Giving Medication To Dogs

Giving medication to your dog can be a difficult task since dogs are not used to consuming anything that does not appeal to them. Forcing your dog to take its medication is often an undesirable experience. However, these steps and tips will help you give medication to your dog the easiest and most pleasant way possible.

Before you can give medication to your dog, you must retrain it. Call your dog over to you in a pleasant tone of voice. Try not to sound worried or stressed, your dog can pick up on these feelings and react the same way. Do not use too much force when restraining your dog to take its medication. The more you try to force your dog, the more it will resist you and be afraid to take its medication. Gently pry your dog's jaws open and quickly place the pills or liquid on the back of its tongue. Release you dog so that it can swallow its medication. Repeat this process until you have given your dog the amount of medication required.

Different types of medication require different methods of consumption. The two most common types of medication are liquid and pills. I found that liquid medications are easier to give to your dog. Most liquid medications have flavors that are appealing to your dog and makes giving him or her the medication that much easier.

To give your dog a liquid medication, restrain the dog first. Pull one of its cheeks out a little so that you can place the eye dropper on the back of their tongue towards the throat. Squeeze a little bit of medication out at a time. Be careful to not give your dog too much medication as it can start choking. You can also put some of the liquid medication on your dog's food before it eats.

Giving your dog pills may be a lot trickier. There are many ways to give your dog a pill. You can open your dog's jaws and place the pill on the back of its tongue. Make sure your dog swallows the pill! You can also stick the pill inside cheese or another form of treat and give it to your dog that way. Another way to give your dog a pill is to crush it up and put it on some peanut butter. Stick the peanut butter on the roof of your dog's mouth, forcing them to lick it off and swallow it (I found this method works the best). Be creative, there are many ways to give your dog pill medications.

Some people have dogs that take to medication easily and do not put up much of a fight. Others have dogs that resist and struggle the entire time and will not swallow their medication. If you have a dog that struggles and fights you, don't give up. Think of new ways to get your dog to take its medication if the above steps don't work. If nothing else works, call your vet for more information about giving medication to your dog.