Hello

One of our labs is VERY good at sensing the tablets, we have tried so many things including crushing the tablets and putting in peanut butter (really messy and takes over an hour!) he loves tuna mayo and we have tried to hide it in that but he can still tell the tablets (crushed) are in it!

Any ideas what we can try. As I say he is VERY perceptive to the tablets being hidden.

Mant Thanks

Hi Carolt,

One of ours is a bit sly when it comes to tablets and I've found the best way is to cover the whole tablet, not crushed, with cream cheese. Scoop out some cheese with a teaspoon, push the tablet into in then scrape some more cheese over the tablet.  Don't let the dog see you doing this!  Philadelphia is good, but expensive to be using for dogs, so we found the cheap tub of Tesco value stuff works just as well.  The dog in question just scoffs it down and the taste of the cheese seems to disguise the fact there is a tablet in it.  I think crushing the tablet just puts the taste right through the disguise and makes it easier for them to detect.

Hope this helps :D

Lesley

Hi Carol! I don't try to disguise the tablets, I'm afraid. I get the dog to sit, raise his head and open his mouth by holding over the top of the muzzle with my left hand (thumb in one side of the mouth behind the canine teeth and fingers in the other side) then push the tablet as far down his throat as it'll go (way back beyond the back teeth), then hold his muzzle shut and stroke his throat until he swallows. Then he gets a tasty titbit to 'wash it down' and as a reward.
:)

That method also works very well with cats, well apart from the getting to sit part :D  In fact it's the only way we can get tablets into our cat without risking deep lacerations and a cat suspended from a light fitting

Lesley

Lol! Plus of course you then need to remove the tablet from your ear where the cat inserted it during flight ...! :D :D

:D :D

:-D :-D :-D

Same here JG............

And here. Dogs and cats are just too good at sniffing out hidden pills so the direct method works best.

Mine get theirs in a small piece of blue cheese :) Doesn't even touch the sides :D

Daisy

Try coating it in butter and then just place it at the back of the throat, it will slip down easier.

We have a similar problem with our labrador cross breed who is very clever spotting when you're trying to give a tablet. The worming tablets are particluarly difficult because they are so large. If we try and do the throwing down the throat method he always manages to spit them out and then after a couple of times of trying that they get so spitty they disintegrate.

Last time we tried something a little bit different which really worked for us.

1. Don't let the dog see the preparation process
2. Cut the tablet in half if it is very big
2. cut two chunks of cheddar which are big enough to cover one half of the tablet
3. whiz the chunks of cheese in the microwave for a few seconds just to make them malleable
4. mould the chunks of cheese round the tablets so that they are completely covered - you end up with two egg shapes
5. put the egg shapes in the fridge to harden up.
6. then the clever bit - wait until you are having your meal and have the egg shapes on the side of your plate as if they were part of your meal. When you have finished eating, offer the dog the eggs as if they were a titbit left over from what you were eating. Our dog was so amazed to be offered something from a human plate (not usually allowed) that he just ate them right down without being suspicious and disecting them to check for tablets. Also the complete encapsulation of the tablet by cheese seems to disguise the smell of the tablet sufficiently

Hope this works for you

I wrap the tablet in a cheese slices  works a treat

I was told by a vet to put the tablets in the fridge overnight.  I don't know if this helps dull the smell or the taste or what, but it did seem to help.

Only meathod I have found that works with my rottie cross is making Pet mince balls with them enclosed inside. Feed 2 or 3 without tablet. 1 with and a few without. They dont even realise its in there!!!!!!!!! I have tried everything for past 8 years and thats the only thing that has saved my fngers!!!!!!!
Lea :)

wrap the tablet up in a nice piece of raw meat. He'll love it. In fact he'd love it even more if you fed him a natural diet full stop. Did you know you can prolong your dogs life by 30% and cut your vets bill by feeding him on raw meat,fat and raw veg.? We have been brain washed by pet food manufacturers into believing they know best what dogs need. They don't.
The difference between dogs and wolves is same as the difference between a black person and a white person. Wolves stomachs do not cope with grain and indeed they do not eat it, so why would we feed our dog pals mostly grain? Sure they eat it because they have no choice.
No one would feed a horse on meat.
Visit UK BARF CLUB and www.K9joy.com  - very informative.

Many off us already feed Raw Casbags, do a search on BARF and RAW, you will find many interesting debates on this topic, already discussed at length :)

yup, i also use the cheese method - two pieces of cheese on either side and they dont hesitate.. cheese muchers that they are lol!

Now the cats... thats a different story :|

Cheese slices for me - one drontal plus tab, broken in four, sneakily hidden in 4 bits of a cheese slice.  Gone in seconds......sucker !!

Cheers :)

Casbags i am also a raw feeder,my dogs are the 6th generation of raw fed dogs :)

Coconut oil is good for disguising tablets in,just dip the tablet in the oil(it's hard oil) and it slides down really easily,most dogs love the taste and it's great for their coats.Butter works just as well,just make sure the tablet is completely covered.
I gave up crushing tabs into their food a long time ago as they always knew it was there and refused to eat it :(

I agree those worming tablets are huge!!!

Great to know there are so many 'raw feeders' out there. You'll have to excuse my enthusiasm - I'm a new convert!!
Has anybody come across a guy called Mogens Eliasen at www.k9joy.com? I think he has some brilliant free articles on his site and free email advice on any dog problems.
Any comments?

Casbags i belong to mogens mailing list :)

I havnt really belonged to it long enough to really make a judgement.

I must be really lucky cos my dog is so daft he'll believe that his tablets are 'treats', he'll sit for them, give his paw, and then gobble up in one go - no problem!

I must say I've followed Mogens advice on brainwork and feeding and my 20 month old lab x flatcoat has gone from being on springs to a completely laid back dog. I have to wake her up to play!!
I had been using Jan Fennell's method but without success, so I was more than happy to find a method of training that worked and that is fun for both dogs and humans.

We have had to resort to the suspension in a syrenge and squirt it down the back of the through, as Barbie clamps her jaw and it just stays shut, with tablet, but she will you put the syrenge into her mouth, she is strange

hi well said re barf diet - i also use natural wormers - pumpkin seeds followed by blue cheese works very well, also it is much better to get a fecal test prior to worming - at least then you know what to use without overdosing the dogs system with toxins.

Hi Carolt,

Have you tried using Panacur granules instead?  I believe they're designed for cats so you would need to have your vet work out the number of sachets required in relation to your dog's weight.  I had a dog that was very difficult to worm with tabs but never refused a meal with the granules sprinkled over ;)  I'm assuming they must be tasty as opposed to conventional dog worming tabs - because this was one FUSSY canine - and easier than using a liquid suspension on an adult too.

I've also used them in between Drontal plus tabs (my own preference) because was advised by vet that in larger than average dose (so again needs professional guidance) they are very effective at killing off less common parasitic problems such as giardia - good to know if you have a recurring colitis type problem which is not being assisted by resting / diet route for example as it's something to try before going down the route of ABs and/or faecal samples.

Regards, Teri :)