aussielover Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 My Lab is on antibiotics for a a skin infection. She is difficult to pill if you are not confident and take a direct approach. She is not like most other labs that will take a pill as if it is a lolly unfortunately. Personally, I find her easy to pill but my parents struggle. They look after her 3 days a week. They have tried: Giving the pill in a treat- she eats around the pill then spits it out crushing the pill over her food- she will eventually eat the food but it clearly has a disgusting taste and I've never seen her take so long to eat- not the best for her as far as im concerned. "maunal" pilling- she spits it out. I suspect they don't wait long enough for her to swallow and they don't put the pill in far enough. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 curl your fingers behind her canines, open her jaw and shove the pill down her throat and to the side - I think that's close to what they are doing on the third one, maybe they can close her mouth and rub her throat to make sure it's gone down quick and easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 curl your fingers behind her canines, open her jaw and shove the pill down her throat and to the side - I think that's close to what they are doing on the third one, maybe they can close her mouth and rub her throat to make sure it's gone downquick and easy I've showed them how do it it about 1000 times!!! Why can't she just be a normal lab! Will have to change from cephalexin tabs to convenia injection i think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 its a long term issue? do they have cat pill poppers... look like BBQ lighters? maybe try one of those.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabel964 Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Isn't there a food she wolfs down if you through it at her? Like fillet steak (as an example)...you throw her one peice, she catches it and swallows it. Throw the next one, she catches it and swallows it. if she is like most dogs who will happily catch and swallow food, you can use pate, cheese, anything that a pill can be hidden in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 If the pill is inserted properly into a cube of meat/cheese .. of the right size.. it should , in teh throw& catch game .. just get swallowed ! Always make sure of two normal cubes .. then a pill one, then two or three normal ones If using cheese/meat .. just make a little slit with a knife .. and slip the pill in to the middle - feed out immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 this sounds really weird but she can smell the tablets and will literally spit them out even if completely hidden in a nice piece of BBQ chicken (her fav) or even yummy cooked kangaroo fillet (which she is on now). And it will most likely be and ongoing issue- she will probably get recurrent skin infections throughout her life sadly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I was giving my boy his in yoghurt which worked! You could also try something like ricotta, or even apple sauce, which is what I used to take my tablets in when I was young If I stuck them in meat he'd just chew the meat into tiny pieces and leave the tablet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Cephalexin really is a terrible tablet to have to give. It smells so bad and tastes revolting. I'm not usually a big fan of slow release injections like Convenia, but after using it once for Orbit, I don't think I'd go back to the tablets if I needed to again! I think if there's any chance she's missing a dose whilst she's with your parents, opt for the injection. The last thing you want is resistant bacteria!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Take five to ten pieces of something tasty (like cut up fritz, cheese, or 4legs). Take one piece of something-tasty and put in pill. Wash hands thoroughly. Feed dog in quick succession two 'normal' pieces, the one with the pill in it, then two more 'normal' pieces. I have not had this fail with any dog that will take food (dogs that will not take food I need to deliver the pill manually). The dog is so distracted by the next treat coming, that they seem to swallow the one with the pill in it. Washing your hands before giving to the dog seems to dissipate any excessive smell of the pill on your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Mason is bad with his tablets lately as well. Tbe only thi g that works is if i take some mince and make a meatball with the tablet inside and make a huge game of him eating it. We also using cephalexin atm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niques Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 James is exactly the same. It used to take ages to get him to eat his worming tablet until I gave up being nice and now just stick my hand down his mouth. A combination of smothering it in cottage cheese (or similar - yoghurt, maybe) and manually sticking it in might help if your parents aren't putting it in far enough. I used to only put it near the back of his mouth and he did tend to swallow it from that point if covered in cottage cheese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Sorry should have mentioned, she is on a food trial for allergies- can only have pumpkin and roo meat. Not the best ingredients to work with. She is not overly fussed by the pumpkin I think she only eats it because she is hungry. The only roo meat I can get locally comes in fillets which are not easy to stick a tablet in. I might ask the butcher to mince it next time though as i think the mince balls could work. Stormie- were you using convenia to treat pyoderma? apparently the vets i work with have had good success using convenia for pyoderma and allergy dogs. The derm didn't mention it as an option though. I will have to check with her tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I was going to suggest pate or peanut butter but seems like she can't have that so no suggestions. but for other dogs My old maltese was shocking for taking pills, she would chew around meat or cheese and spit out the tablet. but when I smothered the tablet in pate she took it no problems Only Don pate, she didn't like the expensive stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 butter can work for some dogs to swollow a pill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paptacular! Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I've found that if you have to put the pill in the dog's mouth, as far back as you can, hold the muzzle shut and a little blow on the nose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Stormie- were you using convenia to treat pyoderma? apparently the vets i work with have had good success using convenia for pyoderma and allergy dogs. The derm didn't mention it as an option though. I will have to check with her tomorrow. Orbit doesn't get what I refer to as pyodermas, ie manky localised hot spots. He gets more of a generalised staph infection all over, so pustules, red bumps, hair loss etc and gets a bit stinky and flaky. I've only used it once (when we had to use up the last of the bottle before it expired ) and his coat was probably the best I'd seen it within a couple of days. But yes, we have used it for dogs with bad hot spots, deep pyodermas etc with success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Stormie- were you using convenia to treat pyoderma? apparently the vets i work with have had good success using convenia for pyoderma and allergy dogs. The derm didn't mention it as an option though. I will have to check with her tomorrow. Orbit doesn't get what I refer to as pyodermas, ie manky localised hot spots. He gets more of a generalised staph infection all over, so pustules, red bumps, hair loss etc and gets a bit stinky and flaky. I've only used it once (when we had to use up the last of the bottle before it expired ) and his coat was probably the best I'd seen it within a couple of days. But yes, we have used it for dogs with bad hot spots, deep pyodermas etc with success. Hmm my dog gets Pyoderma, what is convenia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 (edited) Teach your dog that receiving a 'pill' in the manual way (ie you opening his mouth and popping pill in) isn't always unpleasant. Do it often, but use a very small piece of yummy wet treat (ie not with pills). Conversly, we tend to only do this when we really need to give them an actual tablet. Also, when you've given a real pill, follow up with a food treat reward. I've done these things with my boy, who is on meds twice a day for the rest of his life. He runs to the kitchen when I'm fixing his tablets and usually enthusiastically sits before I'm even ready. (Mind you, sometimes when he's in a jolly but silly mood, he wiggles his head like one of those fairground clown head games. But for him it is just that, a game - not avoidance.) I only have to rest the web part that's between my thumb and index finger on his muzzle and he opens his mouth for me. I always use the words (with word association has become a command) "take a tablet" as I do this. I have to give his thyroid tablets one hour before dinner, so I think he's come to realise the pattern that tablets indicates dinner in a while. I've known him to sometimes remind me that I haven't given his meds. I tend to treat meds time as a bit of a game - not so much that he can think he can play me, but enough for him to feel special and clever about the fact that he takes his tablets. Edited April 3, 2011 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 With my old girl we used pate or Pecks paste and that was the only way it could be done. She was so damn fast at getting it up and spitting it out the side. Didn't matter how far back I got it and how quickly I clamped her mouth shut, there would be the pill on the outside of her lip. Somehow. In the absence of Pecks paste, though, I'd go with Erny's method. Life is so easy when you've taken the time to teach a dog to enjoy something they don't naturally enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now