SUMMARY: Update on Tika taking/not taking meds.
Wellllll last night it took several tries with increasing quantities of cream cheese to get Tika to take each half of the chewable tablet. She took the capsule and two pills, though.
This morning, different story. Sniffed each offer of cream cheese before taking it. If nothing else, this might be a good exercise in finally teaching her some self control about taking fingers along with whatever food is offered. If there was something in the cheese, she refused it.
I managed to get the two little pills into her, and the capsule by offering a whole ton of plain cream cheese before and after (all of which she sniffed suspiciously before taking), but the first half of the chewable went down only with a tremendous amount of cream cheese spread on my hands, my jeans, the floor, and her left shoulder (don't ask).
After that, she wouldn't even take plain cream cheese and quickly abandoned the kitchen when I tried to offer her some.
However, I was able to go to the emergency peanut butter supplies to get her to finally take that last half of the so-called chewable tablet.
Not sure how long the peanut butter will work. I bought some canned dogfood to try if/when the spreadables stop working. Then it'll have to be grinding up the pills and hoping she won't reject the whole shebang. Need to find out whether I can open the capsule and sprinkle the contents into food.
Dogs always provide a challenge, don't they.
I just got Cody some pain relievers so I'm on the peanut butter, or actually almond butter, as well. I've never had it fail for me, even for long term stints, but dogs are funny. Fingers crossed it continues to work. Maybe if you rotate between a few different things, keep her guessing.
ReplyDeleteFunny--last night, the cream cheese worked pretty well again. I think you're right that keeping her guessing is the trick. And I need to do this for the rest of her life?! (Which of course I hope will be a long one.)
DeleteLots of work our doggies are but worth it. Hope you got some cream cheese for yourself!
ReplyDeleteI originally thought I'd have some for me, but for some odd reason now I associate it with dog medicines. :-)
DeleteHave you tried pill pockets? Expensive but may be worth it considering the amount of cream cheese you're going through.
ReplyDeleteI think that the pill pockets would be a lot more expensive than the cheese because there are so many pills so often, but don't think I haven't thought about giving them a try, too! Thanks for the reminder.
DeleteI second the pill pockets. My vet calls them "doggie crack". The secret is to buy the bigger "capsule" size (more than twice the weight in the smaller "pill" size package) and just break off enough to wrap the pill in. I can easily get 2 or more doses per pocket depending on the pill size. All the dogs run up and drool when I open the bag! I have only tried chicken and beef flavors, the ingredients are practically identical and the texture of the chicken is slightly better. And they don't stick to your fingers! Or need refrigeration! Nobody here has noticed crunchy centers yet but they don't chew much anyway, just swallow quick so nobody else gets it.
ReplyDeleteTika mostly hasn't noticed the crunchy centers--until she did. Who knows why. I was also eyeing the pitted dates sitting in a big container on my table--like natural pill pockets! I think dates are OK to feed dogs...
DeleteHmmm... Have you tried sometimes offering her cream cheese (or peanut butter or whatnot), with no pills in them, for the whole session? Maybe if she had a couple of no-pill cream cheese treats throughout the day, she might stop being so suspicious? On the other hand, that might just make her get tired of cream cheese altogether...
ReplyDeleteHere's approximately what I did this morning: (A) Boost cr chs, tika cr chs, boost cr chs, tika cr cheese, boost cr ch, (b) tika cr chs with half a pill (no problem), repeat (A), (C) tika cr chs with other small pill, no problem, repeat (A), tika cr chs with half a chewable tablet, instant reject.
DeleteMarshmallows work for some dogs too. Pull open a side to make a gap, push pill into sticky center, reseal. They don't stick to fingers either but hold onto pills pretty well.
ReplyDeleteOh, another cool idea! PLus then *I* could have some marshmallows.
DeleteI swear by Kraft Easy Cheese to pill dogs. Not the most healthy, but easy and the dogs never tire of it.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_Cheese
Another good suggestion. Thanks!
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