Getting large tablet into small dog

[pigsDOfly]

Just got back from the vet, nothing terrible thankfully, but I have to give my dog antibiotic tablets for the next seven days.

Dog is small - just under 5 kilos - and the tablets are huge. I actually only have to give her half of one each time but each half is still enormous.

Can anyone give me any ideas how to get it into her please? They are crushable so I tried crushing the one I've just given her and wrapping it in smoked salmon but because there was so much power it was impossible to disguise it without using half a packet of fish and we ended up having a bit of a tussle. I think most of it went in this time but I'm at a loss to k?now how to do this for the next week.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Wondering if it might be better to cut it into quarters and then wrap it in something. Does that sound like a better idea than crushing it up?

Thankfully it's only twice a day.

When I have to give my dog tablets I get her some canned food (she usually has kibble) crush the tablet and mix it in well. Cream cheese also works the same way, you can mix the crushed tablet up with the cheese.

My mums golden retriever has her tablets halved and pushed inside a cube of cheese which she wolfs down

Wrapped in a slice of ham here. I don't crush, because at least you know if they've eaten it or not then.

I have to give two huge Atopica tablets daily to Dog. My usual tactic is to get him sitting, prose his jaws open and poke down the two tablets as far down his throat as my finger will reach. Then I hold his mouth till he swallows and give him a tasty treat like a small bit of cheese or a spoon of peanut butter to ensure he swallows. He's happy to go through this without a fight because there's a treat involved. For anything smaller I show the treat, then place the tablet and treat in his mouth together. He then gets a second treat for swallowing the first. And of course I'm praising him the whole time for being quiet and cooperative.

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Yes, I'm beginning to think crushing is probably not the best way.

Anything that can be licked off is not going to work with her as she's worked out that she can lick it off and not eat the tablet - past experience.

If she were a large dog it would be easier as I would just wrap it in a large piece of cheese or something and she probably wouldn't notice it but because she so small I have to limited whatever I give her.

I've tried putting it in her food before, she has a very suspicious nature and will suss out any strange thing even if it's crushed; being small she doesn't wolf her food down so is aware of what's in every mouthful.

She's quite cat like in some ways when it comes to this sort of thing; seems to have the same sort of suspicion of anything different.

Squished in corned beef or cheese?

Line up loads of small treats, cheese works well as you can press tablets into it then mould it round them. Hide the tablet in one of the treats. Start offering her the treats, as soon as she's got one in her mouth have the next one in front of her ready for her to take. If she's anything like mine she'll just start swallowing them as soon as she gets them so she's ready to take the next and she won't even notice when you slip the one with the pill in somewhere near the middle.

That method always works for me, even with DWhippet2 who is very suspicious of food if it's even slightly different to usual.

I think you're right TheDogs I'm just going to have to get them down into her throat, trouble is I'm a bit nervous of doing it in one piece in case she chokes on it. I suspect I'm not going to get two goes at it though so will just have to bite the bullet and shove it in her mouth as quickly as possible.

I think she's going to hate me by the end of the week. Thank heavens dogs don't hold grudges :)

Ah, just seen your method Tronic that's a really good idea. Will definitely give that a go.

Thanks for all these ideas.

have you tried being really secretive about it...big giant charade about getting the tablet out, setting it on a plate or putting it in your pocket, making a cup of tea and keep being excited about the tablet and then offer it sneak it to her when no one is looking as if it were something delicious

either that or drop it on the floor....our old dog was an absolute sod for catching dropped stuff, so that was the best way for him.

current dogfaces fall for the secret treat from mamma's plate every single time for the worm tablets.

Anything more regular is pressed into treats/cheese as per tronic's suggestion.

She doesn't really catch stuff from the floor unless she has a good look at it first and it's something she would definitely like to eat.

Most things dropped on the floor get ignored, which is good normally, but in these situation I sometimes wish she was a bit more grabby.

The only way I can get tablets into ddog is wrapped up in a slice of salami. He will do ANYTHING for salami!

I used to squish dhound's tablets into a piece of cheese , so it was hidden , then have two other bits of cheese ready first . Throw the first two for him to catch ( he had jaws like a steel trap ! ) so he was not so suspicious , then throw him the tablet one . Worked every time !

Managed to give dog 2 doses of her tablets successfully so far. :)

She loves Natures Menu treats so have made use of those. They're soft and quite a good size so I push a quarter - each dose is half a tablet - of the table in each end and sort of squidge the treat around them.

She sniffs it, clearly she's suspicious, but can't help herself and she eats it. Then I give her one that hasn't been tampered with. Hopefully this is going to work for the rest of the week.

Tuna is quite good for hiding tablets as it has such a strong smell

raw mince is very good for wrapping pills

But Vivitreats, they are expensive but are marvellous x