I learned something new last week. My very sick dog, Jules, would not take his pills. He had 9 pills to take twice a day. He took them well at first with pill pockets, or wrapped in rotisserie chicken. Then he accidentally bit into one and it was all over. He would not even eat the chicken as a treat. “Tricked once and you don’t get no more chances!!!! “ I tried stuffing the pills down his throat and he turned ‘cat’ on me. He held the pills in the back of the throat (yes I pried his mouth open to see) until I was finished stuffing them and then shook his head and slung them across the room.
I gave up. Since he had to be at the animal hospital during the day anyway I just got the staff there to deal with his sweet little Highness! To my surprise they told me they had no trouble at all with him. How could that be?!? What magic touch did they have that I did not? All of the sudden I felt very small and insignificant. How was I able not give this dog his medicine?
It turned out to be very simple:
- Do not let your dog see you wrap the pill in a treat and then give it to him, then wrap the next pill and give that to him, wrap another …. And so on. He has too much time to think about it in between and realize that he smells a rat in Denmark. If, heaven forbid, he then also bites down on a pill, it is all over. He won’t even eat a ‘clean’ treat anymore.
- Do wrap all the pills into a pill pocket or other treat of your or your dog’s preference and put them in a little bowl or plate. Then give them to your dog one right after the other in rapid succession before he has time to think about it. Since he was tricked before you may have to give him the first treat ‘empty’ so he can chew on it and NOT find a bitter pill. SUCCESS! Down the hatch without a problem. He just thinks about the next treat and inhales them all without having time to chew on them and finding the pill.
And that’s how you give a dog his medication.
I gave up. Since he had to be at the animal hospital during the day anyway I just got the staff there to deal with his sweet little Highness! To my surprise they told me they had no trouble at all with him. How could that be?!? What magic touch did they have that I did not? All of the sudden I felt very small and insignificant. How was I able not give this dog his medicine?
It turned out to be very simple:
- Do not let your dog see you wrap the pill in a treat and then give it to him, then wrap the next pill and give that to him, wrap another …. And so on. He has too much time to think about it in between and realize that he smells a rat in Denmark. If, heaven forbid, he then also bites down on a pill, it is all over. He won’t even eat a ‘clean’ treat anymore.
- Do wrap all the pills into a pill pocket or other treat of your or your dog’s preference and put them in a little bowl or plate. Then give them to your dog one right after the other in rapid succession before he has time to think about it. Since he was tricked before you may have to give him the first treat ‘empty’ so he can chew on it and NOT find a bitter pill. SUCCESS! Down the hatch without a problem. He just thinks about the next treat and inhales them all without having time to chew on them and finding the pill.
And that’s how you give a dog his medication.
