How to give your pets prescription medicine

There are few owners who take their dog or cat into a veterinary clinic that do not cringe every time the doctor prescribes some type of oral medication.

Although liquids are easier than pills or capsules, they can be messy and hard to tell how much got into the animal and how much is now sitting in your hair. Pills and capsules, on the other hand, are often a nightmare for the owner. This is especially true after they have seen the doctor or the veterinary technician do it with ease. It is at this point more than one owner told me over the years how ashamed they were that their dog or cat “got the better of them.” So many of our clients would simply give up and let the disease or condition run its course than come back and admit they couldn’t get their pet to take the medications.

Dogs:

I start with dogs because they are by far the easier to do. The size and temperament of your dog may require you to have additional assistance when medicating.

First off, dogs will often become less confident when up off the floor. If possible, place the dog on a table. If a second person is required, have them come up on the opposite side of the dog from where you are standing. They will then bring one arm up under and around the neck while the hand comes behind the ear to grasp the head. The other arm will go over the back and the hand slides behind the elbow of the front leg. The assistant will then need to pull the dog snugly against their body. This will restrain the dog from backing or running away as well as thrashing around.

Regardless of whether you have an assistant or not, give liquids in a syringe to make things easier. Spoons are fairly useless where pets are concerned. For the sake of instruction I will assume you are right handed.

Firmly but gently grasp the muzzle of the dog and hold shut with the left hand. As you raise the head, take the syringe of medication in the right hand and slide the tip along the side of the jaw in the pocket that the skin forms. Take care not to gouge the gums while doing this. Depress the plunger to dispense the medication and continue to hold the jaws momentarily. You will be able to see the dogs throat working has he or she swallows the dose. Pills will be given differently.

One of the all time easiest ways to give a dog a pill is to wait until he or she is hungry and place it inside a bite of hot dog, bread, cheese or ball of canned food. The only problem with this is that you will have to watch and make sure the dog has swallowed the pill because of the ability of some dogs have to find the pill and spit it out. For these you will need a different approach.

First off you will want to make sure you have the pill in easy access when you begin the procedure. When you have everything together, grasp the dog’s upper jaw from side to side while pinning the lips to the teeth. You will want to make sure the fingers and thumb of your left hand are near the middle of the muzzle and not in the back where the strong molars are located. Once you have a strong but again gentle grasp on the dog, pull upward to open the mouth. Grasp the pill between the thumb and middle finger of your right hand and push it as far back into the throat as possible. Use the index finger to push it even further back. Quickly remove your right hand and shut the dog’s mouth. Hold it shut until you see the throat move. If you have a stubborn one that will sit and hold the pill without swallowing, try blowing into the nostrils.

This technique works well on dogs that have muzzles but will need to be modified for the short nosed breeds like Pekinese and Lhasa Apso.

For these types of dogs you will follow the suggestions used in dosing cats.

Cats:

Whenever possible, two people are the best way to medicate a cat! There is also a handy, dandy plastic apparatus that you can purchase from your veterinarian or pet supply that is called a pill popper. It can be used in place of your fingers when dosing a pill or capsule.

Most cats do not like being restrained in any way and will often fight tooth and nail to get away. Owners should take steps to bundle the cat. One way of doing this is a product on the market called a “cat bag.”

It has an adjustable Velcro neck strap and a zipper. Simply place the cat in the bag, make a snug fit with the neck strap and close the zipper. The cat is restrained in the bag and can’t claw or get away.

For those without a cat bag, you will need a good quality, heavy towel. I say good quality because the cats can sometimes get their claws into the material and if it gives way or tears, you will have an angry cat that you may not be able to catch again for quite sometime. To bundle the cat in the towel, lie if out flat on a table and set the cat in the middle. Bring one side up and over the cat and the other side over that and tucked underneath. Take the loose end at the tail of the cat and tuck it up in a way similar to a burrito.

If you have help, have them hold the cat close to them. One hand will be over the back while it presses the cat to the assistant’s chest or stomach. The other hand will cup the cat’s chest.

If you do not have an assistant, I always found it easier to get on the floor, open my thighs enough to pin the cat between with his rump to my groin. This way it can’t back away or thrash from side to side while leaving both your hands free.

Once the cat is restrained, use your left hand to grasp it around the back of the head. You will have the back of the skull in the palm of your hand, the thumb on one side of the jaw and the fingers on the other. Raise the head so it faces straight up. KEEP FINGERS OF THIS HAND AWAY FROM THE MOUTH! With the right hand, grasp the pill between the index and thumb. Use your middle finger to place on the front, bottom teeth and pull down. Your finger will be between the two spiked, long teeth. As soon as you have the mouth open, drop the pill into the back of the throat and use the index finger to shove it in. Remove your finger as quickly as possible and if you can, grab the cat’s jaw and keep it closed.

Make sure the cat has swallowed the pill. They can be notorious at hacking them back up and spitting them out. Once the cat has definitely swallowed the pill, release it from its bundling and get out of the way. Most will be more than a little upset at you for a while.