Animal Care Tips – Medicating Pets

As the pills all over this little guys face indicate, getting medicine into a dog or cat can be a challenge! Most dogs are relatively easy to medicate, especially if they are eating well. Hiding a pill or bit of liquid in a tasty treat works for most large dogs. (My dogs generally will eat anything that is just dropped into their dry dog food!) Many dogs accept peanut butter, cottage cheese, Velveeta and hot dogs. Cats can occasionally be convinced to eat medication when it is hidden in tuna. Some pets just don ™t fall for this trick, especially cats and smaller breed dogs. For these guys, we need to try to get the medication manually into the back of the throat. Again, larger breed dogs are usually easier to medicate this way – they often tolerate our shenanigans more readily and they have bigger snouts we can use for œhandles ! For smaller animals who tend to bite down or try to scratch you, a œpet piller may be helpful (our staff can demonstrate the use of this two dollar item.) Liquids can sometimes be squirted into the back of the mouth, but some pets don ™t swallow and just let it drool its way out! Animals who really resist oral medications may require injectable or transdermal forms of medication. Our doctors can talk to you about how to get medication into your resistant loved ones. Give us a call.