So many meds, how to disguise them

[Cricket7676]

Ebu continues to do well, even though he has advanced lymphoma. I don't know if it's his youth, or the meds that are helping him do so well, but the meds are driving me nuts! He can take the Prednisone fine, since it's small and I can shove it in the treats, but the antibiotic is huge and supposibly beef flavored. Well, I stick that in a treat and he's magnificantly talented at eating the treat then spitting out the antibiotic. This morning he did that and my other dog who was sitting right beside him EATS the antibiotic he had just spit out! I guess it is beef flavored.

He isn't into peanut butter at all, he's more of a meat kind of guy, so I've been stuffing the meds in meat flavored dog treats, and have latley resorted to stuffing the antibiotic into pastrami. He's a pro at detecting it and rejecting it, even if I try to put it into his dog food. Does anyone have any suggestions? Oh, and chopping the antiboitic up hasn't worked either, he still spits out the peices.

[Bosley Slave]

I take it you can't put it down his little throat. My vet had the pharmacy concoct some liquid antibiotic and it mixed it with canned food and down it went.

Have you tried grinding it and putting it in chicken or chicken livers, something he really loves?

It does amaze me that the toy breeds are given huge pills that they couldn't possible get down.

Good luck, I live in fear of meds too. I'll be interested in other people's ideas.

[bernicesmama]

I like to use cheese. the sliced kind works well and you can mush it into a ball around the meds. also, i will take a bit of bacon grease that i save and rub it aound the outside of the cheeseball. unresistable to dogs! lol

[Dax]

Open dog's mouth, place pills as far back into throat as you can. Tilt head up - hold muzzle closed - massage neck. Don't release for at least 5 seconds or you are sure he's swallowed it. Then treat with a little piece of cheese or weiner.

Some of these large antibotics are just too noticable in food as you need a piece so large that they chew it.

Make it quick and be confident.

[Dignity]

They sells these things called 'pill pockets'. I've never used them, but I have several friends who swear by them!!



Oops thought I'd add on - my one friend who swears by them, her dog was on meds for about 6 months and hated all the pills. She too would try to put Peanut Butter on it or put bread around it or put it in a treat, that did't work but somehow the pill pocket outsmarted her dog.

[Cricket7676]

Originally Posted by Bosley Slave

It does amaze me that the toy breeds are given huge pills that they couldn't possible get down.

Ebu isn't a toy breed though, he's a mutt. He looks exactly like a solid black border collie, or a solid black Astralian Shepherd. The pills are appropriate for his size, but a liquid antibiotic would work better.

[Cricket7676]

Pill pocket looks interesting. I may have to go with that, he doesn't like cheese, or I could try the chicken liver or bacon grease rubbed on the outside of some cheese. I can't massage his neck because it is completley swollen from the lymphoma. Sadly, the lumps are very hard and large too . Thank you all for the suggestions, I'll try a variety of things.

[weezyNollie]

What about cream cheese? It's sticky and they lick and lick and swallow and swallow.. and down it goes.

What's the antibiotic? Do they have a liquid form? Do they have a non-chewable form that is smaller?

I've never heard of a flavored antibiotic. Just the anti-inflammatories are flavored that I know of.. Rimadyl, Deramaxx, etc. Just curious?

[Cricket7676]

Good question, I'll have to check the name when I get home. The oncologist said that they've made the antibiotic beef flavored to intice the dogs to eat them since they are so large. She said he may be vulnerable to a possible infection since he has the lymphoma, but she didn't run any tests so I think the antibiotic is just precautionary. In any case, I will be checking to see if it comes in liquid form, and in the meantime I will try some of the suggestions listed.

[fehu1331]

Originally Posted by DaxAriel's Toy

Open dog's mouth, place pills as far back into throat as you can. Tilt head up - hold muzzle closed - massage neck. Don't release for at least 5 seconds or you are sure he's swallowed it. Then treat with a little piece of cheese or weiner.

Some of these large antibotics are just too noticable in food as you need a piece so large that they chew it.

Make it quick and be confident.

LOL Dax that is exactly what I have to do with my 2 no matter how large/small the pill is they always give it back to me if I hide it in something, and as for the liquid and the canned food Anya hates canned food (yeah tried that route).