Getting dog to take a pissing tablet

[IHopeYouStepOnALegPiece]

You’d think it was the size of a fucking dvd the way she’s going in but it is not. It’s the size of an anti histamine. Absolutely tiny certainly a lot smaller than the earplug she once ate. But will she take it? Will she fuck.

She’s generally quite good at tablets except for her worming one where we have the same problem but that is actually massive.

She can hold it in her mouth for 15m before spitting it out.

Sges currently on a v limited diet of hypoallergenic food, treats (both dry and hard so no squishing) and carrots (I scooped a hole right in the centre and stuffed it in. SO pleased with myself but I’ve just found it on the floor!)

ANY ideas much appreciated!

I thought you had a dog who couldn’t pee without a tablet 🙊

Dip the tablet in butter so it slides down easier?

I do that with the cat. My finger is practically down her throat so she can't move it around and spit it out! 85% success rate. The time I had to do it three times she was a bit upset.

I have to poke tablets down my boy’s throat. No matter what I hide them in, he knows. Chin up, pry open his jaw, poke it down and hold his chin up until he swallows it. Not nice for him, but it’s all his own doing!

If the dog is spitting it out, you’re not putting it far enough in (and you don’t have to be prising jaws wide open to do it).

Tablet in at the back of the mouth, round the corner and down the throat.

Does she like her kibble? I take a handful of kibble and chuck it up for him to catch like a game. I then keep throwing kibble, kibble, kibble, sneaky tablet, then kibble, kibble, kibble before he even knows what he's swallowed. He ain't that smart though to be fair....

I disguise tablets in food and then refuse to share it with Ddog who of course becomes desperate to get at it as soon as I look away

I was so relieved today when I picked up dog from the vets, they had very sensibly prescribed a liquid anti inflammatory. Dog, a lab, can eat round the pips in an apple with surgical precision so tablets are easy. So much easier to syringe it into her mouth.

Could you soak her food and mix with crushed tablet into a fluid paste that can be syringed. Maybe try one of the calprofen syringes that come with child’s calprofen.

When I was a child we had a dog that needed a daily tablet. After much trial and error DF discover liver pate was the answer. As a result we always had it in the fridge. If we had family visitors who were given free access to the fridge there was always a horrified chorus of “that’s the dogs pate” if they appeared with it from the fridge. It was perfectly ok for human consumption (sainsbury liver pate). but to all my family it was always the dogs so not for human consumption.

Wrap it in a piece of ham

Tip the head back, drop the tablet at the back of the throat, hold the mouth closed and rub a treat on her lips.

She will try to lick it which will make her automatically swallow.

Works for my two.

I have a dog who was allergic to half the world so I saw a specialist vet. He says that allergies in dogs are rarely caused by food and suggested immunotherapy. He did some skin prick tests to find out what she was actually allergic to then she was treated for exactly the right things. Turns out I have a dog who is allergic to beech trees and one specific type of grass amongst other things. It wasn't cheap but there was no 'hmmm lets try this and see if it helps' or 'maybe it's food'. She's pretty much fixed now although we had a nasty night last month when she inhaled a bit of grass. I often see people in his waiting room who have travelled very long distances to see him so I guess he has a good reputation nationally. If you pm me I can give you his details although I understand he has a bit of a waiting list now. Weeks rather than months though

I have the most stubborn dog in the world. Luckily he is also greedy. No amount of insistence, hiding in food or attempting to throw a treat down his neck will work. Luckily I have a very experienced dog owning friend. She got him incredibly excited and acted like he was getting the best treat in the world. Chucked treats at him which he caught and swallowed in one go. Forth treat was his pill then she chucked another treat in after before g quite clocked what happened. Works every time.

Try throwing it in the air! I did that in frustration once, and my dog leapt up and caught it!

Will she play catch with treats? Put them all in the same hand and throw her treat - treat - treat - pill - treat - treat. She should be too focused on the next treat to bother being upset by the pill.

If she’s getting it to her gum and lip… you’re not shoving it in far enough

you want to actually shove it down her throat not just in her mouth.

As others have said, shove it well in. Ideally right behind her teeth. Then tickle her neck until you feel her swallow. Then give her a treat immediately, so if the pill is by any chance still there it has another chance to go down, and also to set up a good association with having her mouth forced open and a nasty wicked disgusting pill shoved right in.

We did this with an itchy JRT whenever we ran out of cheese.

Wrap it in a bit of ham, then once it's in their mouth give them another big treat then they will swallow the first treat first.

Can you speak to the vet about what foods would be compatible with her current diet that you might be able to hide the tablet in?

I wrap any tablets in liver pate for our dog then I sit opposite her making encouraging eating, swallowing sounds which makes me look a bit daft but seems to encourage her to swallow it all down.

And I gently stroke her throat too.

Exactly this. I have to give dog a plastic coated tablet daily and the only thing that works is pate.

Sorry sorry sorry.. I’ve just been an annoying person that didn’t read the thread. Ignore my comment about pate… 😫

My JRT has had allergies for 9 years and I found most tests are a waste of time tbh. We think its dust as hes worse in winter...bad luck in this house lol. He's been on apoquel for all of that time as anti histamines dont touch it. Unfortunately he's also recently had to go on steroids.i know you said no meat but Ham is what works for us. Or cheese. Or cocktail sausages. Failing that. Open mouth. In it goes. Mouth held shut. Rub throat until a few swallow. Repeat.

I feel your pain. We had a nightmare at first. Now he thinks ham is called tablet 🤣🤣

How did the mashed up carrot go, OP?

Our dog takes tablets in mashed pumpkin with no trouble at all.

Sorry to slightly derail and I know this isn't the point of the thread but have you tried your dog on anallergenic food?

While hypoallergenic food reduces the number of allergens in food, anallergenic gets rid of all allergens almost completely. When my dog started to have stomach issues and went on a hugely reduced diet, she still struggled with hypoallergenic food but did brilliantly well on anallergenic.

It sounds like the suspected allergens might be meat (aka an intolerance to meat proteins).

Some other options for mushy foods that are low allergy risk:

1. peanut butter
2. mushed up banana
3. marmite
4. Royal Canin do a 'Pill Assist' treat that uses hydrolysed chicken proteins. This means they are broken down into parts not longer recognisable by the dog's body as proteins and so are much less likely to trigger a reaction (as with pp's recommendation on an anallergenic food).

Also, it's possible the smell on your hands is giving her a clue to the tablet now. Try making up the tablet coated on one of the above, washing your hands and then presenting her with the 'treat'. Other optiosn might be to have the made up treat on the side of your plate while you eat a slice of toast (for eg) and then presenting her with the plate to clean up, including treat. Obviously depends on your viewpoint of dogs licking plates.

What food does she eat now? We can check the ingredients there to see what she is currently eating and work out if we can find or make up a pill option from that?

I wonder if this would work with carrots rather than chicken. I need a dog just to try out this technique!

www.tiktok.com/@gofetch/video/7135510205953019141?lang=en

I have given up with mine and take him into the vet and get one of the nurses to give it to him.