How do I get pills and supplements into my pet?
For some owners, providing medication to their pets is a nightmare no matter how many times we tell them that we’re giving it because we love them, they just don’t listen. Also, some medications taste so bad that even pets that understand how much you love them and want to take it can’t get it down. Here are some tips on how to get pills and supplements into your beloved furry friends:
GENERAL TIPS:
· Wash your hands - Many pills have a very strong flavor and when you touch the pill you transfer the bad flavor to the thing you’re wrapping the pill into.
1) Remove the pill from the bottle
2) Set the pill down
3) Wash your hands
4) Get the treat or product you’ll be putting the pill into
5) Use a spoon, tweezers or other utensil to place the treat in the substance OR pick up the treat with one hand and the pill with the other hand
6) If molding the treat around the pill DO NOT USE the hand that touched the pill
· If you’re using a capsule, you can twist the capsule open and pour it into a food or treat that covers the taste rather than trying to force a pill down.
· If you have a powder that tastes too bad for your pet to eat it you can encapsulate it. You can purchase a pill maker and OO or OOO sized empty caps.
· DO NOT crush pill medication without reading the product insert first. Some medications are time released. Crushing these increases absorption of the substance and may be life threatening.
· Pheromone Diffusers and Essential Oils – If your pet has generalized anxiety that is aggravated by medication time you can use a Pheromone Diffuser or Essential Oil for calming first. Essential Oils should NOT be used on cats unless they are extremely diluted as their livers cannot metabolize aromatase. AnimalEO, Vetiver or Merlin’s Magic by Frogworks are our favorites for dogs. Dogs generally do not like Lavender at all so we suggest Vetiver for calming. We also carry locally made Daisy Paw Collar Diffusers for regular treatments.
· Another type of calming supplement is Hemp. Hemp contains cannab inoids and, if well sourced, other cannabinoids which notoriously decrease pain, stress, inflammation, anxiety, stomach upset and much more. At Hero’s we carry C B D products (very easy to give), honey and cookie treats.
· Usually when we’re trying to get a supplement or medication into a pet it’s because they are sick. Consider giving your pet Animals Apawthecary Daily Digestion (previous called Ginger/Mint) prior to trying anything else. Calming an upset tummy may be enough to entice them to try anything.
· Use two treats at once. Give your pet one treat that has a pill inside of it while holding an enticing treat in front of their face. They are often so interested in getting the second treat in that they swallow the first treat (with the sneaky pill inside) as fast as they can.
TREATS
· K9 Naturals Lamb or Beef Green Tripe- This product is from New Zealand. It is grass-fed, humanely raised lamb. Green Tripe is the digestive lining; therefore it is very stinky and covers up supplements and pills very, very well. Additionally, digestive lining contains natural digestive enzymes and therefore Green Tripe can assist with digestion and entice picky or sick eaters to eat better.
· Kure Butter – Butter is soft and easy to get pills into. Butter is also naturally high in Vitamin K, which helps optimize calcium metabolism, improve neurological health, and protect the heart and kidneys from damage caused by some hormone imbalances.
· Coconut Oil – Similar to Butter, Coconut Oil is malleable and easy to use. Cocotherapy and Green Pasture are higher quality brands than most. Coconut Oil is anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and all around awesome. Most pets love the taste and the consistency (which under 70 degrees) is thick and easy to blend pills or powders into
· Freeze Dried and Soft Treats – The consistency of freeze-dried treats is such that they are often easy to push a pill inside of. In the case of a large pill if you add a couple of drops of water to the treat you may mold the meat around the pill easily. We carry numerous brands that are soft enough to push a pill into. Additionally, whole chicken or duck hearts allow you to push a pill into the aorta for a sneaky, delicious snack/
· Pill Buddies – Pill Buddies are similar to the Greenies brand of Pill Pockets but with better ingredients. These treats mold around pills like Plato and allow pills to be hidden inside. These are not appropriate for pets with allergies, though.
MEATBALLS
· Solutions Pet Products – Solutions brand of raw meat is drier than many of the other brands and therefore holds it shape best when pills are pushed into it. Other raw foods that might work for you are made by Raw Bistro, Small Batch, and Anderson’s Natural.
· Any raw meat or dehydrated raw blend – each of these provides healthy nutrition combined with delicious aroma. Mixing powdered supplements tends to work really well blended into raw or dehydrated blends.
· QUICK NOTE ON RAW MEAT AND DEHYDRATED MEATBALLS – This is the single most effective method that we are aware of. If you are STILL having an issue with getting your pet to agree with this consider cooking the meat prior to adding the supplement or pill increases the aroma of the meat and further covers the smell of the supplement OR freezing a meatball after adding the supplement or pill decreases the odor of not only the meat but also the supplement or pill
· Sugar and Sugar-alternative-Free Peanut Butter – A well-sourced Peanut Butter without additional ingredients, such as those carried at Hero’s, are available in numerous flavors. Well-sourced brands ensure a quality of peanut butter that doesn’t contribute to health concerns in your pet.
MEAT-FREE BALLS
· Solutions Pet Products DOGh soft cheese – Cheese curds from grass fed and finished pasture raised goats. Solutions DOGh soft cheeses come with four different added supplement options: Yucca (for inflammation), and Cranberry & Dandelion Root (for urinary health), Zucchini & Diatomaceous Earth (for parasites and coprophagia), and Chamomile (for calming). The cheeses are easy to slice and hiding pills inside AND you’ll be giving your pet probiotics and herbal supplementation along with their medicine!
· Nuggets Healthy Eats probiotic frozen yogurt and Bone Broth Butter (banana based supplement) – This is like ice cream for your pet and easy to hide things in.
· Fresh fruit – whole, fresh berries are great for hiding pills
· Canned Pumpkin – Most dogs love canned pumpkin enough to eat anything mixed into it.
· Fresh Smoothie from Green Juju – Many dogs love fruits and veggies. Blending them together into a smoothie with your powdered supplements makes a nice blend that can be put inside of an emptied Marrow Bone or enticement filled toy such as Soda Pup or Woof Pupsicle Treat Ball
· Raw Goat Milk – Raw Goat Milk by Solutions Pet Products is an excellent and easy way to mix things up. It’s rare that pets won’t eat anything mixed into Raw Goat Milk. Additionally, Solutions Pet Products makes Kefir, which is thicker, and fermented gelatin Jiggles. Solutions Fish Jiggles has more health benefits than we can count and smells like doggie heaven… mixing supplements directly into your pets food then adding Fish Jiggles is almost a surefire way to get your pet to eat their food and their supplements at the same time.
· Honey – Honey, in generally, is great for flavoring anything. As stated above, our Colorado Hemp Honey, Bee Shepherd, and Woof not only covers icky tastes but has the added benefit of calming and healthy herbal supplements.
· Raw Marrow Bones – When raw marrow bones are thawed completely the marrow itself get soft enough that pills can be pushed inside the marrow. Obviously, you don’t want your pet slowly licking that out or you might waste a whole bone. Instead, thaw your bone, spoon a chunk of marrow out; put the treat inside the marrow that’s in the spoon, feeding the marrow that you spooned out as a treat.
DOWN THE HATCH – how to put a pill straight down the hatch
QUICK NOTE: sometimes it works to baby talk and soothe your animal with reassurance. However, if your pet is “freaking out” despite your talk they are probably trying to get you to feel sorry for them. Try, instead, being verbally firm. Making a sound like “AHH” or “SHHH” often puts them in the mindset of a pack, where the pack leader is saying with a certain growl, “chill out, I got this”… this actually decreases stress dramatically and can alter their behavior for the better immediately.
Small dogs and cats:
· OPTIONAL – wrap them in a towel tightly, like a swaddle (see Youtube if necessary)
· Set them on a counter
· Anchor their butt against your body with your elbow
· Using the same hand that is attached to your anchoring elbow, lift their nose back towards your armpit, separating their teeth with your fingers
· Holding the pill in the other hand, quickly push the pill DOWN (not just to) the back of the throat like you’re aiming for their belly
· Quickly follow up with an enticing treat or peanut butter in their gums
Large Dogs
· Anchor their body against your body with your elbow OR get help from someone else. If someone else is helping they can hold them with one arm OVER their back with their hand looped under their ribs and the other arm looped UNDER their chin, in front of their chest, and their hand holding their head firmly away from their (and your) face.
· Using the same hand that is attached to your anchoring elbow, lift their nose back towards your armpit, separating their teeth with your fingers
· Holding the pill in the other hand, quickly push the pill DOWN (not just to) the back of the throat like you’re aiming for their belly
· Quickly follow up with an enticing treat or peanut butter in their gums.
