Tablet time...how do you do it?

pulliptears

Jack is currently being exceptionally stubborn. The combination of vitamins, herbal pills and antibiotics he takes of an evening now numbers 15 and getting them in him is currently a struggle.

We started with Tesco Value Chicken. Good lord this stuff stinks to high heaven but he loved it and we could wrap the pills in it. After a month or so he bagan to refuse that so we turned to turkey. Again this worked for a few weeks when he bagan to turn up his nose again so we resorted to Value Ham. All good until this last few days when he's decided he wont have any of the above.

I've tried corned beef in the past but its too crumbly, this morning I managed to get an antibiotic in him with a bit of buttered bread but I'm dreading tonights battle. I've even bought him some Marmite as I was assured you cant go wrong with Marmite.....seems I can

So ladies (and gents) any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated because I dont want to have to resort to the open mouth and throw down throat method!!

vicx

I know exactly how you feel. My King Charles who I lost 5 month ago was on 5 lots of medication 2 - 3 times per day for two year. Luckily she was far from a fussy eater and would never turn her nose up to anything. The only food I found that she wouldn't eat was banana's!

Like you, I always put her tablets in cooked meat, turkey, chicken, ham, cheese, tuna or even a little bit wet dog food before I put her meal down to make sure her tablets went down. She would often spit them back out so I tried mixing them in with her meal (wet food) and she somehow managed to lick the bowl clean and leave the tablets even though they were mixed in with her food.

She knew what I was doing so would given me a funny look and walk away. She always made me feel guilty.

pulliptears

vicx wrote: »

I know exactly how you feel. My King Charles who I lost 5 month ago was on 5 lots of medication 2 - 3 times per day for two year. Luckily she was far from a fussy eater and would never turn her nose up to anything. The only food I found that she wouldn't eat was banana's!

Like you, I always put her tablets in cooked meat, turkey, chicken, ham, cheese, tuna or even a little bit wet dog food before I put her meal down to make sure her tablets went down. She would often spit them back out so I tried mixing them in with her meal (wet food) and she somehow managed to lick the bowl clean and leave the tablets even though they were mixed in with her food.

She knew what I was doing so would given me a funny look and walk away. She always made me feel guilty.

If i give him a piece of cooked meat now he unrolls it to see if there is anything inside it! Crafty little sod he is.

I've thought of crushing them in his food but he can be fussy, some days he wont eat all of his meal so I cant guarantee all of the pills going down. I'm at a bit of a loss now.

Clever dogs aren't they?

nonnatus

I crush them a little and mix them into liver and bacon "pate" (its the smooth stuff that comes in a fat sausage shape, normally found by the chilled sandwich fillings in a supermarket.)

It smells to high heavens but does the trick here

antw23uk

Cheap and cheerful smooth pate worked a treat for my neighbour and her old cat.
Personally im excellent at doing the tablets, my boys dont stand a chance :rotfl:

lionheartedgirl

crunchy peanut butter works a treat here - it has a bit of texture so obviously that could be a nut or a tablet

I spoon a bit out, but my boy won't eat it off the spoon - however he will happily lick it off my fingers.

also rolling bread into a really tight ball with a tablet inside has worked for a while. they do get wise don't they - but the peanut butter method is fail safe, for us at least

Might need to go easy for delicate tummies though, maybe try it once and see how it goes? It has quite a high fat content as well so maybe not the thing to be giving them by the bucket load

vicx

nonnatus wrote: »

I crush them a little and mix them into liver and bacon "pate" (its the smooth stuff that comes in a fat sausage shape, normally found by the chilled sandwich fillings in a supermarket.)

It smells to high heavens but does the trick here

Oh I wouldn't recommend feeding dogs liver daily to get the medication down. Liver gives dogs the runs

vicx

pulliptears wrote: »

If i give him a piece of cooked meat now he unrolls it to see if there is anything inside it! Crafty little sod he is.

I've thought of crushing them in his food but he can be fussy, some days he wont eat all of his meal so I cant guarantee all of the pills going down. I'm at a bit of a loss now.

Clever dogs aren't they?

Unless Jack is as fussy as my two Yorkie pups it might be best to put a little bit of food in his bowl with the tablets mixed in and maybe chicken or turkey. You can be sure his tablets have gone down so can put the rest of his meal down. That's what I had to do with my King Charles as she always ate her meal and left the tablets, I think she done it so she would get more food or treats to get the tablets down

antw23uk

My old collie, fly, would eat them like treats. I would do some obedience commands with her and gradually get more and more excited when rewarding her with a treat and then when rewarding for an exceptionally quick 'sit' or 'down' she would get the pill ... Worked every time

pulliptears

Thanks guys, some great tips here! I have peanut butter in the cupboard so Ill give that a go, also have some horrible beef paste as well so I can give that a try should other methods fail.

The peanut butter actually could be helpful as I'm trying to fatten him up a bit at the moment so the extra carbs could be a good thing! I shall report back after tablet time this evening... I'm also planning on giving him the pills earlier so he doesnt associate pill time before bed. I may also spread things like his zinc and vitamins over the day as well.

I shall win this battle! lol

vicx

antw23uk wrote: »

My old collie, fly, would eat them like treats. I would do some obedience commands with her and gradually get more and more excited when rewarding her with a treat and then when rewarding for an exceptionally quick 'sit' or 'down' she would get the pill ... Worked every time

Which medication was your Collie on, was it Vetmedin?

My King Charles was on Vetmedin and they were the 'flavour' ones which the vet said dogs usually eat as treats without being hidden in food but not my dog! I did try but she just spat it out, even when it was wrapped in food.

My Yorkie that I lost 8 months ago was also on the same tablets and he wouldn't eat the Vetmedin on it's own either but I managed to get his down with ham or chicken as his tablets were much smaller than my King Charles medication.