Loving my Oldies Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Some of you may remember my thread of about a year ago started in desperation about how to give meds to a dog who was sick and would not eat. This thread led to two things: a huge depletion of my bank account as I bought just about every food on the market trying out the suggestions :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: and an increase in Bunter’s weight as he was fed just about all of these as Danny constantly turned up his nose and god forbid I try anything new with Jeune and Tamar I am a slow learner, but I eventually hit on a method. I crush the tablets up in smooth peanut butter and spread on the roof of Danny’s mouth. Even this he was sometimes able to spit out, but it worked for quite a while. A couple of months ago, I had a lightbulb moment and substituted Nutrigel for the peanut butter. Magic :happydance: I have been giving him Nutrigel mixed in bone broth on a daily basis to keep his weight up so always had it on hand. It works becuase 1) it tastes good, and 2) it is the consistency of molasses and so can’t be spat out. I know lots of people have difficulties with giving meds and it can be very distressing. If anyone who has a hard time giving their dogs medications, I’d love to know if you try this and it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 careful with peanuts butter - a lot of them contains Xylitol which is extrem dangerous for dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) a lot of them contains Xylitol This would be the low or no sugar options. I checked a bunch of jars in our supermarket fairly recently and couldn't find any with this stuff. Tho it is common in the USA and definitely means checking the ingredient list. The most recent jar of Dick Smith - was the only jar I could find with Australian Peanuts, also had some sugar - which I rate as undesirable but non toxic. I guess the only other way is to get some peanuts crushed at your local health food shop. Then it's all peanut and nothing else. Except trace of rat poo - all peanut has this, well all the imported peanuts will. PS I had to google nutrigel. Apparently its main reason to exist is to make tablets taste better while giving the dog a vitamin boost. But I would not want to have to use it for dog food. Not at $80 per kg (same price as many liver treats eg $8 for 100g). (Or over $1000 for a 15Kg bag - if you could get it that way). Edited March 25, 2016 by Mrs Rusty Bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Mrs RB, I first came across Nutrigel many years ago when I had a little dog with Cancer. As I understand it, its main reason to exist is to help dogs and cats with illnesses such as cancer who find it very hard to eat and/or keep normal foods down and is very high in calories. As Danny doesn’t have cancer, but has illnesses which cause him to bring up food and eat only small amounts, it is perfect. Tamar also ..... a little dog to whom food can be scary :D. I have started giving her a little bit from time to time as she is a little bit underweight. A tube which costs (I think) about $24 lasts several weeks, if not longer. Willem - I hope you don’t have children. They must live in fear of everything the world has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Nutrigel has saved lives of many cats & dogs who wouldn't /couldn't eat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 careful with peanuts butter - a lot of them contains Xylitol which is extrem dangerous for dogs! Only if you are in the US , luckily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 You can get 100% peanut butter at the supermarket. I think Sanitarium brand is the cheapest, but there's also Mayvers. You'll find it in the health food section. I have NEVER seen Xylitol in Australian peanut butter and I did extensive checking recently when selecting a new brand. One should always check of course, but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) Willem - I hope you dont have children. They must live in fear of everything the world has to offer. ...my kids feed on chocolate, peanuts butter etc....while this is not always the healthiest diet for kids, the ingredients are not - in the product specific dosage - toxic for them. It seems that some people don't understand that the digestive system of a dog works totally different, e.g. you can use one Xylitol tablet in your coffee and it won't do you any harm, however, one Xylitol tablet is enough to kill a dog....as chocolate does... BTW: Xylitol is not necessarily classified as artificial sugar replacement as it is a sugar alcohol and - in small conc. - prevalent in many fruits (hence a natural sugar). Therefore human food might contain Xylitol without the term 'Xylitol' mentioned on the package. ETA...some funny spelling errors :D ... ETA: ...instead of 'Xylitol' the package could state 'natural sweetener' for example... Edited March 25, 2016 by Willem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchnauzerMax Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Willem - I hope you don't have children. They must live in fear of everything the world has to offer. ...my kids feed on chocolate, peanuts butter etc....while this is not always the healthiest diet for kids, the ingredients are not - in the product specific dosage - toxic for them. It seems that some people don't understand that the digestive system of a dog works totally different, e.g. you can use one Xylitol tablet in your coffee and it won't do you any harm, however, one Xylitol tablet is enough to kill a dog....as chocolate does... BTW: Xylitol is not necessarily classified as artificial sugar replacement as it is a sugar alcohol and - in small conc. - prevalent in many fruits (hence a natural sugar). Therefore human food might contain Xylitol without the term 'Xylitol' mentioned on the package. ETA...some funny spelling errors :D ... ETA: ...instead of 'Xylitol' the package could state 'natural sweetener' for example... Yes but according to my reading of the food standards, if it is declared as "natural sweetener" or "humectant" or "stabiliser" it must also specify the E number e.g. "Humectant(E967)". So, you can either name it "Xylitol" or classify its use and specify the number. It should not be labelled as just "natural sweetener". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 If you buy your peanut butter at a farmers' market they grind and bottle it in front of you: no additives or preservatives or sugars, just peanuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) No Xylitol in peanut butter in Australia Edited March 25, 2016 by Dame Aussie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) This sanitarium one http://www.sanitarium.com.au/products/spreads/peanut-butter/natural-smooth-peanut-butter 100% peanuts But last time I looked all the peanuts were imported - some from China - except Dick Smith - and this was in the foodland. PS good to know about the nutrigel - I hope I never need it for any of my hounds. Edited March 25, 2016 by Mrs Rusty Bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Even chocolate in small quantities is not always toxic. According to my vet most dogs would need to eat a whole block of dark chocolate for them to become concerned. The first Christmas I had Mac he ate two packets of Paddington handmade chocolates I bought for gifts - milk chocolate - and the silly goofball was absolutely fine - just as the vet said he would be. So its not always black and white - just as mine have had accidentally had cooked onion and suffered no ill effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 After doing a TAFE prac on Thursday where I had to worm a huge bearded dragon, I'll never complain about medicating dogs again... lol! Seriously though, I have fun with one of my pet foxes who really isn't fussed on being handled - devising ways to sneak worming stuff into food I can get him to take by hand has been fun... we have decided that fresh human grade chicken mince is the trick at the moment (and I'm a lot less likely to be bitten). It's even more fun to dose the numerous foxes at the rescue, as quite a few are housed in huge pens with up to 5 foxes in them, and there will always be one or two who shun human contact and you have to find where they are hiding and try to make sure they get their dose without the others in the enclosure snaffling it... *grin*... I've managed to work out each shy fox's fave treat foods now, and so medication days tend to fall when I'm working there to ensure everyone gets dosed properly. I'm so lucky that my dogs are complete pigs and are happy to be medicated by whatever method I see fit... hehe! T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 This sanitarium one http://www.sanitarium.com.au/products/spreads/peanut-butter/natural-smooth-peanut-butter 100% peanuts But last time I looked all the peanuts were imported - some from China - except Dick Smith - and this was in the foodland. PS good to know about the nutrigel - I hope I never need it for any of my hounds. Funny. Weve got a really yummy brand made gere in NZ & they import the nuts from Oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) Even chocolate in small quantities is not always toxic. According to my vet most dogs would need to eat a whole block of dark chocolate for them to become concerned. The first Christmas I had Mac he ate two packets of Paddington handmade chocolates I bought for gifts - milk chocolate - and the silly goofball was absolutely fine - just as the vet said he would be. So its not always black and white - just as mine have had accidentally had cooked onion and suffered no ill effects. ...it is the theobromine in the cacao that is toxic...milk chocolate has less cacao than dark chocolate e.g. baking chocolate, hence it is less toxic for dogs. To say it is harmless for dogs is a little bit like using 'my grandpa smoked his whole life and died with 100 years' as evidence that smoking has no negative health effects. Edited March 26, 2016 by Willem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazydoglady99 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thanks for sharing DDD :) Never know when one of us might need to use nutrigel :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) ...it is the theobromine in the cacao that is toxic...milkchocolate has less cacao than dark chocolate e.g. baking chocolate, hence it isless toxic for dogs. To say it is harmless for dogs is a little bit like using 'mygrandpa smoked his whole life and died with 100 years' as evidence thatsmoking has no negative health effects. Willem where did I say it was harmless? I said it was 'not always toxic' which is true. Yet another example of your twisting others posts to suit your own black and white position. The world and this forum is not black and white. You usually have such good information to share yet do it in such a way and using a superior rude tone that puts people off your posts and discussion with you. And no I'm not going to argue with you (as no doubt your next post will prove my point). Most rational posters here will have followed the 'grey' my post introduced. Grey - learn it, live it, love it - and you'll have some wonderful discussions here. Edited March 26, 2016 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Thanks for sharing DDD :) Never know when one of us might need to use nutrigel :) Huge fan of nutrigel. Cleaned kennels and cat cages to get through uni. Always had a tube in the cattery for various things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Yes Nutrigel is marvellous stuff - we used to use a product of the same name with human swallowing patients years ago - so suspect it and its variants have probably been around for a long time. 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