When our four-legged baby is under strict medication for a particular health condition or injury, it’s our job as fur parents to convince them to take their medicine. Whether a pill or liquid medication, dogs and cats are known to be averse to taking medications, frequently leading to missed doses and stressed fur parents.
This isn’t good, especially if your pet needs to recover soon, so let’s tackle some valuable techniques to get them to take their medicine and ease your worries.
5 Tips to Trick Dogs Into Taking Their Medication
Do you observe your pet developing jaws of steel each time you give them a dose of medicine? And each time you pry apart your furry buddy’s mouth, you know you can only have one opportunity 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 medicines to your furry companion doesn’t have to be challenging if you try the following tricks we’ve collected.
1. Try pill pusher
Pill pushers are extensively available from veterinarians and work best for small dogs. You can utilize this small tool to push the pill to the back of your dog’s throat while keeping your fingers unscathed. This approach is not foolproof and needs practice, but it can be efficient once mastered.
2. 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 won’t notice it inside.
If your pet experiences a minor or extreme mishap following a strenuous activity or exercise, bring them to an emergency vet quickly to address the situation. You may visit this link for detailed information about pet emergency care facilities.
3. Consider chewable medications
Although some liquid or tablet medications are mainly created to treat particular health conditions, always ask your vet if a chewable or flavored medicine is available. Most pets will consume 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 a vet that offers medical services for horses could help determine their situation and suggest medications to address whatever conditions they’re going through.
4. Use pill pockets
Some dog food manufacturers produce tasty treats designed to hold pills or pills inside. Not only are they yummy for canines, 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 cat boarding facilities when you unwind on vacation and can’t take them with you? Just notify the personnel about your pet’s intake schedule, and they’ll handle them with care.
5. Hide the medicine in strong-smelling or wet foods
Felines and canines have a more sharp and keen smell than people, which drives them away when you’re giving them their medicines. However, this problem can be solved by hiding medication in strong-smelling, wet foods. The smell of the food will naturally lure your pet and eventually neglect the scent of the medicine.
