Thursday, August 02, 2018

Problem Somewhat Solved: How to Get My Dog to Take His Pills

This is one year old Buddy. He doesn't like taking pills.

He recently hurt one of his front paw pads. I took him to our great vet, who gave him some pain medication. Half a pill a day for two weeks and keep him off rough surfaces. The vet said he should like the pill if he takes Sentinel. I laughed.

Buddy takes Sentinel only by force. He hates pills--including "flavored" pills. For awhile I disguised his pills in mashed potatoes, which Buddy loves. He saw through that. Then I tried wrapping them in cheese, which he loves. No more of that.

I went online and got more suggestions. Put it in hotdog pieces. Worked for one day. Then he refused the hotdog pieces.

What has worked is putting some peanut butter on the pill. He still won't eat it, but when I put it down his throat, it sticks there until he swallows it. No more spitting the pill out in flaky pieces when I don't quite get it in far enough because his teeth are sharp on my fingers as he is twisting and retreating.  He even came over and licked my fingers afterward. So, he did like the peanut butter.

As my brother says, quoting from a funny Captain Kirk line, "Another triumph for science!"

4 comments:

MAX Redline said...

Heh. Yes, getting critters medicated can sometimes be tricky. Some can be quite stubborn. Congratulations on finding a solution of sorts.

T. D. said...

I transferred him over to Purina because of your recommendation. Thanks! Also, now he is licking up the pill in peanut butter on the end of a teaspoon. So, it's working better.

MAX Redline said...

Glad things are working well! Our dog's managed to pick up some parasites, so I'm now treating him with Metronidazole, which he of course hates. Doesn't matter to me; when an animal needs medication, they're going to get it. On schedule, every time. I'm sneaky.

Purina's actually pretty good stuff; I use a small amount of their ground chicken and rice canned product (available at many grocery stores) and a larger amount of their veterinary-only EN dry food. That latter is a custom order which requires a prescription, but it's not a big issue to get past.

T. D. said...

Thanks for the tip, Max!