Trouble Giving Pills!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I was going to post this in the Health and Medical Group but felt possibly others might benefit who aren't members there as well so decided to put it here.  My girls have both been very good about taking any pills they needed.  Just a little peanut butter and they just open up.  Recently though Sophie has started resisting her meds big time.  Mostly because her stomach isn't feeling well and she doesn't even want food much less yucky pills.  As the Vet was giving me a couple more pills yesterday that I needed to give her I think she saw the look on my face and I mentioned how difficult it had been in the last couple days to get them down her.  She has this unique ability to yack them back up.  Here is a little trick she gave me.  It takes a little fine tuning to get it just right, but I think it is gonna be good once I perfect it.  She said to first crush the pill (or pills).  I can do them all at once, no need to separate them.  Take a syringe and cut the pointed end off.  Then put a couple drops of pancake syrup in the syringe, add the crushed pills and put a couple more drops of syrup.  Take a skewer or something and put it in there and mix the syrup with the pills to make a paste.  That is the key, a paste, not runny.  Then just take the syringe and push the paste into their mouth and it is more difficult to spit it out.  My first one was a mess as it was a little too runny.  However, this morning it was a little thicker and worked better.  Next one I'll make just a little thicker and I think it will be perfect.  It really doesn't take much syrup (I used sugar free hoping it wouldn't be quite as sticky).  

[F, Calla & Luca]

Be careful what the sweetener in the sugar free is since xylitol, unlikely in syrup, is toxic. Since you are just using a few drops I think regular syrup would be safest and fine.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't even think about that.  I knew about watching my mints and gum and candies and things but never even thought of it for syrup.  Anyway, just checked and it is fine.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wonder if you could use something like very smooth mashed sweet potatoes, adding water to the potatoes to make a kind of puree. That's how I add powdered supplements to JD's food. I mix the powder into a tablespoon or two of sweet potato "puree", then add finely diced boiled chicken breast to the sweet potatoes and mix it very thoroughly. Then the chicken/sweet potato mixture goes into his bowl with his food. I know this might not work for Sophie right now, because you can't count on her eating all of her food, and the pills may be too bitter for even the sweet potatoes and chicken to disguise them, but it might work down the road.

For his actual pills, especially capsules, I coat them with mashed sweet potatoes. I still have to toss the pill into the back of his throat and hold his mouth shut most of the time, but the coating makes them slippery so they don't stick at the back of his tongue and it's much harder for him to spit them out.

How about trying baby food instead of syrup? You could thin it a bit with water. Most first stage jarred baby meats are pretty watery to begin with, and nothing could be safer. I had to feed it to my cat at the end of her life.

They sell medicine syringes with pretty big openings that might work for this.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

 Ugh, gremlins again so I'll retype!   Normally I add just enough sticky PB for her to smell it and she will open her mouth and I just scrape it on her bottom teeth and she loves it.  Now, not so much.  Sweet Pot. were my go to food when everything else failed but since she threw them up on Thursday she won't even look at them.  Nor chicken.  I like the baby food thought though.  I'm headed out here shortly to look for the cool bed so I'll pick up some to see if she might eat that.  At least I think it will work for the pills.  Dr. Jenny gave me a syringe all cut of and ready to use so I'm all set there.  It has a fairly large opening so it works great.  Thanks for the Baby Food thought.  Cross your fingers.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

They usually have several different kinds of first stage baby meats, so if chicken is not her favorite thing right now, you might try beef or lamb or even turkey. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Well I have no idea yet how baby food is going to work to make the paste, but Sophie says Thank You Auntie Karen as I think that Gerber Lazagna with meat sauce is very yummy!  The true test though is will she eat it a second time.  We will find out a little later.  I tried putting some diced chicken in with it and she ate around the chicken.  Gobbled up everything and licked the bowl and left the chicken. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, you are very welcome, Sophie!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

we've also purchased some of the baby food fruits or veggies to stuff into their Kongs and they really like the banana one.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Cream cheese is fine; JD just can't have it, or peanut butter, or liverwurst, etc., because of his IBD. And those foods are all pretty high in fat, which is fine in small amounts for generally healthy dogs, but for dogs with chronic illness like JD and Sophie, or for dogs with food sensitivities or something like pancreatitis, the mashed sweet potatoes or pumpkin are safer. They are very unlikely to trigger any kind of allergic reaction or sensitivity, and they're fat free.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

This is great advice.  Fortunately, Sedona only takes one pill - just a generic omega 3 capsule - so we don't need this info right now, but I'll file it away in case.  

My mom, who is in a memory care facility, has trouble swallowing pills, so the caregivers crush them and mix them into applesauce.  From the look on my mom's face when she takes it, the applesauce is clearly not masking the flavor much.  Maybe I'll suggest they try syrup!!  :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Try jelly, Deanna.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sophie is on chemotherapy, and according to Sloan-Kettering's herbal medicine website, manuka honey may interfere with certain chemotherapeutic agents due to its antioxidant effects. I'd clear it with the oncologist first.
http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/manuka-honey