Medicines suck.
Don't get me wrong: they're very useful when disease and injury occur. But medicine is too much of a bother for most people, I think. It's only with the threat of the Reaper's imminent arrival that people grudging follow the advice and council of trained medical professionals. I failed to understand why more thought hasn't gone into making medicines more attractive and, let's be candid, fun. I mean, there's no reason that medication has to make you miserable to work (baring chemo).
As unfun as medicines are for people, pets are doubled bothered by them. As pet owners (and amateur nurses), we have a difficult time making our unwilling patients understand the necessity of the treatment. Animals, it seems, are far more willing to suffer pain and discomfort than take a chance on foul-tasting pills (it was hard enough to convince me to swallow pills and I understood the instructions!) or strange, unnatural smelling liquids. Given that medicines aren't attractive one's pet, how far should one force the issue of delivering medication? Most of us are strong enough to overpower our animals, but that seems an especially cruel betrayal since the animal will in no way associate your assaults with his improved health. One can try pleading, but that will be utterly futile. That leaves deception. Unfortunately for me, I'm not crafty enough to make medicine not taste like medicine (I have a hard enough time making chicken not taste like medicine).
How do you administer to an unwilling pet?
I don't know how I would go about serving up foul smelling liquids. If it smells bad to me, I couldn't imagine how bad it would smell to my dog.
Re:HB eyes me
jjohn on 2003-10-25T12:14:50
It's true that I can't shove pills down his gullet. I've tried, but stopped short of ramming it down his throat. This time, I have liquid antibotics. He's not interested in that either. I think I can dope his food with it though. That may work, although he's a fat and crafty bastard.Re:HB eyes me
pudge on 2003-10-29T21:39:15
With my dogs, I can use force if necessary, though dogs are dumb and you can just drop it in their food most of the time.
For cats, well, you're just unlucky if they won't take it wrapped in cheese or something. Fester loves the bubble-gum-flavored amoxicillin liquid; she takes it right from the eyedropper. We do our best to avoid pills and go for liquids, that, if it comes down to it, are easier to force down their throats.
Pills are a different story. She simply refused to take them, frothing at the mouth and spitting them back up. We tried putting a pill or pieces of the pill in food and she just ate around them. What eventually worked was hollowing out one of the treats that has a crunchy outside and a gooey inside, putting a quarter of the pill in there and pinching it closed. She ate em up, only spitting out a piece once or twice.
