Pilling A Difficult Dog

[griff]

Pill Popper a few dollars from the Vet Shop .

[aussielover]

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?

Convenia is a long acting antiobiotc injection. It lasts for 2 weeks.

[Cosmolo]

What Erny said. If you have a dog that will spit roast meat across the floor with a tablet as my dog will, i wouldn't keep trying to hide the tablets in varying foods- we did that and have now ended up with a dog that is quite suspicious with regards to taking food from us, eating meals etc. Instead, we did a fair bit of open mouth, deliver tablet, reward with food and opening his mouth to give him food a few times. Before we did this, 2 people needed to hold him and he would stress- frothing at the mouth etc- which was awful. Much better now though!

[kiesha09]

Try butter - put it all over the pill, open the dogs mouth, pop in pill right at the back and hold mouth shut with muzzle upwards. Works a treat on my boy who needs tablets each day. He used to be terrible and now opens his mouth wide for the tablet

[poodlefan]

Cutting right to the issue at the centre of this, why do your parents struggle to give the dog pills. Are the worried about being bitten?

For how long do they look after her - can her pill schedule be readjusted so that you can do them all or do they have her for 3 days straight?

[aussielover]

Cutting right to the issue at the centre of this, why do your parents struggle to give the dog pills. Are the worried about being bitten?

For how long do they look after her - can her pill schedule be readjusted so that you can do them all or do they have her for 3 days straight?

No they are not worried about being bitten, i think they just don't want to put their hand right at the back of the throat and get it covered in saliva. My mum is a real softie and will give up if the dog starts struggling.

she is really cheeky, she has never spat out her pill for me but she knows who she can get away with or without doings things for.

Being a labrador, she is not suspicious of all food, but she can definitely smell the pill in the food ( I mean, if a customs beagle stopped me because I had an apple in my bag 3 days ago, she can surely smell a yucky pill in a piece of meat!).

we are changing to the injection. Thanks for all those who advised though, there were some good tips for me to give clients

[Skruffy n Flea]

i did it!!! i actually did it!!! :eek:

after 2 and a half years of having a dog [2 dogs for the last 18 months] and after failing dismally to worm them a week ago, i came to the DOL brains trust and thanks to this thread, particularly to erny's post, i took the initiative and set myself a plan to get the dogs used to manual pilling and for me to gain a level of expertise and comfort...

so, from about tuesday last and before each meal, i sat each of them separately on a cleared bench with a range of yummy stuff within reach of their noses and of course my hands --- bella was easy but we've had her since a pup and she was used to being handled, but byron is a mystery and he has trust issues...

anyway, saturday evening was the time and bella was a breeze --- i did need mr skruff to hold byron's head while i pilled him but YES!!! I DID IT!!! no muss, no fuss!!! and no-one died!!!

no more devising new plans to hide these horrible things in their food; no more reciting the definition of insanity in my head every time i did the same thing expecting a different result!!!

OMG the relief!!!

thank you DOL!!!

to the OP; i hope things have progressed and your parents are now able to pill your dog without concern ;)

[Erny]

after 2 and a half years of having a dog [2 dogs for the last 18 months] and after failing dismally to worm them a week ago ... i did it!!! i actually did it!!! ;) OMG the relief!!! :)

..... that's fantastic, SnF .

If you don't need to pill them frequently, use the "it's only a treat" method in between, as though it were a game. This will help by the time you get to the next time you need to pill them. I don't mean you need to do it every day, but more frequently in this beginning, especially now as they did take a tablet, you really want to let them know that more as likely as not, it will just be a yummy treat.

Well done .

[piper]

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.

Yep - I learnt that a seminar years ago. Get a heap of small wet, yummy treats, open mouth, say "tablet" (or open or whatever) and push treat in, close mouth and hold. Repeat, repeat, repeat. You end up classically conditioning the work to mean something yummy will be shoved in your mouth. It doesnt take many days before they start to open their mouth as you go to put your hand there. Use the same method when giving the tablet - have a good 6 or 8 treats and just slip the tablet one in there somewhere in the middle. If you are quick enough with the next 1 they don't even know and they think it is a great game.

I shared the method at the vet clinic I took puppy classes at and they said they passed it on to clients who were quickly able to teach the dog to take a tablet no fuss. Should add, once you start giving them 1 with a tablet in, sometimes repeat the training game without ever giving 1. I must say I haven't used the method with my guys for ages as they all learnt "tablet" = open mouth, get something put in, swallow and will now open up on command, close mouth and swallow without me having to hold or do anything.

[Erny]

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.

Yep - I learnt that a seminar years ago.

Oh gosh, I thought it was my idea . I was going to write it down and make it " Pro-K9's Pill Popping Protocol".

(Lol .... I still will ).

ETA: Difference in mine is that generally speaking I don't at any stage hide a pill in the food.

Edited April 12, 2011 by Erny

[Skruffy n Flea]

after 2 and a half years of having a dog [2 dogs for the last 18 months] and after failing dismally to worm them a week ago ... i did it!!! i actually did it!!! ;) ;) OMG the relief!!! :)

..... that's fantastic, SnF ;).

If you don't need to pill them frequently, use the "it's only a treat" method in between, as though it were a game. This will help by the time you get to the next time you need to pill them. I don't mean you need to do it every day, but more frequently in this beginning, especially now as they did take a tablet, you really want to let them know that more as likely as not, it will just be a yummy treat.

Well done .

excellent idea!

i think i have flea treatment coming up so i'll get onto it!!!

i was using the word 'open' but that term would be better used for other purposes and cuz it's only early days, i'll use 'tablet' instead...

i'm still pretty impressed with myself btw :D

[piper]

Oh gosh, I thought it was my idea . I was going to write it down and make it " Pro-K9's Pill Popping Protocol".

(Lol .... I still will ).

ETA: Difference in mine is that generally speaking I don't at any stage hide a pill in the food.

I don't either - if I made it sound that way, I shouldn't have. LOL. I meant you have a handful of small treats and give those then somewhere in there give a tablet then back to treats, not put a tablet in a treat. It was Nina Bondarenko about 6 or 7 years ago (hmm could be longer even!) that talked about it as they needed to teach assistance dogs to take tablets easily from people who may have physical disabilities that make opening mouthes and shoving tablets in difficult.

I think it is a great skill to teach and does not take a lot of time at all. The beagle that was my OHs before we were together was an awful tablet taker and I reformed her within a few weeks.

Many years ago we used to give our sheltie daily heartworm and never had a problem with her either - she learnt very quickly there is 1 way to get your dinner - swallow the tablet. Mind you she was a piglet in sheltie clothing

[Erny]

It was Nina Bondarenko about 6 or 7 years ago (hmm could be longer even!) that talked about it ...

.... still gonna log it as "Pro-K9's Pill Popping Protocol" though even though I might not have been the 'first' to thunk it . In my books, I was ;).

It is such a delight though, when a dog will easily take a tablet (for person and for dog). I'm minding my sister's geriatric dog for a few weeks and she needed to give him a tablet on the day she dropped him here. Once he decides a pill is in the food there is no amount of coaxing that will have him take it. Because he's not used to it, popping it to him manually is a drama and because of his frailty and his age, to push the issue is too traumatic. He's profoundly deaf too, so you can't talk him through it either. Fortunately it was only a wormer, being given just because "he was due one" and so I told my sister to not worry about it.

I went to my boy and delivered him his daily thyroid tablet and it rammed it home at how easy and happy about it he is.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Erny