When our furry baby is under strict medication for a certain health condition or injury, our duty as fur parents is to encourage them to take their medication. Whether a pill or liquid medicine, cats and dogs are known to be disinclined to take medications, often resulting in missed doses and stressed fur parents.
This isn’t good, especially if your pet needs to recover soon, so let’s tackle some easy techniques to get them to take their medicine and relieve your worries.
How to Trick Dogs Into Taking Their Medicine
Do you see your pet developing jaws of steel each time you give them a dosage of medication? And each time you pry apart your furry buddy’s mouth, you know you can only have one shot to drop the pill or squirt the dropper of liquid medication in their mouth. When you miss this chance, the liquid medicine or the pill will only leak down your pet’s face and get wasted.
However, giving medications to your pet does not have to be challenging if you try the following techniques we’ve gathered.
1. Add a capsule to take away the flavor
Some medications have a bitter or bad taste to them. However, putting them inside empty capsules can remove the smell and taste your pet will not want. You may hide the capsules in their food, and they will not notice it inside.
If your furry friend encounters a minor or severe accident following a rigorous activity or exercise, bring them to a pet emergency care center quickly to deal with the situation.
2. Try pill pusher
Pill pushers are widely available from veterinarians and work best for small dogs. This small tool can press the pill to the back of your dog’s throat while keeping your fingers unscathed. This technique is not foolproof and requires practice, but it can be helpful when mastered.
3. Consider chewable medications
Although some liquid or pill medications are specifically developed to treat certain health conditions, always ask your veterinarian if a chewable or flavored medicine is available. Most pets will eat it like a treat, and you’ll have no problems.
Do you have a sick horse or large animal that requires an expert’s attention? Taking them to an equine vet could help determine their situation and prescribe medications to address whatever conditions they’re going through. You may click here to learn more about what they do.
4. Use pill pockets
Some dog food companies produce tasty treats designed to hold tablets or capsules inside. Not only are they tasty for pets, but these canine pill pocket products can also be molded to cover and surround the medicine to prevent the medication from touching your dog’s mouth.
Did you know that even if your pet is under medication, you can still leave them in boarding centers when you unwind on vacation and can’t take them with you? Just inform the personnel about your pet’s intake schedule, and they’ll handle them with care. You may visit their website to learn more about pet boarding services.
5. Hide the medicine in strong-smelling or wet foods
Cats and dogs have a more sharp and more keen smell than humans, which drives them away when you give them their medications. However, this problem can be solved by hiding medicine in strong-smelling, wet foods. The smell of the food will naturally draw your pet and eventually ignore the scent of the medicine.
