poor baby

[Perefalcon]

Just went to the vet today, we were gettin sick of jerry biting himself...come to find out...the dang dog is allergic to fleas and has a staph infection on top of it!!!.....anyone know an easy way to give a big german shepherd pills...he loves to fake swallow and then they drip outta his mouth........

 

[Scott&Nikki]

wrap it in some bread?

 

[KiKi]

try cheese or peanut butter

 

[Perefalcon]

tried all those ideas already, he just spits them out...he's a careful eater when he knows there's pills in the house for him

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I got a few suggestions:
1) Can you either open the pill or crush it and put it on something he likes?
2) Put may 3 or 4 cheese/bread/peanutbutter/whatever balls on your plate with his pill in one of them. Maybe if he sees you eating it he will not think anything is in it.
3) If you normally feed him at, say 6, don't feed him then and then give him the cheese or bread ball around 7 or so and give him his food after he does it.
4) Have the pill in one hand and a treat in the other. Don't let him have the treat until you see he ate the pill.

Hope those work...

 

[Mel&Keith]

Aww, poor guy! We use this stuff - http://www.flavordoh.com/

 

[brandy101010]

This may sound mean but this is how my vet advised me to give pills to dogs.
Stick the pill in the back of his mouth on his tongue as far as you can. Close his mouth shut with your hands. While keeping your hand wrapped around his mouth lift his head up and massage his throat. He will have no choice but to swallow it. when you think it is down open his mouth and check. If it's not try it again. This usually works for me. although if you have an aggressive dog you may want to try some other things first.

 

[Perefalcon]

oh that method I know...except he starts gagging and I got accidentally bit this morning...dang dog

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Tonya, could you try any of my suggestions?

 

[BluGnat]

What about a (plastic) pill gun? They're cheap and really effective - no gagging, it'll go straight down the throat. Good luck!! Poor pup!

 

[techgirl]

Everyone here has made great suggestions. What kind of pills is he on Tonya? How ofter does he need to get them? Is there any way to get a different med at a once a day dosing instead of a twice daily dosing. There are also some meds that are made into a chewable form. There are also liquid meds, but if he's a big dog, that's alot of liquid you'll be giving him. You made need to buy a pill crusher and crush the pills to a powder and mix in a very small amount of food that is very palatable to hide if the pill has a bitter taste to it. You could mix it in peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, cream cheese, a bit of canned dog food he's never had before(most dogs think it's a treat), you can even try a little bit of cat food for dogs(some dogs love this, why I don't know), baby food.
I hate to say it, but with enough practice you can pill him without having to stick your finger in the back of his mouth. Grab him by the snout and lift his head up to point up to the ceiling. Aim the pill to the farthest back area of his mouth just above the tongue. Drop it and quickly close his mouth. You can either than rub his throat or blow on his nose quickly to startle him to swallow. If you have a syringe, fill it with some water and after you close his mouth, stick the syringe behind the canine tooth and squeeze a little in to stimulate him to drink and swallow.
Worse case scenario, if you absolutely cannot pill him, you may need to ask your vet about either going in on a scedule and getting him injections or have them give you the shots to take home and administer yourself.
Good luck. Flea allergic dermatitis can be difficult to get under control. Definitely clean and vacuum the house regularly to remove any fleas in the home. Start using Frontline on him monthly and year round to help give him some protection. It won't stop the fleas from biting him but it will help control the population if any come in on him in your house. Oatmeal shampoo will help soothe the skin.
Let us know how it goes

 

[LadyGecko]

Snoopy -my 11 yr old Lab is also highly allergic to flea bites
Fortunately he readily takes anything wrapped in cheese so when I have to give him any type of pills-it's usually np
I think that the different food/treat idea sounds like it should work the best to try and get him to take the medicine without him knowing it and the least stressful

Good Luck

Sandy

 

[Perefalcon]

Tonya, could you try any of my suggestions?

like I said, he eats very carefully when he knows there's pills with his name on them....he's a dog that actually chews his food!!! And as for feeding him later, he leave his bowl full almost all the time...large dogs have less of a chance of getting a twisted bowel if you always have food for them

 

[Perefalcon]

What kind of pills is he on Tonya? How ofter does he need to get them?

he's on the Fun Pills right now, cephalexin for the staph infection created by him biting...and Prednisolone...the animal version of Prednisone (it's a lighter dosage) for the allergic reaction so he's been slightly doped to the gills!

He takes 2 Ceph and 1 Pred 3 times a day, so a total of 6 Ceph and 3 Pred.....OH JOY

 

[Perefalcon]

UPDATE:

Jerry has taken to the pills nicely and his poor butt is healing right up! Although Rob did give him pills on an empty stomach, so he puked up acid and blood (never good). I called the emergency vet place, and asked them if pred on an empty stomach could do that...all they could tell me was bring him in right away...DUH I'm not stupid!! called my mom....she's been an RN for nearly 20 years and has been on prednisone *full strength version of what Jerry takes* and said "yeah, if you take pred on an empty stomach it will cause you to vomit violently and most of the times with blood* DING DING DING!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

typical ER vet just wanting money, I never trust that place cause they always do that. Every time I have an emergency they refuse to give over the phone advice...my vet for the dogs has no issues with that.

Needless to say, I give him a peanutbutter sandwich *minus the jelly* to him every morning before his pills...some strange reason that's the only time he doesn't eat, and we have had no puking problems since! I'd just like to know where those friggen fleas came from! he'll be getting a monthly flea bath from now on, and I'm getting his frontline as soon as I can. We're set for next month at least.

Thanks everyone for your great tips!

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Great to hear Tonya!

 

[Mel&Keith]

That's great! Where did the fleas come from? Shouldn't they all be frozen up there? lol

 

[techgirl]

They gave him Pred without putting him on an antacid? We always put any pet on pred on pepcid as well. It helps avoid the stomach upset. You're lucky he didn't blow his gut and get an ulcer. It wouldn't hurt to give him Pepcid AC 10 mg tabs. How much does he weigh? I can tell you how much to give.

 

[Perefalcon]

he's like 68 when the vet checked him....he's a very narrow chested boy

 

[techgirl]

so 20 mg(can also use the generic, famotidine) will work well for him. Give it at the same time you give the pred and that should help protect his stomach some. Use it once a day. Just remember to avoid any aspirin or anti-inflammatories(like Rimadyl, Deramaxx, or Previcox) while he's on pred. IF he does vomit while on pred or you see dark tarry stools, stop the pred and call your vet. Dark tarry stools are a sign that he's bleeding in his gut. Be forewarned that pred can make him drink/urinate more and can also increase his appetite and make him restless. Hope it helps.