I've 'buried' a tiny half pill in a lump of cheddar and STILL found it spat out later even after the dog obviously did eat the cheddar. They are smart these dogs!

I do not consider a quarter teaspoonful of something like butter with it to be not giving it on an empty stomach. It's hardly a 'meal'.

Two of my Cavaliers were on Vetmedin(one from it's first availability)They had to have a cocktail of tablets & were given them in butter which disappeared at a rate of knots. This was on the advice of my vet BTW. They eventually would present themselves for their twice daily medication demanding their special treat.

Empty stomach means before feeding, my ex neighbours dog had to have the same medication & the had it wrapped in brown bread & butter

Although I have Pereg's pill times on ReminderFox so they pop up on my computer just before they are due, I also have a number of alarm clocks set for ten minutes before each lot is due [useful if the computer is off, especially the early morning one]. Pereg just has to hear the first ping and she responds even if she is sleeping/dozing, before I say "medicine".

Dogs on medication for life fairly quickly get used to taking their pills.

Loki opens her mouth and I pop down her throat her 3 tablets mornings and evenings!

I used to crush them up but she wouldn't take them like that, so just started to pop them down her throat. She's now used to them after nearly 6 years of popping them down her throat!! I give her the tablets at 10 in the morning and 10 at night. I have my mobile phones all going off at the same time - new mobile and two older ones

Try and break the tablet in half and see if you can pop half down her throat at a time.

Fingers crossed for her.

Bella took her medication like a dream this morning - I think she would have liked some more! The pill was crushed between 2 spoons then mixed with a little olive oil and pushed into a bit of meatball. What a relief.

Bella was fine until she had a stroke in March (which was when I registered with this forum as I was frantic) followed by another 3 weeks later. She hasn't recovered very well from them. Then in April cataracts and ulcers led to her eyes being removed. A little later her heart murmur was discovered. She sleeps most of the time now so I want to make her few waking moments as pleasant as possible. Thanks again for your invaluable help.

Oh Maggie - I have just read back your previous posts and am so sorry for poor Bella. I do hope that her remaining time with you will be happy and comfortable for her - and for you.

(((hugs))) to you both. xx

So glad it worked. It's awful when they are that difficult and you just do not want to distress them further and perhaps make them more ill. And being blind definitely will not help with you having to do stuff they don't like.

I hope her remaining time with you is comfy and pain free.

I have had two dogs on Vetmedin. Originally they were plastic capsule type things which were a sod to get down, although I managed with Philadelphia cheese. But now they do flavoured tablets. I assume your vet supplies these? I was lucky that my other dog ate them like treats. She had other pills as well though and she got them in Vivitreats - expensive but easier to wrap around pills so she couldn't spit the pill out again.

I would say your vet is being a bit ridiculous to insist that they can't be given with a titbit. I know someone who actually put their dogs Vetmedin on their food each night, and it lived for years and years. I wouldn't go that far, but a little food to get it down is really not going to affect how the pill works, surely.

Bella is so fortunate to have you looking out for her! I'm sorry you're having to go through this and I wish you all the best.

With pilling a dog, you can be pretty unsubtle. Just put that sucker right into the back of the throat so there's no alternative but to swallow it. The quicker, the better, and don't worry about putting your hand right in there. Dogs' mouths are well able to take unsubtlety. You won't hurt her with your fingers unless you've got some serious nail extensions or something. It's easier if you have small hands. I do, so if you don't you might rope in a doggy small friend to help. Dogs don't seem to resent this the way cats do. And even if you are under strict injunction that it must be on an empty stomach, if you rub a light, like half a teaspoon, coating of paté over your hand and let Bella lick it off afterward as a treat, that probably could do no harm.

Hugs to both of you.

I had to give Rita meds twice a day. Although she's a Chihuahua she became a thrashing 50 lb. pitbull as soon as she smelled that pill (she's deaf and blind) and she has a very bad heart condition. At my vets suggestion, Tang got it right, I crush the pill into a powder between two spoons. After that I add a drop or two of honey to cut the bitter taste and mix in a tiny bit of water so the honeys not so thick and draw it up into a syringe and slowly empty it into the side/rear of her mouth between her firmly clenched teeth. I later found that it helped keep her calm if I wrapped her firmly in a towel with just her head sticking out like you'd have to do with a cat and hold her on her back like she was a baby. Please let us know what worked for you.