill popper to push the tablet right to the back of the mouth, over the bump of the tongue. Then quickly follow this with a treat or your dog’s meal.