Pet Tip- Giving Your Pet Medications

How Do I Medicate My Pet?

- Often healthy or well veterinarians send you home with some kind of medication to administer without showing exactly how to do it.

What is the easiest way to give a pill?

  • Hide in something good- this works better for dogs than cats

  • Peanut butter, bread, canned cheese, canned food

  • Eventually MOST will figure this out and pick out the pill

Then what do I do?

  • Pet piller (demo)

  • Saves your fingers, is fast and effective

What other tricks work?

  • Force feed the pill (demo)

    • Open mouth

    • Place pill on the back of the tongue

    • Hold mouth closed for a few seconds

    • M

    • massage throat and/or blow small amount of air into nose to induce swallow

What about liquid medications?

  • These are often easier as they can’t be spit out as easily

  • Same method: open mouth, squirt in and hold mouth closed (demo if time)

Isn’t there any other way?

  • In many cases yes!

  • We can formulate taste chews, flavored liquids or transdermal applicators for our hard to pill and medicate patients

  • Just ask your veterinarian if the medication your pet needs is effective if given a different way