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Getting dog to take heartworm pills?

Question:

I found a way to get that medicine down without even having to close the dog’s mouth.  If you take the pill and wrap in a little bit of cheese, or put it in a little cut in a tiny piece of meat – take another piece of cheese or meat in your other hand.  Give the dog the first with the pill and immediately show him the other treat.  He will swallow the first (with the pill) immediately to go after the second.  Works every time!  Good luck!  Kathy

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try even ice cream or even peanut butter (non crunchy) ED

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Just the way we do it. We teach all our own pups to let us inspect their teeth, give them pills, etc. The save approach (for a right handed person): 1) let the dog sit 2) place your right hand over the dogs nose with your thumb and middle finger just behind his canine teeth. gently push his lips inside his mouth. the mouth will automatically open. this method offers a bit of protection against the dog biting in your fingers. 3) turn his head until the nose points up 4) the mouth is opened more. put the pill between the thumb and index finger of your left hand and use the other fingers of your left hand to open the mouth. drop the pills in the back of his mouth. 5) either add a little water (a table spoon is enough) or use your fingers (if you trust the dog) to position the pill(s) on the back of the tongue 6) immediately remove your right hand and move the dogs head in a normal position. 7) give a snack sometime you need to keep the dogs mouth closed and gently stroke his throat until he swallows. NOTE: this method was used by a vet and worked with almost all dogs. of course your dog is not so difficult, so you could easily modify it to suite your needs. remember that the vet had to treat dogs that wouldn’t cooperate and did not have any problems with biting the vet. — kind regards, Jigal van Hemert (remove BLAH from reply address) Visit the best Dutch Border Collie site (also in English) at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~dcbjht – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just stick it way in the back of my dogs throats, ( they automatically swallow). I do this with all three of my dogs and never have a problem. I give my older dog buffered aspirin the same way.

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Our dog likes his pills hidden in cream cheese. He just swallows them without pausing. Now he’s on antibiotics for 14 days, so we’re fortunate that this method works rather well. Just scoop cream cheese, put a pill inside and into the mouth it goes

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Quote: Just scoop cream cheese, put a pill inside and into the mouth it goes Whatever happened to the old-fashioned way? Works fine, is fast, gets the job done. Step 1 –pry open the dog Step 2 — insert pill (one or several) WAY back in throat (watch the fingernails) Step 3 — close the dog, hold shut       Step 4 — stroke the throat until dog goes glurp or sticks his tongue out or eyes bulge Jane Webb Mudpie & Moonpie

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Quote: Just scoop cream cheese, put a pill inside and into the mouth it goes Whatever happened to the old-fashioned way? Works fine, is fast, gets the job done. Step 1 –pry open the dog Step 2 — insert pill (one or several) WAY back in throat (watch the fingernails) Step 3 — close the dog, hold shut Step 4 — stroke the throat until dog goes glurp or sticks his tongue out or eyes bulge Jane Webb Mudpie & Moonpie

I had always used the above way, Jane, without any problem with either dog, until lately when I had a rough time getting pills down Annie, about 15 a day.  I kept finding pills on the carpet minutes after I thought they were gone.  I know when she licks her lips it is supposed to be gone, but she fooled me.  Then someone told me to use peanut butter and no problem since.  Just a little, so that the pills are attached, not necessarily covered, and down they go.  I don’t know why, but it is working, so … whatever works…    Gen

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Just scoop cream cheese, put a pill inside and into the mouth it goes

Step 1 –pry open the dog Step 2 — insert pill (one or several) WAY back in throat (watch the fingernails) Step 3 — close the dog, hold shut Step 4 — stroke the throat until dog goes glurp or sticks his tongue out or eyes bulge

Then someone told me to use peanut butter and no problem since.

   When my Doberlady, BlueBean was dying of liver failure, I had to give her a LOT of medication. The only way I could get it down her was with goose-liver pate. Unfortunately, she didn’t live long enough to break the bank. I expect peanut butter or cream cheese are CONSIDERABLY less expensive! Live and learn. Bev. — <<Lord, please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am.   Bev. <<doGgess, please make her the kind of person I think she OUGHTA be   Jessie the Wonder Dog (Pig) (Please remove "dog" from e-mail address before sending)

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I have found that peanut butter does wonders for pill taking, my two sibes look forward to the beginning of the month so that they can have their PB treat of heartworm pill jim brewster

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What is it your trying to make him eat? Maybe if you put it in his food before he comes in, he will not notice and eat it.                   1# – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do? me

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I had a real problem with this.  Anything I gave Maggie her pills in, she would eat the food and spit out the pill!  Until I discovered cream cheese.  She loves cream cheese and has never once spit out the pill.  Hope this works for you. Linda….Maggie and Beauty who rule the roost ^~^ ^~^          A House Is Not A Home Without A Dog (Remove NOSPAM for email address)

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MP sick…. Then we resorted to the old hold his mouth open and lob the MP pill in – except that when he realised what we were doing he wimpered, MP and when re-offered the pate gulped it down… Don’t forget, after you have inserted the pill down your dog’s throat, closed his jaws and stroked his throat in a downward direction to aid in swallowing, you are supposed to kiss the dog on his nose.  THAt is the spoonful of sugar! avrama & shomer .. nfx v2.7 [C0000] Blest be the bric-a-brac that still survives            

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I have two Shepherds and do it the same way without problems. The kiss on the nose is definitely what does it!! Jilmaye – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – MP sick…. Then we resorted to the old hold his mouth open and lob the MP pill in – except that when he realised what we were doing he wimpered, MP and when re-offered the pate gulped it down… Don’t forget, after you have inserted the pill down your dog’s throat, closed his jaws and stroked his throat in a downward direction to aid in swallowing, you are supposed to kiss the dog on his nose.  THAt is the spoonful of sugar! avrama & shomer .. nfx v2.7 [C0000] Blest be the bric-a-brac that still survives

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What kind of heartworm pill are you trying to give? My best way to give a dog a pill (of the non-chewable variety) is this: Have dog sit. With left hand hold top of dog’s snout, near nose. With right hand take pill between thumb and forefinger and pry the dog’s mouth open with the edge of your hand. Then, all you need to do is push the pill reasonably far down the dog’s throat with your thumb and forefinger. Follow it up with a treat, to make sure the pill goes all the way down. Or, purchase flavored chewable heartworm medication (heartgard, interceptor) that the dog will eat willingly. Good  luck! -Shannon I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do? me

– To respond, please remove the anti-spam from my address.  Thank you. http://web.mit.edu/slarkin/www/guinnessthedog.html

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I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do?

Smack him for growling at you and switch him over to Heartgard. He’ll go for it like it’s a treat, but you only give it once a month. =IML= **        Help stop Internet SPAM! Join the        ** ** Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ** **      (CAUCE).  Visit http://www.cauce.org       **

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I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do?

We’ve got a number of tricks – we need alot since Boysie is on 3 pills twice a day for his heart condition. The best one is take some food he likes, pate, cheese spread or whatever, and add the pill to that and he’ll wolf it down – although recently he got wise to us, when a new pill he was taking reached toxic levels – making him sick – so he started associating pate with being sick…. Then we resorted to the old hold his mouth open and lob the pill in – except that when he realised what we were doing he wimpered, and when re-offered the pate gulped it down… Malcolm — Malcolm (recent 5-5-0 sav%84.05 GAA 7.80 – career 29-26-1 85.38% 6.37) Goaltending is 90% mental, the other 10% is in your head (ICQ#8195978) Hockey Results & Tables: http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~sonic/hockey.html

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I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do? me

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I just stick it way in the back of my dogs throats, ( they automatically swallow). I do this with all three of my dogs and never have a problem. I give my older dog buffered aspirin the same way. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do? me

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sneaky dog owner trick # 82 ;-) before he is fed make up some tiny balls of a treat he likes – cheese – raw hamburger – mighty dog canned food  - something YUMMY in one of the balls place the heart worm pill (interceptor has smaller pills than those chewable ones) flip your dog a unfilled treat saying catch as he gets more enthusiastic flip the one with the pill in it and then flip the next unfilled one he should gulp the pill down in anticipation of the next treat Nancy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do? me

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One word: peanut butter!  (Okay, okay, that’s two words. :)  )  I dip our pups’ pills in peanut butter and they gobble ‘em up! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do? me

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Have you tried the chewable Heartguard pills?  My 7-month old ches. bay retriever gobbles it up every month.  With other medications, wrapping the pill in peanut butter has worked wonderfully with her.   Good luck! Aims – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have tried several approaches to getting my 8month old lab/golden mix. I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ). What should I do?

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They’re easy to hide in the dog food if it’s the dry mixed with canned plus table scraps.  I add some water and heat it in the microwave.  They gobble it all down, HW pills and all.   :o ) — Carol ….   Epic #2 "If you think that’s bad just picture this… Just try holding those brats with their pants full of —- They pull on my nose, they grab at my beard… And if I don’t smile…the parent’s think that I’m weird." ~~ }<(((0 ~~~ }<{{{o ~~~ }<(((0 ~~~ }<{{{o ~~~ }<(((0 : shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger : trying to hit him with a stick :( ). : : What should I do?

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Lucy (Lab/Rottie mix) will take either her heartworm pills or her estrogen (or just about anything else, I’d suspect) if we give it to her with sour cream, peanut butter, cheese, or other soft, yummy people food.  She’s very good about it – we show her the medicine & the people food, put them together while she’s watching, and either put it in her mouth (and pull our fingers back quickly so they don’t also get nibbled) or let her lick it off of a spoon.  She’s never given us the least bit of trouble with any medicine we’ve had to give her orally (pills, tablets, capsules), although she’s a bit uncooperative with ear drops. On the other hand, this food application of medicine won’t make pill-time easy with all dogs…  The people-food-with-medicine works great on my dominant dog, but not on this very submissive dog we know. We recently watched this dog, a chocolate Lab, for a week and had to give her some pain medicine daily.  This is about the most docile, easygoing dog there is – until it’s medicine time.  The medicine was small, white, aspirin-like tablets.  They were very bitter (I forgetfully licked a finger once after touching one of the tablets), so I can see why she wouldn’t like them.  Oh, she’d accept the medicine with the food, all right, but she’d then lick or chew everything but the medicine and then spit the medicine out.  Time after time after time.  Peanut butter, sour cream, didn’t matter.  After trying unsuccessfully to have her lick the stuff off of a spoon (and swallow the pill), I tried putting the food-medicine combo into her mouth and even holding her mouth closed while she swallowed – didn’t help.  Medicine came right back out as soon as I let go.  I ended up having to go the classic route – had to pry her mouth open and hold it open with my hand inside in order to pop the pills far enough back in her throat – back behind the hinge of her jaw – so that she couldn’t spit the pill back out.  [Meanwhile, because of the people food, Lucy was sitting next to her and drooling, drooling, drooling...] Sigh.  So if you end up having to pop the pills into the dog, don’t feel bad – even the "magic tricks" don’t always work, and the dog’s personality doesn’t seem to be a factor. Arielle — Permission Denied Manager; Our Lady of Infinite Loops                 Fluffy          %:-Iooo===|   Lucy dog:               http://adams.patriot.net/~arielle/lucy.html Genealogy:              http://adams.patriot.net/~arielle/air/geneal.html Bad Movie Night:        http://adams.patriot.net/~arielle/badmovie.html The Cult of The Lamp:   http://adams.patriot.net/~arielle/lamp.html

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I’ve tried making him sit and acting like its a treat. I’ve tried hiding it in his food. I’ve tried forceing him to swallow it by holding his mouth shut. (he liked this least of all, and growled at me like I was a stranger trying to hit him with a stick :( ).

Well, you should get someone who is good at it to show you how to pill an unwilling dog;  it is useful to know at a later date and should happen so quickly that a good-natured dog won’t have time to growl or be upset.   Just "huh?" followed by "OH!" as you offer a yummy treat to follow up the pill.  The trick is to pop the pill over the back of his tongue (and lift the head and stroke the throat), but it’s much easier to show than to explain. However, you shouldn’t need to get your hands all dog-drooly for the regular heartworm medication.  Both Heartguard and Interceptor have chewables;  does Filaribits?  I thought they did too.  If the dog actualy doesn’t think the chewable is a treat, switch to a non-chewable (the pill is smaller) and poke the pill into a small cube of Velveeta (known as "dog cheese" in my household, as the humans won’t eat it).  Offer one or two unpilled cubes first — when he is gulping them down without close examination, offer the real MacGuffin.  Works best if you get the dog all excited about the treats, don’t have him sit for the treat unless he’s real wiggly about that.  You want excitement! enthusiasm! bad manners! for this particular trick, IME.  – Elizabeth B. Naime            *   Email may be forwarded and/or posted CUR 70 / FUR 212              *       * Standard Disclaimers Apply*

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