When your beloved pet isn’t feeling well, the veterinarian may prescribe medications to help them recover quickly and become healthy again.
You receive the medications from the vet with a whole set of instructions on how they should be taken: the dosage, the time of day, and whether they should be given before or after meals. Sometimes they come in the form of tablets, powder, or drops. It’s not always easy to convince your pet to take the necessary medicine. It’s a bit like dealing with small children: just the appearance, smell, or taste can lead to automatic refusal.
What Effects Do Medications Have?
First and foremost, it’s crucial that you notice emerging illnesses in your pet and then consult the veterinarian. To avoid paying vet bills out of pocket, consider getting pet health insurance. This coverage not only handles the costs of medical treatments but also covers medications. Ask the vet about the specific way your dog needs to take the medicine. Can it be administered with drinking water?
Do you need to crush tablets to mix them with food? Can tablets or capsules be broken down so that they are absorbed through the mucous membranes, or do they need to reach the intestines intact to take effect? Make detailed notes and don’t hesitate to ask the vet two or three times if things are unclear. It’s about your pet’s health, after all.
When Tablets Are Met with Resistance – How to Outsmart Your Dog
It’s great if tablets or other medications can be ingested with food rather than on their own, as this can help mask the sometimes bitter taste. However, our four-legged friends can be clever and may realize that something is off with the food or drink. They may reject it. Nevertheless, the medicine needs to be ingested. To achieve this, you can add a bit of meat broth to the drinking water or mix it into the food. This not only masks other scents but also stimulates your dog’s appetite. Ensure that you don’t just add a heaping teaspoon: a small amount will suffice.
Taking Medication Playfully?
Dogs love to play, and we can take advantage of this when it comes to tricking them. It may sound a bit cunning, but it’s sometimes necessary. When it comes to taking tablets, a bit of imagination is required. For instance, you can press a tablet into a mini-meatball. Have your pet perform a few commands it knows, and as a reward, offer the small meatball, and the medicine will be swallowed. Additionally, there are so-called tablet treats available in pet stores, with a hole in the center for inserting tablets. However, we believe that regular treats and rewards will work just as well. You don’t need to spend a fortune on this.
Gentle Force for Medications?
Sometimes our four-legged friends are too smart and won’t be tricked into taking tablets. In such cases, we need to use a bit of gentle force. Open your pet’s mouth by lightly grasping the lips with one hand and applying slight pressure. Your dog will open its mouth. Lift your dog’s head slightly and place the tablet as far back on the tongue as possible. Then gently massage the throat to trigger the swallowing reflex.
You can use a similar approach when medication needs to be taken in drop or liquid form. Fill the required amount into a dropper and then squeeze the medicine into the mouth from the side. If you lift the head while doing this, your dog will inevitably swallow. The medicine is gone. Since this method, as described earlier, involves a bit of insistence, remember to praise and reward your pet after successfully administering the medication. This way, the process remains positive in their memory.
