Do you want to know how to give your pet a pill?

If you need to know how to give your pet a pill, this is the article you need. Methods for giving pills to dogs and cats are provided, as well as a series of extra tips.

How to Give Your Pet a Pill: Methods for Dogs

1. Wrap the pill in a treat, such as bacon or cheese. Be sure to give your dog a couple of treats without any pills so that when you throw the treat with a pill, it will be quickly swallowed.

2. Grab your dog firmly and push the pill to the back of the dog's throat quickly. Clamp your dog's jaws shut immediately and blow into your dog's nose. Bonus tip: If your dog licks his nose, it usually means he's swallowed the pill.

3. A third simple method is to crush the pill and mix it into a treat. Sometimes this works with regular food, but it is better to use a treat in our experience. This is obvious if your dog only eats dry food since the pill cannot be properly mixed.

How to Give Your Pet a Pill: Methods for Cats

1. Wrap the pill in bite of special food or in a treat. Cream cheese seems to be especially effective. Then let your cat eat the food in any way they works best. For some cats, this means putting the treat (and the pill) in the food dish. In other cases, it is better to have your cat eat it away from the normal food dish or from your finger.

2. If your cat cannot ingest the pill or will not eat solid food, you might have to crush the pill. If it is a gel cap, then you'll simply pop it. Mix the powder or gel with a treat. In some cases, this can be done all at once. In other cases, you'll have to spread the doses over a couple of treats. It depends on what your cat needs to ingest.

3. If you mix the pill with cream cheese or some other spreadable cat treat, you can put it on your cat's paw. You'll see that almost instantly your cat will lick up the treat and the crushed pill. The one caveat is that this can be messy for you and your cat. Plan ahead!

4. If you have a kitten, simply train your cat to accept pills thrown into their throats. Kittens generally aren't strong enough to prevent you from doing this. If you do this from when they are young from time to time, they will learn to swallow the pill. No mess, no fuss.

How to Give Your Pet a Pill: Extra Tips

1. Teach your pet to know about very special treats. Provide those treats occassionally without any pills. Then, when your pet needs pills, those treats can be injected with the pills. Your pet will never know the difference.

2. Try to teach your pet to like pills from a very young age. You can do this via pet training techniques or simply by following the advice above. That is, acclimate your pet to certain treats from a young age, and insert pills when needed.

3. If the pill is time released, you cannot use the pill crushing method. You'll have to use the "trick or treat" methods described above. That is, your dog or cat will have to get the pill via a special snack or yummy treat.

4. To smash pills, you can probably use two metal spoons. Place the pill between two spoons and slowly crush it. This will leave the powder right in the spoon, ready to be mixed with a treat or in a liquid.

5. In general, moist (not dry, not wet) treats work best for both cats and dogs. For example, cream cheese, cheese, bacon, hot dog chunk, tuna and so forth, are all excellent moist treats to use with pets. Cream cheese and peanut butter are especially effective because it gets stuck in your pet's mouth. JUst be careful about the quantity you use. Bonus tip: You'll want to avoid hard cheeses because they crumble.

6. If you suspedt that you'll have issues getting your pet to take a pill, when you ask your vet on how to give your pet a pill, also ask for a syringe without a needle. You can crush up pills, mix them with water, and inject into your pet's throat.

7. Be careful not to choke your pet with too much food or treats when administering the treatment. You have to be careful with syringes. Also, be careful about the types of medications being mixed with treats. For example, you don't want to crush up time release capsules. Be careful about sharp edges in your environment so that if your pet whips her head ahread for some reason, everyone is safe. Finally, be careful about sharp fingernails. You don't want to hurt your pet's nose, tongue or throat.

8. Consider pet pill pockets. They are (usually) healthy treats which encase or enclose the pills. You can find them online and through your vet. Of course they come in different flavors and sizes to fit your needs. Some of them also include probiotics which encourage healthy intestines.

Wrap Up

So, how to give your pet a pill? Well, it depends on your pet and your situation. I'm sure you'll find a way to make the magic happen. Be patient and loving. When in doubt, consult your vet for tips and advice. Good luck getting that pill into your pet!

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