Giving dogs tablets - tips please

hi there, my friends dog has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, her medication consists of five tablets twice a day. it's now getting very difficult to administer these to the dog without her spitting them back out.
we have tried the following: wrapped in various cold meats, smothered in butter/spreading cheese and then combining the cheese and cold meat together, yogurt, squirty cream and hidden in her meals.
any advice/tips would be appreciated as we are all getting quite stressed by it.
thanks

Having a dog that needed tablets twice daily I got good at this!

I would give him a few treats one by one, then slip in a tablet *with* a treat, then tickle him under his chin which in turn keeps his head pointing upwards - they can't help but swallow when in that position.

Sometimes I would add his tablets to his bowl with gravy or cod liver oil or a raw egg - basically anything I knew that he would eat up.

Sometimes I would just put a tablet in a a chip, or a piece of bread and he wouldn't even notice it was there - but then he loved his food!

Good luck!

I just stick it in a piece of cheese, right now my asia needs to lose some weight so I use light soft cheese she just takes it as if the tablet isn't there if she spits it out I just stick it in some more soft cheese

thanks azz and asia's mum we need all the help we can get!

When I saw the title I was going to suggest wrapping in food but it seems you've tried that.

One quick 'no nonsense' way to do it and it's easier to demonstrate than explain.......

Stand astride the dog with her facing away from you. Slide your left hand flat (it would be little finger first) into her mouth and lift up her head by her top jaw.

With your other hand pop the pills into her mouth (further back the better) then lift her lower jaw to close her mouth so she's looking upwards with her mouth closed. With her head pointing up, hold the mouth closed (lightly) and masage her throat with the other hand and she will swallow.

Once she's taken her pills - give her a big fuss and reward her with a tasty treat. It's a case of making it a possitive experience.

It sounds complicated and it might be a bit of a fumble at first but it will work.

Not so easy with short muzzled breed Phil . Ive had to resort a few times to pill popping down throat way vets do - yeh can do it but prefer easier ways -

Coarse liver pate - few can resist it. Even cats line up for share

Peppermint creams - when all else fails try moulding a soft peppermint cream round the pills. I buy them off eBay . Our eldest now refuses any other type of peppermint cream other than the ones we buy off ebay

Wasn't sure what the breed in question was but yes I accept with a shorter muzzle it can be a bit more tricky.

beth the dog is an airedale so massive hooter and a very strong jaw lol. god help her over the next few days lol every trick in the book shall be used bless. thanks folks x

Give the method I suggested a go then. It sounds a faff but once cracked it only takes 5 seconds and if it's to be a long term thing it saves loads of hassle.

The massive hooter should work in your favour as should the height of an Airedale dog between the legs.

A lot depends on the nature of the dog but like I said - it's all about making it a possitive experience with a nice fuss or tasty reward given afterwards.

If she's a nervy girl - take small steps. Straddle her, and give the treat. Once she's comfortable with that, save the treat till she's used to having her face held up. With a big chin rub I bet she'd achieve that in an afternoon.

Once she's comfortable with the handling side of things, popping the pills into the mouth is just a small step and once in they can only go down if you've already got her relaxed about the rest.