Giving Medication to Pets

Getting Dogs To Swallow Pills

My dog Gracie weighs about 20 pounds and has to take a small pill twice a day, every day. I just press it into a miniature marshmallow (being sure the pill is totally covered) and it becomes a treat! When she had to take antibiotics recently, I pressed two minis around the capsule for better coverage. Much easier and neater than peanut butter, cheese, etc.

By Sue from Birmingham, AL

Giving Pills to Pets

To make giving your pet pills easier, dissolve the pill in water and use a medical syringe (a plunger with measurements on it) to squirt in their mouth.

By Lee from Waterford, WI

Scheduling Dog Meds On Calendar

I mark everything on my calender. When my pets' flea med is due, I mark it down. I do the same with meds such as heart worm med, I put a little heart on the calender.

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Dog Recovering From Accident

One of our darling pets is recovering from an accident. He was run over by a car trying to get to one of my children across the street, who accidentally called him back when he was already across the street. Mindlessly, he obeyed her, without looking once for cars.

We took Bruno to the vet right away. He was sedated and x-rayed, and trimmed and cleaned. He was put on medications for pain and antibiotics. He was very sore. That was about a week ago. He is so much better now, but still does and will always now walk sideways sometimes.

It seems as if he got semi-addicted to the Rimadyl he was on for pain. He still thinks he is getting them. I have to give him food when he asks for his medicine. He won't stop barking when he hears the word "meds". He now asks for them, two times a day, and now that he isn't doped up from the medicine, he makes quite a racket about it.

I have to announce my oldest daughter's med times so she will bring me her medications (she is 21). Bruno thinks I am taking about his medicine - it is really quite funny. He gets this bright look of anticipation in his eyes, waiting for bread or a chicken nugget. Bruno is doing better, able to walk and jump off the bed. He has such a stubborn heart and mind and that is what got him through this. The Lord gave him a hard head.

We are thankful that there were no broken bones and no internal injuries. We are blessed indeed. The vet said that he is in really good shape. I credit it to the Pedigree he is eating.

I feed them Pedigree because they do so well with it, and it is good for them. I wish I could afford Pro Plan or Authority. I think I am going to save up and get a small bag of one of those, and use it for treats for them.

By Robyn from Tri-Cities, TN

Easy Way to Give Your Dog a Pill

One of my dogs takes a daily medication, and both are on flea and heartworm preventatives. Every time it was a struggle to get them to take their medicine until my husband had an idea. We insert the pills in a small piece of leftover or inexpensive cooked ground meat or tinned meat product. Then we "frost" the top with a half-teaspoon of chunky peanut butter. The dogs can't tell the difference between the peanuts and the pills, so they gobble it all down without a fuss.

Source: My husband.

By Ziggi from San Diego, CA

Sugar Babies For Disguising Pills

I give my dog, Montegut, his heart pill by putting it in a small piece of Sugar Babies candy. This candy does not have chocolate in it which I know dogs can't have. He loves this candy. You can buy a small package at most grocery store check-out counters.

By Jerry from Metairie, LA

Canned Food "Pill Pocket"

Our dog is pretty tricky to give pills to. The last time that she needed to be given pills she also happened to be on a prescription canned food. The canned food that she was given was very solid in texture so it could be sliced into chucks with a butter knife. When it was time for her pill we would take a chunk of the food and using a straw we poked a hole into it. Then we would push the pill into the hole and put the "pill pocket" into her bowl along with her other food or toss it to her like a treat. It masked the pill really well and the pill didn't fall out.

If your canned food isn't quite that solid I am sure that you could still successfully hide the pill in it. Especially if your dog doesn't normally eat canned food. Since our dogs don't usually get canned food they see it as a treat and wolf it down so the pill would never be noticed. :)

Giving Medication to Pets

I take hot dogs or sausage and cut them into bite sizes for my Wirehair Terrier. When she was a puppy, I gave her those as treats when she was learning new tricks. I take the bite sized pieces and insert the pills, then I give them to her with a couple that aren't medication. I've been doing this for 10 years without any problems. Cheese and peanut butter didn't work with her!

By Jesse from Kelseyville, CA

Giving Medication To Pets

Giving pills or meds to pets is so very easy if you just use the right method. I take the pill (if it's a large one I use a pill splitter and cut it up small) and a bite-size piece of their favorite people food. People food is always a special treat for pets since they only very rarely get it. I use either cheese or meat (cooked preferably or raw); "smish" the pill into the cheese or meat and just offer it to them. They gobble it right up, pill and all.

If it's a capsule and they do manage to keep spitting it back out while still eating the treat, I simply open up the capsule and sprinkle it into another piece of treat and "mish" it all together. No spitting out this time! If they've figured the trick out and refuse to eat it the second time around, just put it in the fridge for 10 minutes and offer it again. They'll have forgotten it by this time and will definitely gobble it down. I use this same method with my cat, too.

For smaller pets such as pet rodents, I take away all of their food for no more than 2-3 hours. This will leave them plenty hungry. Then I dissolve the med in water or any liquid they happen to really love and mix it in with just enough food for just a few bites. Once they've eaten this all up, then I refill their food dishes with whatever is normally in it.

For birds, now that's when I ask the vet for the best method. They can be a lot harder to give meds to. And any type of amphibian or snake or lizard, again, I would ask the vet on those.

By Cricket from Parkton, NC

Getting Pets to Swallow Pills

Do you find it difficult to get your cat or dog to swallow a pill when they need to take medication? Put a small amount of butter or margarine on the pill. After putting it in your pet's mouth, rub his throat and blow air into his nose, this helps the pill go down much easier.

By Arle12 from Petersburg, IN