Have you ever had trouble giving you dog, or cat, medication in a pill form? There are many methods of going about this process.
The best bet is putting the medication in the animals food. That is if the pet is not sensitive to certain types of foods or has any food allergies of some sort. The pill can be placed in canned food, peanut butter, or cheese. This enables an individual to hide the medication so the animal does not know its sitting right in front of them. Very rarely does a dog, or a cat, take the medication right out of someone’s hand. Don’t forget, several medications that are dispensed have a bad taste and smell to them resulting in the animal not being interested. They need something tasty to distract them. Another great method is “Pill Pockets”. These can be found in a pet store or at a local veterinary office. They are meat flavored treats that have a hole in them so a pill can be placed in the middle. Once the pill is placed in the treat, the rest of the treat can mold to the pill. In most cases, the animal thinks they are receiving a treat and have no idea that the medication is even there. There are pill pockets for both dogs and cats. Also varying on the size of the medication, whether it would be tablets or capsules, the pill pockets come in different sizes. They also come in different flavors as well. It says it right on the package. Pill pockets are used in many animal hospitals as well.
Now, if the dog, or cat, is being stubborn and eats the treat and leaves the medication off to the side, another method needs to be used. The animal was prescribed the medication for a reason so it’s very important for them to take it. This would lead us to the “Pill Popper”. A pill popper can be purchased at a local veterinary hospital or a pet store. The purpose of a pill popper is to make sure the animal gets the medication without biting the individuals fingers off. So instead of putting the pill in the animals mouth, with the chance of getting bitten, the pill popper can be used and all the individual has to do is tilt the animals head back and gently put his/her fingers behind the canines and pull up. Then the pill popper can be gently placed in the back of the pets mouth. Once that’s done, the plunger can be pushed on the pill popper. This will release the medication into the animals mouth. After that, the individual needs to hold the animals mouth shut and massage the throat until the animal swallows or licks its mouth. That way you know that the animal received the medication without spitting it out. If this process is chosen, the individual has to make sure that he/she is gentle. If there are any issues or lack of confidence during this process, a veterinarian can always be helpful.
When a dog, or a cat, is sent home with medication, never crush up the pill unless it was directed by a veterinarian. Sometimes the medication will not have its full effect if its crushed up.
