Administering Medication: How to Give a Dog a Pill
Administering Medication
How to Give A Dog A Pill
There are many reasons to learn how to administer medications to pets in your care. The need for medicines ranges from anxiety, allergies, to life-saving reasons. It is your responsibility to know which medications are for which pet, what it is for, and the dosage. We all need to make our best effort in keeping pets safe and healthy for the pets and clients.
How to pill a dog without using any additional tools
This method is primarily for dogs with a high bite inhibition and is relatively mellow.
1. Hold the pill between your thumb and forefinger. Have a high-grade treat in the same hand behind the pill. The smell of the treat will be enticing to the dog. The dog can have the treat immediately after eating the pill. Hopefully, the treat after the pill will make the medicine go down.
2. Next grasp the dog's upper jaw behind the canine teeth. If the dog wriggles or struggles, sit behind them or position them in a corner.
3. Place your third or fourth finger on the lower jaw avoiding the canines.
4. Open the mouth and place the pill at the base of the tongue before they have an opportunity to resist. Avoid tilting the head back because that inhibits swallowing.
5. Close the dog's mouth and rub his throat in a downward motion to encourage swallowing. Wait to release until the dog swallows.
6. Follow up with treats and water to make sure the pill doesn't get stuck. Reward and praise immediately.
Other Options
Hide the pill in a pill pocket, globs of peanut butter, wet food, pumpkin, cream cheese, etc. Just make sure the pill was actually taken. Sometimes, dogs separate the pill from the treat.
Pill Guns
Stop by the office for a pill gun. This is a small syringe that is used to inject the pill to the back of the throat. Talk to your Pack Leader on advice for usage. This is a good option if you're worried about getting bit as the fingers are away from the mouth.
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