Any tips or tricks for giving a particularly wily dog a pill?
My very old dog has become a big grump about taking pills. He used to tolerate the "pop it down the throat" method, but now he absolutely refuses to allow that. He is also not fooled by Pill Pockets. I think he associates the smell with being tricked into taking a pill and has decided it's not worth it...he won't even eat them when they are empty. He's also pretty skilled at separating out pills from pieces of cheese. Such a wily old guy. ;) Any tips for how to get him to take a pill?
Easy! First, get the dog into the "food frenzy" mode just like a shark gets. LOL. Toss him little balls of cream cheese or Velvetta or balls of rolled up soft american cheese. Let him eat 3 or 4 or 5 plain. THEN toss him one food ball with the pill wrapped up inside. change it up - one time use one kind of cheese, then next time use a different flavor. You can also use hamburger meat. Just get him into a food frenzy mode first. It's best to do this right before meal time when he is HUNGRY. Dogs tend to not chew much, so hopefully he will just swallow the food ball.
Food frenzy is the key... Use his favorite food. My dog will separate the pill out, have him sit, give food with their head back then quickly give food wrapped pill with head tilted back with another pill free food item. I use turkey or ham lunch meat since I have a picky eater
you can use flavored pill pockets or with the owners permission a piece of ham. they will just eat it whole. they love ham
Yes, you can try liverworse cold cuts. It is very easy to make a livetworse pill pockets.
I tried EVERY thing with my 160 lb male Rottie! He would eat whatever the pill was in, then spit the pill out. He's so laid back, I could open his mouth & shove it down his throat, but I HATED to do that to him! Now, I wrap each of his pills in a small piece of Braunschweiger--works great every time
I have a "pill-er" in my utensil drawer, that has never been used. My dog is nearing 14 years and we adopted her the day she turned six weeks. Hips out as a pup, grew from cartilage. I tried to force pills down but peanut butter was better.
I simply grab top of muzzle, open mouth, place pill way back on the tongue, close mouth and blow softly at their nose.
My method as taught by my GSD breeder is similar to Dee's. While keeping their mouth closed with one hand, gently rub their throat with your other hand for a couple of seconds until they swallow. Easy peasy!