How do I get my finicky old German Shepherd to take her arthritis pills?
Mу dog іѕ аn extremely picky eater. Whеn ѕhе wаѕ younger, ѕhе wουld gobble down аnу needed pills іf thеу wеrе wrapped іn a ball οf cheese οr bread. Nο more. Whаt іdеаѕ dο уου hаνе tο gеt hеr tο take hеr arthritis pills? Peanut butter won’t work еіthеr….ѕhе јυѕt licks іt. I аlѕο tried tο shove pills іntο Libby’s vienna sausage (kind οf lіkе a hot dog), bυt thеѕе mаdе hеr throw up.
Crush them and mix them in a little meat.
put cheese around it like kraft singles and make her swollow it thats what i do =]
Crush the pills and mix them with raw hamburger. Works every time.
my terrior is the same way get some apple sauce an crush the pill into it an mix it together! then let her have the cup of apple sauce!
I’ve never met a dog that wouldn’t take pills in peanut butter. Try giving her a good-sized finger full of peanut butter without the pills. Most dogs do eat it if there’s quite a big amount. Do this a few times.
Then give her one big finger full with the pill. Make sure there’s quite a bit of peanut butter and that it surrounds the pill.
Afterwards, give her another finger full of peanut butter without anything in it.
well my dog takes arthritis pills too and what i do is in the morning with her food i pull apart the capsules and the powder medicine goes over top of her food, then she eats it. but if they are liquid mix it with the water.
Have you tried just putting the pill into her mouth,slideing it to the back of her throat,and holding her mouth closed until she swallows it?.
I do it with my dog all the time.
Just slip the pill into his mouth,slide it back and tilt his head up,making sure to close his nose (makeing sure not to press down on his nose..or else he can’t breath).
And I wait until he swallows it.
That or..you could buy some of those pill treat’s for dog’s. Its a treat with a little hole in it where you can put the pill.
You can give her the pills anally. I never had that problem with my dog, but my grandma figured out that we were putting pills in her food and that was the only way we could get her pills in her. (While she slept)
yum, Libby’s vienna sausage
i had a dog i had to give heart pill twice a day. i would say in a high voice ahh for ma and i opened his mouth and put it in the back of his throat as soon as he swallowed it i would give him a handful of doggie treats. worked like a charm. (at first he didn’t like it but after while he opened his mouth because he knew he would get his cookies)
good luck
My parents had a bichon that was only picky when there was a pill in the middle of whatever we were feeding him. He would suck the peanut butter off and spit the pill out. He could even separate the pill from cheese. The vet told my parents to use canned dog food. He swallowed it whole without even realizing the pill was there. If you don’t feed canned food you can try the raw hamburger suggestion. It should have the same effect.
Bil-Jac Frozen dog food always works for me,or a big spoonful of canned food. Or just put the pill down her throat and follow with a treat.
My labrador takes a tablet every morning, I buy a packet of dolly mixtures, I give him 6 sweets, and because they are soft, I can split 1 and add the pill then squash it back into shape, so he never knows which 1 it’s in!!
I always use a no-nonsense approach to give my dog and cats pills. I simply open their mouths, put the pill in the back of their throat, close their mouths and massage the throat and then give the pet a treat.
The trick is to be calm, confident and quick. I’ve used this method with half-feral cats as well (deworming pills). Half the time, they don’t even know what hit them until it’s all over and done with.
My german shepherd has a urinary problem and just pees on her self without even knowing so give her the pill the vet told us to and we just give it to her she spits it out sometimes but we her make eat it and when she does she gets a treat!
You shove the pill down her throat. Your vet should’ve shown you how to do this properly.
NEVER crush pills or break open capsules unless you have been given your vets permission – many medications have coatings for one or both of 2 reasons:
(1) To prevent it from being released & taking effect before it is in the right part of the digestive system
(2) To prevent the horrible taste putting the dog off.
As for [Specs919] – I hope he takes his vaccinations and KFC and dental injections and cough syrup and aspirin, etc anally. He obviously has NO idea as to how the various parts of the body work.
There are 2 basic techniques:
•• The 3-balls trick:
Buy a dog sausage that is just-sticky-enough to mould (many have far too much water in them and just go slimy when you try to mould them around a pill), and that your dog likes. Make 3 balls of it, each no bigger than a golf ball.
Put the pills into one of them.
Make your dog sit.
Wave one of the empty balls in front of her nose to tease her, then step back and lob it so that she need only open her mouth to catch it. While she is still swallowing it, show her the next 2 and toss her the one with the pills in it then tease her with the third ball so that she swallows the second one quickly.
Doesn’t always work with big, smelly pills.
And won’t work with over-fed pooches.
And [Kelly-O] DIDN’T read your whole message, nor has she met my pooches. Peanut butter is just tolerable, as far as they are concerned. Some can’t be bothered even licking it if I let a tiny bit fall to the floor for them.
•• The no-nonsense technique:
Sit your pet with her back in a corner so that she can’t get away.
Open her mouth (insert a finger just behind her canine fang – press her teeth, not her lips)
Shove the pill past the bulge at the back of her tongue.
Hold her mouth closed then stroke her throat downwards until she swallows.
Pat her & let her go – but watch her!
Two-three minutes later pick up the pill that she discreetly spat out under the overhang of a cupboard or a chair.
Go back to the start and repeat……
My youngest has fantastic control over the root of her tongue – she can catch an antibiotic pill from behind that, and move it into her cheek pouch until she is sure I have stopped watching…. Mind you, she has been on antibiotics twice a year for the last 3 years, thanks to pyometritis.
But the small pills for thyroid stimulation go down in a single ball of dog sausage, no tricks needed.
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Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
“In GSDs” as of 1967
best way I have found is to shove it down his throat as far back as possible then hold the jaws shut till his tongue comes out-