Dog won't take medicine

[househuntinginthesouth]

dog is on different types of medicine (8 doses in total) and she hates taking them. I've tried hiding the medicine in treats/smelly food, breaking them up, crushing them, mixing it in normal food etc, giving it to her as it is followed quickly by treats. If it's mixed in food she'll refuse to eat the food, if it's hidden in something she'll eat it then spit the tablet out. I feel like I've tried everything everyone has suggested. I have been putting the tablets at the back of her mouth and holding her mouth closed til she has to swallow which makes me feel terribly guilty (although she doesn't seem bothered when I do it otherwise I wouldn't), but that's the only way to get her to take them and even that sometimes takes multiple attempts as she uses her tongue to push the medicine back up again and will spit it up again a while later. She has been on medication/different types of tablets for a while now and it's not getting any easier. Just having a little moan I suppose and hoping someone has an idea no one else has thought of for making giving her all this medicine easier.

Cube of cheese? Bit of sausage? Pretend to eat the treat yourself first?

I used to stick tablets in some butter, shove it to the back of his mouth and hold his chops up gently and rubbing his throat gently to make him swallow. I got so good at doing it quickly...it was necessary. He was such a sneaky little monkey ☺️ he was just like yours... could pretend for ages if it was in a treat and then spit it out 😆

Pate?

Lots of treats rapid fire them , treat, treat, treat, pill in treat, treat treat etc

We found sardines or mackerel in tomato sauce with crushed tablet stirred in worked the best but I would also just do the enforced down throat thing without guilt if there was no other way.

Condensed milk. It's sweet, sticky and they have no chance of separating the pill from the milk. Years of experimenting have led me to this scientific fact.

I crushed my dogs up and mixed in with cherrios and milk she loved it (I may have started something I can't ever end though)

@SweepTheHalls

Pate?

I second this.

You can get those syringe shooter things for cats which shoots the tablets to the backs of their throat...would that work?

I trap my legs round the back end (Labrador) as if I was mating him - you know what I mean - if you squeeze your legs tight at the waist the dog can't get away.
Pull the head upwards, open jaws.
Open the jaws wide, drop the pill right in the throat.
Hold the mouth shut but keep the head up towards you.
Repeatedly stroke the throat downwards until they swallow.

It sounds awful but it's really not. It's only seconds really.

And don't forget (as we all sometimes do) especially with dogs, that they don't have the ability to think 'this is mean' / 'I don't want to take these' and seconds later they have forgotten and it's done.

What polly said.
And also. Corned beef!

Sorry I've now seen the bit about 8 different types of medicine.

But I stand by the don't overthink how much thinking the dog does. You'll only beat yourself up when you're only doing what's best for the dog.

@Mumteedum

I used to stick tablets in some butter, shove it to the back of his mouth and hold his chops up gently and rubbing his throat gently to make him swallow. I got so good at doing it quickly...it was necessary. He was such a sneaky little monkey ☺️ he was just like yours... could pretend for ages if it was in a treat and then spit it out 😆

yes - butter is the way to do it - helps it slip down - and makes them lick their lips which prompts swallowing - rub some butter on the outside edge of the mouth as you withdraw your hand.

There's a technique - and once you master it then it rarely fails!

I feel your pain . My dog recently had an op so had loads of meds .
She became so suspicious of all food that we were using to hide meds in , she just went on hunger strike ( something to do with us trying to poison her ) Just grab the bull by the horn and drop it down the throat .

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I've tried all of these apart from condensed milk (I'll grab some from the shop tomorrow) and cheerio's I must admit I've not tried I'll give that a go too.

We stick pills (one at a time) inside a small cube of cheese. No problem at all getting her to eat it; she thinks she's having a very special treat

Marshmallows work a treat, just slice a wee hole into it and slide in the tablets.

Pate and cheese are always winners with our Labrador.

The mad dog lady next door taught us to literally push them down the dog’s throat.
Can you crush them up very fine and mix with soft cheese?

I probably should've added she's really fussy with food

Inside a small ball of pate works here, best thrown up as a lump for the dog to catch as they tend to swallow straight down rather than investigate it then.

But hand feed the dog some pate without treats first so they can be reassured it is safe ...lots won't catch a new treat / bit of food without feeling confident of it.

It's probably a bit better for their teeth than condensed milk but guess sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get the medication down!

Is she even a dog then??

We use the rapid fire with cut up hotdog or blobs of peanut butter. If she can see we have more ready she will gobble them down!

@RandomMess

Is she even a dog then??

I can't say for certain. She has been compared to a giraffe, deer, seal and cheetah (because of her speed) before...

How about doggie pill pockets or pill putty?

Forget to give any treats for a couple of days and then dispense treats x 8 a day. No more.

Also agree with @LadyOfTheFlowers I may have spent one night many years ago in tears after 5 hours of chasing a cat around the living room to try and pill him. I finally got it trapped between my legs and did as Lady said and no problem. Plenty to drink afterwards. From then on, I put the cat between legs each time he needed pills so 4 times a day, no problem.

Chicken usually works. X