Mary Allen
With these 6 tips, administering pills, liquid medicine, and eye drops will be child’s play.
When your dog is sick, suffer with them. He should get better as soon as possible. However, the poor four-legged friend does not understand that bitter medicines are necessary for this. Here are 6 tips for getting the medicine into your pet.
I’m feeling lucky
With some dogs you are lucky and get tablets in the animal’s stomach with this trick: Grasp the dog’s lips from above and carefully open its mouth. Then place the medication at the root of your tongue, i.e. at the very back of your throat, close your pet’s mouth and hold it gently (!) shut. Gently massage your throat. This triggers the swallowing reflex. It is important that you watch your dog closely during this time and check that the tablet has actually been swallowed. This is the only way that the wormer or the tablet for the joints really gets to where it is supposed to go.
Pipettes as tools
With this tool, you can give liquid medicine to your dog more easily. Hold the lips far back on one side, i.e. practically in the “corner of the mouth” and very gently pull them slightly outwards so that they form a funnel. Gently push the pipette into your dog’s mouth. Then slowly enter the liquid. Remain calm and give your darling enough time to swallow the liquid. A treat afterward makes you forget a lot.
Tasty packaging
Wrapping a pill in a small piece of meat often solves the problem. Few dogs can say no to an extra helping of treats. In the meantime, however, there are also treats on the market that is specially made for the administration of tablets, in which the medication can be hidden.
If the dizziness catches on, try the main meal when your dog is more hungry and hide the pill between the food in the bowl. However, watch your dog closely while it is eating. Some tail-waggers are real artists at cleaning everything up first and then spitting out the pill at the end.
Change the physical state
Liquid medicine is often easier to administer. You can simply dissolve tablets in water and then put them in with a pipette (see point 2). Another option is to crush the tablet, this works very well with a mortar. This makes it less noticeable in the food and the dog cannot simply spit it out again.
Work in a team
Sometimes it is easier to administer medication in pairs. Then the procedure is done faster and the dog has significantly less stress. With eye drops, for example, one person can hold the dog’s snout gently, and the other opens the dog’s eye in question and carefully puts the drops in. Let the drops drip onto the eye from above without touching the cornea with the bottle.
Two helping hands are just as helpful with ear drops because many dogs resist the drug by shaking their heads violently. Have your helper hold the dog gently while you put the eardrops in. Important: They don’t have to go very far into the ear. Because the ear canal runs downward, the medication will flow down on its own.
Quiet is also required here and a treat afterward is a good idea.