Tips for Giving Your Dog Pills

There is an old saying, “A spoonful of sugar might help our medicine go down.” However, Giving Your Dog Pills is a bit more challenging. First of all, a few dogs eat their pills with no problem.  Second of all, most need a little encouragement when giving your dog pills and medicine. Med-Q offers up these Tips for Giving Your Dog Pills that make the process easier for everyone involved.

Using different Compounded and Liquid Medications

A great tip is using  a flavored compounded medication.  Another example,  a chewable “treat” tablet.  Again, these tablets work good for dogs that have a hard time swallowing pills. However, these medications are u sally more costly.    Also,  the veterinarian may caution against compounding certain drugs because it has been shown to reduce the  effectiveness. Also, medications are not always compounded at every pharmacy. Ask your veterinarian to guide you to pharmacies that are ready offer these problem solving pills and liquids.

Med-Q Pill Box Reminder with Alarms

Med-Q Pill Box reminder is the newest tool for managing your pet’s medications.  The Smart Pillbox can be programmed for specific times and days.  When it’s pill time, the MED-Q will start an audio alarm.  In addition, a bright LED flashing light will show the user which pills need to be taken.  The individual boxes are removable for east transport in a purse or pocket. Miss a dose?  No problems.  The Smart pill reminder will repeat every 30 minutes until the medicines and vitamins have been taken. 

The use of Pill Pockets

Did you know that all medication has different requirements.  For example, some pills and vitamins can be given with food. However, others can not be taken with food. But if it can, putting the pill in a pill pocket or wrapping it in a piece of cheese is a great idea.  Thus, it is easier to slip into your dog’s mouth. Keep in mind,  this  works well for dogs that will “wolf down treats”  The goal,  without chewing. Dogs that chew soft treats will often bite into the bad tasting pills.  Thus,  making it much harder to trick in the future. It should be noted that dogs with food sensitivities or allergies might have issues with the ingredients in pill pockets, so consult your veterinarian if your canine companion has had problems with food in the past.

Pill  Insertion Device

Giving medications can pose certain risks. For example,  to get the pill far back on the pet’s tongue, you must put your fingers deep in their mouth. Thishas been know to  lead to accidental biting incidents. Pill insertion devices put the pills in the dog’s mouth.  Henceforth, no need to expose  fingers to danger. A dog’s tongue has a hump, and in order to succeed in getting him to swallow the pill, you need to place it behind the hump. Once you’ve done that, close his jaws and gently stroke his throat in a downward motion to encourage him to swallow the pill.

Try to get help for others

Holding down a a dog while also trying to give them pills is hard. Again, ask a family member or even a friend for help.  They can  hold the dog for you.  Hence, now one is able  to concentrate fully on the task at hand.

Giving Your Dog Pills is easier if you Reward Your Dog

Again, never,ever make the process stressful for your pet. For example, always reward the dog with a treat after every single pill.  Finally, do your best to keep both of you calm.  To sum up, stay calm  no matter how frustrated you get.

Ask Your Veterinarian for a Demonstration

Successful administration of pills is an art form. When in doubt, request a demonstration on proper technique from your veterinarian.