How to Give Your Tibbie Medication

I find it’s best to prepare a dog as soon as possible for the probability that they may, someday, have to take medication of some sort.  I begin right away by sprinkling a tiny bit of sugar on a dog’s tongue at least once a day or every other day for a couple of weeks.  You’ll soon find your dog softening their jaw and maybe even dropping the lower jaw like a baby bird waiting for the sugar.  

 

This can also be done with powdered treats, but sugar is usually readily available and easy to use.  This tiny bit shouldn’t bother any dietary restrictions, but check with your vet if you aren’t sure.  Preparation like this makes it much easier than wrestling with a dog that suddenly has to take an antibiotic or other medication.

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I also prefer to set a dog up for the eventual reality of medication.  I put the dog by my side (your preference, but I’m going to describe it as the dog being on the left side, the most common way).  I stroke their head and gently take the head in my left hand, sliding down the side of the head to the muzzle, hooking a finger behind the left canine and gently prying the mouth open.  I do this a few times without doing anything else.

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When I feel the dog is comfortable with me handling the mouth this way, I prepare my right hand to hold some sugar before beginning.  I close my fingers firmly together and sprinkle a bit of sugar on my fingers.  It naturally tends to go into the groove made in the middle by my fingers pressing together.  This is fine.  I repeat the above head handling, only this time, I sprinkle the sugar on the dog’s tongue.  Some dogs will react with surprise.  Some will barely notice.  Nearly all will smack their lips.  Sugar makes their mouths water.  That’s a good thing when you want them to swallow a pill!

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Once you have the dog comfortable with all this, you will use a substitute for a pill – a tiny treat or piece of cheese, but not something very large or very hard.  You are going to use the treat exactly like you will eventually give the pill, so follow these instructions for pill giving using my sugar trick.

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Find a comfortable spot where there are few distractions.  Place the treat/pill on your right hand where the fingers meet the palm and in the center.  Sprinkle a small amount of sugar (you may have to use extra for gelatin capsules) down the center trough made by pressing your fingers tightly together.  Place your right thumb over the treat/pill, holding it in place.  Approach the dog just as before and gently open the mouth.  Sprinkle the sugar down the tongue, then release the treat/pill to fall as far into the back of the mouth/throat as possible.  Stroke the dog and hold the head tilted up a bit until the dog swallows.  Most dogs will stick their tongues out a bit once they have swallowed.   Praise and stroke the dog.

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If it’s a gelatin capsule, you may need to check the inside of the mouth to make sure it didn’t stick to the roof of the mouth.  If you’ve prepared your dog enough, they won’t object to this too much.  If it’s stuck, you will need to put your finger into the mouth and dislodge it to send it down the throat.  It’s generally best to give a small treat after doing this to leave a “good impression”.  Be very, very careful of your fingernails when doing this.  It’s very easy to scratch a dog’s throat with long fingernails.

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If the dog happens to spit out the pill, pick it up and start over.  Remain as calm as possible.  Repeat for each pill, though, if your dog is properly conditioned, you may be able to give more than one at a time with this method.