Five Effective Ways to Feed Dogs Medicine?

When a dog is sick, every pet owner is extremely anxious to see it suffering. It is our bounden duty to feed the dog medicine and help it recover. However, feeding a dog medicine is often a "battle of wits and courage." Many dogs are very sensitive to the smell and taste of medicine and will try every means to resist taking it. But don't worry. As long as you master the correct methods, it's not that difficult to feed a dog medicine. Next, I will introduce five effective ways to feed dogs medicine.

I. Hiding Medicine in Food

This is one of the most common and easy-to-implement methods. Most dogs can't resist food. We can take advantage of this and cleverly hide the medicine in their favorite food. If it's a tablet, crush the tablet and then mix it into the dog's favorite canned food, wet food, or meat paste. Stir well to ensure that the medicine is completely wrapped in the food so that the dog is less likely to notice the presence of the medicine when eating. For some smaller pills, you can directly sandwich the pills in cheese, ham sausage, or other foods and let the dog swallow them in one bite. It should be noted that the amount of food selected should not be too much to avoid the dog not finishing it and thus not getting enough medicine. At the same time, make sure that the food does not affect the efficacy of the medicine. Some special medicines may need to be taken on an empty stomach, in which case this method cannot be used.

II. Tempting with Snacks

In addition to daily food, dogs usually can't resist all kinds of delicious snacks. We can prepare some snacks that the dog especially likes, such as dried chicken and beef jerky. First, give the dog a snack to relax its vigilance, and then quickly hand it the snack with the medicine wrapped inside. The dog may ignore the presence of the medicine because its attention is all on the snack and successfully take the medicine. When choosing snacks, try to pick those with a soft texture and easy to wrap the medicine. If the medicine is large, cut the snack into small pieces, wrap the medicine in the middle, and then roll it into a small ball to make it easier for the dog to swallow. The key to this method is to act quickly so that the dog has no time to react.

III. Feeding with a Syringe

For some liquid medicines, a syringe is a very practical tool. When using a syringe to feed medicine, first draw the medicine into the syringe. Then, gently lift the dog's head and tilt it slightly backward. Slowly insert the tip of the syringe from one side of the dog's mouth corner, as close to the root of the tongue as possible. Be careful not to insert the syringe too deep to avoid irritating the dog's throat and causing vomiting. Then, slowly push the piston of the syringe to inject the medicine into the dog's mouth. During the injection process, closely observe the dog's reaction. If the dog makes a swallowing motion, you can continue the injection; if the dog shows resistance, do not force the injection to avoid the medicine choking into the trachea. After the injection is completed, gently stroke the dog's throat with your hand to help it swallow the medicine smoothly.

IV. Using Special Feeding Aids

If the dog really resists the taste of the medicine, we can try to use some special props to assist in feeding the medicine. There are special feeding capsules and feeding snacks on the market. These props can completely wrap the medicine and cover up the smell and taste of the medicine. When using a feeding capsule, put the medicine into the capsule, then gently open the dog's mouth with your hand, place the capsule at the root of the dog's tongue, quickly close the dog's mouth, and gently stroke its throat to guide it to swallow. A feeding snack is a special snack with a groove in the middle where the medicine can be placed. Put the medicine into the groove of the snack and then hand it to the dog to let it eat naturally. This method is convenient and can reduce the dog's resistance to the medicine.

V. Reward and Encouragement Method

During the process of feeding a dog medicine, it is very important to give it appropriate rewards and encouragement. No matter which method is used, as long as the dog successfully takes the medicine, immediately praise and reward it. You can praise it in a gentle tone, such as "Good job, baby" or "Well done," and at the same time give it some small snacks or a warm hug. Let the dog understand that taking medicine is something that can bring rewards, so as to gradually reduce its resistance to taking medicine. Through continuous rewards and encouragement, the dog will gradually get used to the process of taking medicine and become more cooperative.

Feeding a dog medicine is a challenging task, but as long as we are patient and careful and use the right methods, we will definitely succeed. Every time we feed the dog medicine, it is our care and love for it. I hope that through these methods, every pet owner can successfully help their dogs take the medicine, so that they can recover soon and continue to accompany us through happy times.