For many pet owners when it comes time to give your animals medication, whether it be a monthly worming tablet or other pill recommended by a vet, just the thought of knowing the troubles to come can be enough to start you worrying.
For some lucky dog an cat owners though there is no problem at all, they can simply hold the tablet out and their pet will happily eat whatever is put in front of them, others are not so lucky, and what should be a two minute process soon turns into half an hour of scratching, clawing and screaming and that’s just the owner.
If you have problems giving your dog or cat tablets here’s some tips that may help a little:
- For smaller dogs and cats, try wrapping them in a towel or blanket and then hold securely between your knees if possible.
- When holding your pets mouth open to administer the tablet, first and foremost, be calm yourself (it’s always a good idea to try this from an early age, to get them used to having their mouth held open) and place the tablet as far as possible to the back of the mouth. To ensure the tablet is swallowed you can try dripping water in their mouth which will make them swallow or holding their mouth closed and rubbing under their throat.
- Some owners may try hiding the pill in their pets food, and on some occasions this will work, on others the animal will eat everything around it until there is nothing but a lonely tablet sitting at the bottom of their feed bowl.
- You can try covering the pill in cheese or other sticky type food substance like butter (never use human chocolate as this can be fatal for animals) or if they have a particular pet treat they like try mixing it with that.
- Several brands of worming tablets for example are now flavoured so perhaps try changing brands – as always check with your vet.
- You can also check your local vet or pet store to see if there an any alternative methods of getting your pet to take pills – pill pushers for example.
These are just a few tips that you may want to try the next time you need to give your dog or cat a tablet. Please visit Pet Help or the Pet Help Blog for more pet related articles.
For other Family related articles please visit V Brown at Family Life.
