giving pills

[ejb110]

how do you give pills to dog.  He was just diagnosed with tonsilitis, I have tried shoving it down his throat only to have him gag on it and spit have of antibiotic out. Help!

[ginger899]

Try this.....it works with any dog I've ever known!
Get TWO smallish lumps of anything pretty squishy (like cheese, brown bread, sausage meat etc) which you know for CERTAIN your dog adores.
Wrap up the pill (without the dog seeing you do this) in the FIRST lump. Keep the SECOND lump pill-free.
Make an "OOH BOY! Here comes a treat !!" attitude, and your dog will get interested. Hold out the first lump to make him salivate. With your other hand, hold the second lump a bit further back. Make sure he sees both. Then give him the first lump while holding the second right in front of his eyes. I guarantee that first (wrapped-up pill) will disappear down that dog's throat without even touching the sides. Then give him the second lump, which he will probably chew. He won't know anything happened!

[katew888]

Greenies pill pockets work great.

[Jaybay]

I do it so fast now I can hardly describe it.  If you trick him by putting the pill in something like a bit of cheese or lunchmeat - great!  My dogs always quickly figured out how to eat the treat and then spit out the pill.  Grrrr!  

I approach from the to left side which gets the dog to raise his head to see what's going on.  Then I'll quickly smooth my hand over the nose while putting my index finger and thumb into each mouth corner to open the mouth.  As soon as the mouth opens, I use my right index finger to pop the pill just past where the back of the tongue rises against the roof of the mouth.  No way is it coming back up.  

All that sounds complicated, but in truth it takes all of about one second.  You just have to be calm and matter-of-fact about it.  If you approach pilling in a timid, fearful manner, the dog will pick up on that and think it's something to fear.

I'm on dog #4 now, and don't even bother with the cheese thing.  If they need a pill; they get pilled.  That way I know for certain it didn't get spit out later.  LOL

[roxy2007]

its easier with a big dog then a small. you really have to shove it  far back (with the head in an upward position) so that it's very hard for them to push it back up. you can put it in as far as you can, hold the head in an upward position until he/she swallows a few times (you can rub the throat to help encourage them to swallow), or you can try to chase it down with a piece of cheese or anything else he considers *yummy*. it's not obviouse but it's definitly something you can get the hang of. A vet of even a technician should be able to show you how to do this properly.

my dane has needed pills a couple of times and she is very sneaky with spitting them back up. i have to put the pill so far back that half of my forearm is in her mouth but as long as it's far enough back they SHOULDNT be able to spit it back up. it's definitly easier if you can chase it down with food though.... makes it more pleasent for both you and your furry friend =)