| How to Get Your Dog to Swallow a Pill Feb 18th 2013, 17:00 Some instructions to keep man's best friend healthy, while preventing man from going insane. Try one of these out and see what works best for your dog. Part One: Food Method - Hide the pill in a meatball. Hide it in the dog food.
- Roll the pill into a thin strip of sliced lunch meat.
- If the pill is very small, shove it in the middle of a chunk of cheese.
- Softer cheeses work better than hard cheese such as cheddar, because hard cheese has a tendency to crumble.
- Sometimes simply rubbing the pill with butter will work.
- Hide the pill in a glob of peanut butter and feed it to the dog. The peanut butter will stick to the pill, giving the dog no choice but to swallow it. (Make sure that you feed the dog peanut butter twice a day for two days, then he/she will get a taste for it. After that, do the instructions above. Also hold the peanut butter on a spoon.)
Part Two: Pill Crush Method - Crush the pill. The easiest way to do this is with a mortar and pestle.
- Thoroughly mix the pill powder that you created with a teaspoon of a soft, creamy treat your dog loves: a spoon-full of canned dog food, peanut butter, or yogurt.
- Let your dog lick the spoon-full of food/pill mixture.
Part Three: Pill Push Method - Gently open your dog's mouth, holding his or her lower jaw open.
- Put the pill on the back of the dog's tongue.
- Hold his mouth shut until he swallows. It may be difficult to see or feel the swallowing action, but if the dog licks his nose, it usually means he's swallowed the pill. Blowing on his nose for a second or two will help him swallow.
- Gently rubbing up and down on the front of his throat while keeping his nose pointing up with your other hand will almost certainly cause him to swallow after a few seconds.
- After it's all over, be sure to give him a treat - this makes it less difficult the next time.
- If you have a large dog, you can also cut an unheated hot dog in half and push the pill in.
- If you are still having issues, hold his jaw shut with pill/cheese inside and gently stroke his throat with your other hand. This will stimulate his swallow reflex and he will have to swallow.
- Give a treat first so his/her throat isn't dry; gently pull lower jaw down with one hand then push the pill all the way back with the other; hold mouth closed gently and stroke throat; don't cover nose; give treats after he swallows. Repeat starting with another treat. Use high value treats, give lots of them before and especially after. Don't crush pills that have a coating. Be patient, calm but firm. If he fights it stop a couple of minutes then lots of treats and start over. If you think you're going to have to give your dog pills every day this method is worth the time.
- Using pill pockets available at your veterinarian sometimes work better than food.
- Often, hiding the pill in a piece of bread is one way to hide the taste of the pill and the dog will think it is getting a treat.
- The pill push method sounds gross, but you won't choke him.
Edit Warnings - Do not attempt pill push method if you have long fingernails. You could cut the sensitive skin in your dog's mouth and throat.
- Check to see if the pill is supposed to be crushed before doing so. Some medications are not supposed to be crushed or broken.
- Do not attempt pill push method if you have a flat-face dog, like a Pug. You may endanger their breathing. (Hiding the pill in some flaky tuna fish in your fingers works well!)
- If you choose to use the Pill Crush Method, it is not recommended to mix the pill powder with a full serving of canned dog food, because if your dog does not finish his meal, there is a chance he may not get the full pill dosage he requires.
- Do not heat the pill or pill powder, as a chemical change or breakdown may occur, which would render the pill ineffective or even harmful.
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