Crafty Feeding Techniques

[domane]

So the dog is arthrtic and we have her on turmeric capsules and glucosamine. Ruby is a black lab so will eat anything. Usually. Meat doesn't touch the sides nor get chewed.... If she can swallow it whole, the quicker the better. So clever me, I buy a jar of big hot dog sausages and we cut off a pill-length segment (swallow-able) cut a slit, insert pill and chuck at the dog as a treat. Easy. Nope. We've been outsmarted.... she now carefully removes and eats the sausage and spits out the pills!

Plan two, which is a faff but currently working is that the glucosamine now gets crushed in the pestle and mortar, turmeric capsule is pulled apart and tipped in with the other and both get mixed with a bit of gravy which gets poured over her dry food dinner. No hesitation with eating THAT!

MEANWHILE......

Over in his field, Jack is difficult to get the Prascend down at this time of year! The Prascend already takes the edge off his appetite so when there is grass around he won't eat a bucket feed. He's always been a bit "meh" about food in the summer anyway. He will a eat feed if he is in all night and because I dissolve the Prascend before I pour it into his feed, it is well-diluted, but he's currently living out and not hugely hungry. We have gone through all the tricks over the years....inserting into an apple, carrot, mints etc.... To the point that he won't eat any of them now...with or without Prascend! You have to push the pill into fruit or veg at the last possible second because it starts to dissolve and taints the taste. I've tried all sorts and the best I can manage at the mo is some Bailey's High Fibre nuggets (I use then as treats rather than as a proper feed), soaked for a few hours until soft, then you make a small ball of mush and put the pill in just before offering.... Then a handful of normal dry ones to wash it down!

But this is a faff and I sometimes forget and then don't have time to soak them and now after nearly 3 years, Jack is finally getting suspicious of his favourite option because he can smell the pill!

So.... I am "recycling"! I am using the empty capsule from Ruby's turmeric and putting Jack's Prascend into it. And this seems to be working so far!!

Will let you know in due course if I get outsmarted again!!

Flippin' animals!!!

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Molly has Tramadol for her arthritis pain (she is well beyond turmeric and glucosamine alas). It tastes vile. We've tried all sorts of bait and the most successful over the long term has been mince. I buy the cheapest possible mince and every morning make a sort of quail's egg sized ball of mince with her Tramadol (quite a large capsule) hiding in the middle. I have to be careful not to touch the outside of the mince ball with the finger that held the Tramadol or she won't take it, but generally it goes down well.

The other 3 dogs all queue up in the kitchen when they hear the pill packet rustling so they can have a bit of mince too!

 

[MrC]

Get the gel capsules for them. They are butting on eBay and neither dog nor horse can taste or smell apparently. Kia was refusing veg etc because of the prascend and now with the gel capsul I can put it in his dry balancer and he eats it without knowing it's there. I've also fed him it out of my hand with a couple of his favourite herby treats.

 

[Jessey]

Great tip on using the capsules, I might have to get some for just in case

 

[domane]

I've seen the capsule idea before.... But these are free

 

[Lissie]

We used to put tablets in a Dairy Lee triangle for our old dog, she loved cheese and it went down without touching the sides.

Bailey is really fussy but molasses usually does the trick.