Subscribe RSS
Comment RSSFor a change – I have got a question…
12.05.09 # 18:25 # DONT'S in dog nutrition # 7 CommentsMy dog does not want to swallow the antibiotics he has to take at the moment. In fact – any kind of tablet is a struggle! Even the, apparently, tasty (and therefore rather expensive) ones won’t go down his throat. He is driving me up the wall! I tried literally everything. I even put them into food items I strongly disagree with as dog food – like cheese and cooked meat. I EVEN BOUGHT A MEAT PIE!!!!! Every dog loves meat pies, regardless if they are healthy or not. I guess my dog would love them as well if there wasn’t a tablet hidden inside.
I tried to trick him in every possible way: I put the tablets in in secret, washed my hands afterwards, did not touch the food with my “tablet hands”…
He comes up to me, has a sniff and walks off. You gotta be joking written all over his face.
Anyone out there who has any ideas what I could do?! PLEASE!!!!
This entry was posted by 
My dog was having the same issue so I decided I was in charge and took action. I make hime sit, I pry open his mouth and I shove that pill all the way down his throat. After a while he got more used to it and I always follow it up with a good treat!
Good Luck!
My first comment! Thank you Serena!!!!
What kind of dog do you have? I tried the same with my Staffy (I also believe to be the one in charge
!) and I get it in there, I manage to hold his mouth shut but the moment I let go he runs off and throws the whole thing up again… He behaves like a spoiled child when it comes tablets. I actually told my mum about it and she said that he behaves exactly like me when I was little. She said there was no way, forced, friendly or bribed to make me swallow a tablet. She used the “if you don’t eat this you will die” approach at the end. That, apparently helped – but how do I explain that to my puppy?!
Once you place the tablet in their mouth hold their chin upwards and gently massage the throat to help them swallow. Once they swallow follow up with praise and a treat!
My mother in law is a people nurse and her take on medication (particularly for my nephews) is that if it can go down the throat, it can go in the other way too! Maybe try the tablet as a suppository?
Our dog Buddy was diagnosed with AIHA… so pills have been a recent adventure. Normally they are in with his meal and he’ll gulp them down. But there are days when he says ‘NO WAY’ and the pills are laying on the floor after he has spit them out. I’ve done all the pill down the throat, massaging the throat and guess what there are days where he is very determined to spit them right back at me. Those days…I revert to peanut butter! A glob of peanut butter with a pill placed on it never seems to fail! Those days I think he figures he just deserves a little peanut butter treat! Hope this helps!
My Aussie had allergies and was the same way about pills “No thanks!”, but we managed to give him his pills wrapped up in wonderbread and peanut butter.
Take a piece of white wonder bread and flatten until it looks like dough and is about half a centimeter thick. Then smear a bit of peanut butter on it, put the pill in there and wrap it tightly with the bread so it’s fully covered (you won’t need the full slice). It shouldn’t be big enough that your dog has to chew. Then generously cover it with peanut butter and get your dog excited about the potential treat. I used to get my dog to sit first just like a regular treat. We had no problems with him and pills.
If that doesn’t work, try the treats made to mask pills (can’t remember what they’re called, but they’re shells made out of doggie treats) and if that fails…get your vet to teach you to force the pill down.
Good luck!!
Hi guys! Thanks for all your tips and sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you – so much to do, so little time! But now I’m back!!!!
Well a Staffy is a strong stubborn dog… I decided for the down the throat approach with the help of a friend and a chicken wing afterwards. He ignores me afterwards for a day but at least no worms.