There may be times in your dog's life that you'll need to give them medication. Learning the types and how to administer them is essential for their healing, as well as helping to avoid additional stress and anxiety.

If your dog requires medication at any point during their life, it is important that you follow your vet's advice to ensure your pet gets the best treatment possible. Always respect the dose and duration as prescribed by your vet.

Tablet medication

Some tablets are made to be 'palatable', which means they look and taste like dog treats. Your dog should be able to swallow them without trouble.

However, there are some dogs who will be able to detect the medication and refuse it entirely. This is also likely to be the case for regular, non-palatable tablets. Therefore, it will be necessary for you to find out the best way to administer their medication so they receive the proper treatment.

A popular method is to hide the tablet in a piece of soft food such as meat, cheese, peanut butter, or simply butter. If your dog isn't too fussy, popping it their bowl of dog food may also work. But there are always those crafty pooches who will flatly refuse the tablet and be able to eat the food around it and subsequently spit the pill out.

For the more stubborn dogs, you may have to place the tablet directly into their mouth.

To do so, make your pet is sitting comfortably. Grasp their upper jaw and lightly press behind their canine teeth. This pressure should automatically make the mouth open. Using your other hand, place the tablet as far down on the tongue as possible, close and hold their jaw closed, and ensure that they swallow.

We recommend giving them a small treat immediately after and/or a big cuddle.

Liquid medication

To administer liquid medication, the best method is to use a pipette or a needleless syringe.

Similar to administering a tablet directly in a dog's mouth, ensure that your pet is sitting comfortably. Hold the upper jaw or head and tilt their head backwards. Place the pipette or syringe inside the corner of the mouth and dispense the liquid. Your dog should naturally begin to swallow the liquid as it runs down their tongue towards the throat.

Again, ensure you have a small treat on hand and/or a big cuddle for afterwards.

Eye Drops

Administering eye drops will always require you to have thoroughly clean hands. This is to prevent dust, dirt or bacteria entering your dog's eyes.

After washing your hands, have your dog sit comfortably. With one hand, hold their head back so that they don't move, and gently open the eyes wide using your thumb and index finger. With the other hand, administer the drops making sure the tip of the bottle doesn’t touch the eye. Gently massage the drops around the eye using the same fingers to prevent them from dripping out.

For large dogs, this process will be easier to perform with two people.

Source: nosamisleschiens.fr

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