Oral medications – how to administer them

For most veterinary treatments it is important that medicines are given correctly. In the hospital, trained staff administer medicines, and it is important to ensure that you can continue to give medicines once your dog has been sent home. If you have any doubts about how to give the medicine your pet has been prescribed, ask your veterinarian or a nurse to show you.

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To be effective, most treatments must be given regularly and for the right length of time. If medicines are not given correctly the active part may be lost or poorly absorbed. This reduces the dose that the patient receives and may delay recovery from illness or could cause early recurrence of disease.

There are several important elements to giving medicine:

• Ensure treatment is given correctly, ie the patient receives the correct dose, at the times requested by your veterinarian.
• Ensure the safety of your pet and anyone helping with the procedure.
• Ensure medicine is stored correctly and handled according to instructions supplied.
• Any medicine that is unused should be returned to your veterinarian to ensure correct disposal.
• Any untoward effects of medicines should be reported to your veterinarian. Adverse effects are rare but are always possible.

Many medicines are designed to be given by mouth – largely because this is a convenient way for owners to treat their pets. Oral medicines can be given as tablets, capsules or liquids. Most medicines given by mouth go through into the intestine where they are absorbed into the blood. The presence of food in the stomach helps absorption of some drugs but hinders the absorption of others. It is important to follow any specific instructions your veterinarian gives you about timing of treatment in relation to feeding.

The most certain way of giving a tablet is to put it directly into your pet’s mouth. At least this way you know whether your pet has swallowed all the medication. Many tablets are designed to be tasty for dogs.

Alternatives to pilling your pet when giving medication include:

• Disguising it. Many pets will consume a pill or capsule hidden in food or a tasty treat such as small amounts of cream cheese, peanut butter (with no sugar or artificial sweeteners), liver paste, hot dogs or canned cheese.
• Ask your veterinarian if it is okay to crush the pill. If it does not have a strong taste, you can mix the crushed pill with a teaspoon of canned food or tuna or clam juice.
• Try the 1-2-3 (4-5) trick! Prepare 3 to 5 “treat balls,” with one containing the medication. Give 1 or 2 treat balls without the medication. While your pet is swallowing the treat, let them see you coming with the next one. Slip in the treat ball with the medication, quickly followed by a chaser treat ball.

Medicines can be delivered in many different forms, so if you are struggling to get your pet to accept one type ask your veterinarian if your pet’s treatment can be given another way. Even for medication that is given by mouth there are often many different formulations:

Tablets and capsules

Tablets are made from compacted, powdered drug (usually mixed with something like chalk to make the tablet the right size, and often with a flavor to make it more palatable). Capsules contain powdered drug inside a gelatine case – once inside the gastrointestinal tract the gelatine dissolves to release the drug. Some tablets have special coatings to protect the drug from the action of acid in the stomach – the coating is dissolved in the stomach and the drug is only released once the tablet is in the intestine.

Liquid formulation

Liquids can be given directly into the mouth using a syringe. Dogs often refuse to swallow liquid medications and dribble it from their mouths. When giving liquids by mouth, great care must be taken to ensure the medication is swallowed and not inhaled. Oily medications, eg liquid paraffin, can cause severe pneumonia if they enter the lungs. Ask your veterinarian or nurse to demonstrate the correct method of direct liquid administration and then decide whether your dog is likely to let you do this at home.

Liquid medicines can also be mixed with food, but it is important to ensure that the medicine is thoroughly mixed in and that the patient eats all the food. Some liquid medications taste unpleasant so need to be mixed with strongly flavored food to disguise the taste. Your pet might eat around bits of food containing the drug if it has not been mixed in well. Avoid using your pet’s regular diet to disguise medication, because a learned taste aversion can develop, and your dog may turn their nose up to the food even without the medication in it.

With a bit of practice most owners can give their dogs a tablet straight into their mouth. Ask your veterinarian to show you how to do it if you are unsure and watch a video online until you are confident you know what you are doing. Fear Free® has created some videos to assist you:

• Putting the treat into treatments: https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/video/giving-medications-to-your-pet-putting-the-treat-into-treatments/
• Administering oral and topical medications: https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/video/administering-oral-and-topical-medications/.

Here are some tips from Fear Free® on making the pilling process a pleasant one for your pet.

• Set up a comfortable treatment station with a nonslip surface in a quiet area of the home. Take your pet to the treatment station routinely and give a special treat (something really tasty that they don’t get all the time) or meal there without doing a treatment. You are putting money in the treatment bank and creating a positive association with the location. Some treatments may be slightly uncomfortable, resulting in a small withdrawal from the bank of positive experiences. Create enough reserves to minimize impact.
• Once your pet loves going to the treatment station, start practicing the pilling process there. Reach toward your pet’s face, give a small treat, and let the pet eat the treat, repeating several times.
• As long as the pet is not showing any avoidance or fear, progress to touching your pet’s face by creating a ‘C’ with your thumb and index finger and placing your fingers over the bridge of your pet’s nose/muzzle or, for small dogs and cats, over their forehead with your fingers behind their whiskers and lips. Give your pet a treat for accepting this handling. Repeat several times.
• Begin to tip your pet’s head back and follow the action with a treat.
• Next, with one hand stabilizing the nose/head and tilting it back, use your middle finger on your other hand to touch the front of your pet’s lower jaw. Give them a treat.
• Holding a pea-size treat between your thumb and index finger, tilt the head back, and place your middle finger on the lower jaw. When your pet opens his mouth, place the treat in.
• Continue to practice, opening the mouth wider for longer periods. Always follow with a treat.
• When a pill does have to be given, your pet will be relaxed with the process.
• Make sure to always follow pilling with a treat if medically appropriate

It is always best to check with your veterinarian as to what to do, as the doses of some medications must not be given too close together. If it is not possible to contact your veterinary surgeon, and you are not sure what to do, then the safest course is to skip the missed dose and just give the next one when it would have been due.

Always contact your veterinary practice for advice if you are worried about anything relating to your pet’s treatment. Some tablets can make dogs sick – the dosing may need altered or else an alternative drug may need to be found. Stop the tablets in the meantime and immediately contact your veterinarian for advice.

No, your other dog needs a veterinary check-up first. It could be a different condition that just looks the same, or your other dog could have individual problems that require a different approach. Prescription medication must only be used on the animal it was prescribed for.

It depends on the problem and the policy of the boarding kennels. Most reputable kennels can cope with routine treatment for problems such as arthritis, heart conditions and skin conditions. Experienced kennels can also handle more complex medical conditions such as the daily injections and treatment for diabetic animals. Speak to both your veterinary surgeon and the boarding kennels in plenty of time to make sure they are happy to manage your pet while you are away.

It is likely that you will have to administer medicine to your pet at some point in their life. If the need arises speak to your veterinary surgeon and ask for extra help if you do not feel confident to give tablets to your pet. Your veterinarian would much rather work out the best way to treat your pet properly than have you struggle and risk your pet not getting the proper treatment.