My bitch is refusing to take her wormers. The pups are 4 weeks old and have had their 2nd dose of wormer  (Drontal Suspension ) and I normally worm mum at the same time. I've tried every trick in the book -grinding them up and mixing into food -with all sorts of treats added and rolling them up into turkey breast. She knows they're in there and walks away. I've also tried ramming them down her throat ( nuclear option !) but she has resisted this strongly possibly due to her unfortunate experience when the pups were a few days old and she got stung in the mouth by a bee . This caused severe swelling inside her mouth and awful pain but has settled down and she's been eating normally since. What can I do ? Is there any safe and effective topical or injectable wormer she could have bearing in mind that this breed can be sensitive to certain worming preparations  ? Help !!!

Your bitch & the sire aren't MDR 1 DNA tested then ?

No !

Oh I would have expected all breeding dogs to have had all the available health/DNA tests done over & above those required by the KC/Breed clubs before being bred from, isn't that what responsible breeders are supposed to do ?

Because they are normal by parentage. This is a sixth generation of this line so I should know. Furthermore, I did make the point that one has to exercise extreme caution with Border Collies, owing to their particular biochemistry.
I posted for advice not a 'troll' type response. Not only  do I ensure that all my dogs are genetically clear of all known hereditary disease, I also BAER hearing test and eye test my puppies , the former entailing a long  ( and arduous !) journey to one of the few UK testing centres.

My granny used to say ' don't teach your granny how to suck eggs !'

Have you tried them ground up in honey or syrup, something sweet and sticky to try and mask the smell. Mine have to get them shoved over their throats as they are not fooled by putting them in treats but this is not an option for you having read your post.

If you know that your bitch is MDR 1 normal than you can use Ivermectin or related/derivative drugs Not sure why you would ask about using the injection/pour on worming treatment on an internet forum rather than asking your vet

I find pate works well as it can be smelly, get a nice strong garlic flavored one. ;-)
Aileen

I have labs so not the pickiest of feeders but.............

rather than just put the turkey (with pill) down in front of her if I'm having probs I usually push the pill in a bit of meat/sausage, (ideally have another dog or two as well) and do a few tricks (or whatever the dog can do!) and toss the food in the air for them to catch as a reward, just need to make sure the other dog gets only the un-doctored meat!

A couple of mine won't eat if wormer is added to food to I either put tablets down the thoat or use suspension and just syringe it to down throat .. They don't like it but a necessary evil :)

Well, we've had some success with Victoria Sandwich cake but have found a couple of bits of wormer artfully segregated and left on the plate. I've never experienced such determination/aversion. I think it is related to her recent memories of medication following bee sting.

In response to Tommee, of course I refer to my vet . I've used the same practice for many years even though it is a 30 mile round trip for a consultation. But, this forum allows me to access the wisdom of breeders with years of diverse experience. This I also value.

Granny also used to say 'a problem shared is a problem halved' ! Surely this is the 'raison d'etre ' of these forums. They must not become an opportunity to devalue /disparage.

I roll tablets up in a piece of cheese. I feed several undoctored pieces first and then the one with the pill in it and so far it has always worked.

My general approach is to use Primula squeezy cheese. Coat the pill in it, and then put some on a finger - all done in sight of the intended recipient. As soon as I offer them the cheese coated pill, i put the cheese coated finger forward for licking. They're usually so keen on getting the extra cheese on offer that they swallow the tablet without thinking.

Ah that is what I am doing wrong - I don't offer dummy pieces first.  Mind you Meg knows as soon as she hears the crinkle of the foil what is coming - great memory she has.  I usually wait until I have some really tasty left overs - like spag bol - grind the tablets to a fine dust between 2 spoons and mix very well.  She still knows it is there but she won't leave a really good left over treat.  I used to just give them to her in a piece of bread and butter - which worked for years - don't know why she suddenly took an aversion to the tablets about 2 years ago.  I have to laugh that they make them bone shaped - as if that makes any difference to the dog!!!

I'm beginning to wonder if Drontal have changed their formula. She always used to take the tablets, albeit heavily disguised, but not anymore. She has a sniff and turns up her nose. I tried grinding into powder and adding to food - food refused. I tried rolling bits up in cooked turkey breast, also refused. The cake worked to a degree but there is still a piece of wormer remaining. I'm going to try primula cheese next.
Thanks anyway for all advice !

With my two previous retrievers, who tended to eat anything apart from pills, I would dunk them in the dreaded marmite and they would disappear no problem. Tried all sorts of tricks, hiding in bits of meat etc, but marmite worked every time.
Will be interesting to see how the pup deals with Drontal when I worm her next. She eats all sorts of yucky stuff at the moment, but she's not had a pill from me yet.

Ok Jan, here's what to do:

Take 8 cubes of cheese, each big enough for a worming tablet.  Push the worming tablet into one of them, closing the entry point so it is sealed inside the cheese.  It's very important no tablet is sticking out to the open air, so use enough cheese to cover it.

So that all pieces of cheese smell identical, now squish in your hands the other cubes of cheese just as much as the one with the wormer in.

Bending down to roll the cheese along the floor, and getting her into some sort of 'catch the cheese' predatory game, roll:

5 pieces of cheese with no wormer in them, one at a time - as soon as she eats a piece, roll the next piece.

The 6th piece of cheese has the wormer.  Once you've rolled that one...

...get the 7th piece of cheese ready - get it out, put it on the ground, get ready to roll - get her focussed on the 7th piece so she gulps down the 6th piece with the wormer in quickly to make way for the next piece.

8th piece is just to finish off.

The point is to make it a game of catching rolling cheese and to lull her into acceptance by several normal pieces of cheese first, and also to get her focussed on the 7th so she's not thinking about what's in the 6th, she just wants to eat it and get it out of the way for the arrival of the 7th.

You can use something else besides cheese but it should be something which holds together well.  If it falls apart in the dogs mouth, the dog will spit it out. 

Very good Rabid :-0   but if you have to give 2 tablets -----  I know mine won't be tricked a second time - she would refuse the cheese rather than risk being 'poisoned' !  However I mustn't be negative - I must save this thread to use next time I worm. 

I just use the element of competition!
I hide the tablet(s) in pieces of sausage, pate, cheese, or whatever I've got around, then just give everyone a bit that doesn't contain the pill, then second round has the pill but third round is on its way so treat disappears at speed. Works every time :)

Oh dear lol. Think I must be lucky, I just tell my daft lot it's a sweetie and down the hatch the pill goes!! It must be a nightmare when they refuse all attempts.

Wow ! Thank you Rabid. As it happens our Dutch friends were here yesterday and as usual came with huge quantities of Dutch cheese -just the type for quishing and rolling. It keeps well in the freezer so I'll have plenty on standby.

Mine used to suck the outer  cheese /meat coating off the pill and spit it at my feet but now duck pate ,soft goats cheese and stilton (I know spoiled !) works a treat.Not altogether though !

> They must not become an opportunity to devalue /disparage.

Glad you said that.  I went back to read your post, as I was puzzled at the response.  Silly me thought you had asked for advice on worming. 

I have to cover it in peanut butter. I've tried everything else and this is the only way I can get him to take a tablet