Hope someone can help me. My lhasa apso has allergies. Besides special shampoo, our vet suggested we give her benadryl. The problem is, she refuses to take it. We wrapped it in all the usual food items, meat, cheese, peanut butter, etc. We even tried dabbing it with poultry flavored toothpaste because a groomer told us it worked for her. We tried opening her mouth and putting the pill as far back as possible, then rubbing her throat to get her to swallow. She spits the pill out. One problem is, she is a picky eater, she really doesn't like treats.
We have no problem giving our other dogs a pill when needed, just this one.
If anyone has a way to give a DIFFICULT dog a pill, please please help us.
You will hear all sorts of suggestions-wrap the pill in various foods, open the capsule and mix it with something yummy, etc. Bottem line-if your dog does not want to be pilled, you will have to try something different. I have an English Mastiff,(185 lbs) that cannot be pilled. If it's obvious that your dog will not take a pill, no matter how it is disguised or shoved down her throat-you will have to go a different route.Dogs can smell the medication, no matter how it is disguised.
You'll get bitten, scratched, hurt the dog, or generally develop a bad relationship. Ask your vet for another suggestion.
We use canned cheese spread or cream cheese. Once they catch on to that (our departed dogs) we switched to hiding them in scrambled eggs-their favorite food.
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She might be more interested if she was hungry when you tried this but find something really yummy...chicken, burger, hotdogs...something she just can't refuse. Cut it into bite sized pieces and give her 2-3 or more WITHOUT the pill. Make a big deal... get her excited, praise her for taking them. Give them quickly so she's swallowing them immediately and looking for the next one then slip in the spiked one, followed by a couple more quickly.
You might have to do this a few times but should be able to reduce the total number gradually. Remember to PRAISE her everytime she takes a treat.
The other option is to figure out what is triggering her allergies and try to eliminate it/them which can be difficult if not impossible. There are allergy tests that can be run which will show what she is allergic to and customized shots can be developed based on her allergies. The shots are given by the owner for several weeks but in the cases I've heard of they really do make a difference.
If she has a food allergy and many dogs do, you might try switching foods. It means reading lots of labels though and choosing those that have different proteins. For example, if her current food is chicken based, try something that has NO chicken or corn (another known allergen) and try a food with fish or lamb or buffalo. If it is food related, it means you've got to be very careful with people foods & her treats. I would think your vet would have discussed food allergy with you though.
If she's really bad, a round of steroids might work to stop the cycle. There are side effects but of course Benadryl has side effects too.
sher9570 wrote: Pill gun...get one at Petsmart. We have had difficult dogs and cats over the years and we found this the easiest to use and it was the most effective.
That's what I'd try. A pill gun is inexpensive, so if it doesn't work you haven't lost much. But IMO it makes pilling cats and non-food-motivated dogs a lot easier. Here's a link so you can see one:
We're off to find liquid benadryl. The pill gun sounds intriguing, we'll look at that, too. No doubt, we need to take a different approach. Yummy treats don't work, she doesn't like them. She doesn't even like canned dog food. The other dogs inhale that stuff, she walks away from it.
If anyone has any other suggestions, keep them coming, in case these don't work.
I have a dog that doesn't like treats either. Sometimes I think more cat than dog. LOL. For everyday large vitamin pill I put a little very hot water in his bowl. Crunch the pill up and let set a few minutes and put the dry food on top. He eats it.
All that said, when ever I had a dog that didn't want to take prescribed meds it is very simple. I am bigger than my dog. I back him into a corner pull his mouth open and stick the pill in as far as my finger will reach then close his mouth and rub his throat until he swallows. I have had dogs for over 50 years and never had a dog I couldn't get a pill down yet. Vet showed me this a very long time ago because I couldn't get my dog to take prescribed meds.
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