How To Give Tablets To Your Dog
From time to time every dog will need to take pills. These could be as part of a regular regime such as worming or a medication for some sickness. Either way, it can be tricky. It is often stressful for the dog and the owner.
Are you giving your dog the right dosage?
Firstly, check that you are giving the dog the right dosage. Sometimes you will only have to give a half or quarter of the pill. Pills that need to be split often have a score-line. Cut the pill by holding a knife on the top and then banging down with the heel of your hand. This can be a little bit tricky and you can get a pill cutting device. These are basically a small plastic box with a knife in the lid. To operate the cutter, you put the pill in the box and close the lid.
Check whether the pill should be administered whole or powdered. Some pills have a coating which will dissolve in the dog’s stomach releasing the medication slowly. Others can be crushed, and this may make them easier to give your dog.
Hide the tablet in your dog's food
When giving a pill to your dog, hunger is your friend. The easiest way is to hide the pill in his food. The hungrier he is, the more likely he is to gulp the food without noticing the pill inside.
There are a number of different ways to hide the pill in his meal. There are commercially pill biscuits available which have a hole in them in which to conceal the pill.
It is often better to hide the pill in his regular food. He will start to eat straight away without checking it out too much. If you feed your dog with raw meat, just cut a slot in a piece of the meat and hide the pill inside. Some people coat the pill with peanut butter before hiding it which is said to make it more appetizing.
If your dog’s regular food is dry kibble it is more difficult. You can use peanut butter to “glue” the pill to a piece of the kibble. I have put a pill in the centre of a pile of kibble and the dog has eaten it all, even though the pill was partially visible.
You may have to force your dog to take the tablet
Some dogs will be virtually impossible to fool, in which case you may have to force them to swallow the pill.
At first this may seem an unpleasant process, but with a little bit of patience you can achieve a 100% success rate. When opening your dog’s mouth try to keep his lips over his teeth so you don’t accidentally get bitten. Start opening the jaws from the back of the mouth. Use the other hand to lift the roof of the mouth. Then pop in the pill as far to the rear of his mouth as you can.
