(no subject)

[ksmith]

I just spent about a half hour coaxing Gaby through a 1/4 can of the rabbit mixed with the hypo food. I felt like I was coaxing a balky baby through a jar of green peas.

She wanted to eat. Her tail was wagging. But she kept flirting with the damned stuff, picking it up and dropping it. Licking it. So help me, I think that dog has an eating disorder.

If she keeps it down, I will be spending part of tomorrow calling stores that supposedly carry the stuff to see if they have any. My local feed store had a case that they special-ordered. I was able to buy one can, but that was all.

The metronidazole was another story. Both King and Mickey had taken it at one time or another, and I had forgotten how evil-tasting the stuff is. How in hell am I going to get Gaby, who eats by licking, to swallow that damned thing is just about beyond me. If I give it to her inside a wad of food that she likes, she just licks the food and leaves the pill. I may have to resort to tossing it down her throat, but that's not easy.

Why in the freeping hell didn't the *&^%$#@ manufacturer coat the *&^%$#@ tablet. First rule of Drug That Tastes Like Shit--COAT THE G-------N TABLET!!!!!!!

Oh, and I'm supposed to be writing through all this. Good the fuck luck.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Take Gaby's lower jaw with the palm of your had under her chin. Gently slide her lower lips up over her teeth. She will open her mouth. With your other hand, insert pill and pointer finger behind teeth. Shove the pill as far back and down as your finger will go. Gaby may try and bite, but if she does, she bites your thumb which presses her lip onto her teeth. The pressure is hers, so she gets to choose how much it hurts. She'll stop long before hurting you. Pet her and tell her what a good dog she is. If the pill's far enough down, she won't be able to spit it back up.

A - who had to give her Husky pills twice a day for 7 years.

PS. Those Husky types are smart. They'll find the pill in almost anything and spit it out.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I'll try to do this tomorrow morning. After coffee.

[michaeldthomas.livejournal.com]

Poor pup. I am so sorry.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

She really perked up about an hour ago. Played a little with King and everything. I think the shots may have really kicked in, She was even sniffing the rug where I set her food bowl. But I'm reluctant to give her anymore food tonight. I'll see how things go overnight/tomorrow morning. If she's ok, I'll feed her a larger amount.

The nausea shot lasts 24 hours. I hope the nausea doesn't return because that just stops her cold.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

Guh. I can't say much besides: that sucks, and I'm thinking of you.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Commiserations, sounds like it's been a rough week. Sending good thoughts your way and hoping she gets better.

[slave2tehtink.livejournal.com]

Metronidazole is a tough pill to give. You can try grinding it up and mixing it in wet food when she's eating better, but it may still taste nasty. When Tinks was on it, I wound up just shoving it down her throat and then giving her something fantastically nummy (like cheese) immediately following. She now begs to have pills shoved down her throat.

Gaby's "Oo that smells good but I'm not sure about eating it" behavior sounds to me a lot like there's some residual nausea or GI discomfort.

Oh, and when I do pills, I use the spots right behind the canine teeth (where the canine teeth from the other jaw mesh, so there are no teeth there) to pry the dog's mouth open. But then my dogs will not apply jaw pressure if my hand is in their mouths, your mileage may vary.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

hey hey!! It worked! And I even managed to do it before coffee.

I don't think she knew what hit her. I gave her a biscuit afterwards and told her what a good puppy she was. Question is, will she let me do it again?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I did what you do. It worked! Hope it works for the next week.

[(Anonymous)]

If she doesn't want to open her teeth, you just push the lips against the closed teeth, and she'll open. My dog never tried to escape the technique.

The only time I had trouble with the technique was one day when my dog was obviously ill. He opened his mouth grudgingly for the thyroid. I decided to give him an aspirin because he was so very down. He opened his mouth under duress, and pushed one of those bone crunching teeth into my thumb enough to let me know that it really hurt to open his mouth. Vet explained he had an eye infection, which manifests in dogs as pain in the jaw.

I hope Gaby's better today.
A

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

So hoping that all the meds work and she feels much better realsoonnow. You and she need a break.

Vet Pharmacy

[(Anonymous)]

There is a vet pharmacy, BCP Veterinary Pharmacy pcvetpharm.com, and can compound the Metro into different forms. I use it for my cat who was initially diagnosed with irritable bowel. I get it in a capsule and it has help immensely. Good Luck.

Christa

[(Anonymous)]

BCP pet pharmacy can turn Metronidazole into a liver-flavored chewy treat called a "Vet Chew". Your vet can get you a few free samples to try out. You can also get empty gel capsules to put the pill in, but I'm not sure if you can get them at your local drugstore or not. I know you can buy them online. And there is also this neat thing called "Pill Pockets" that we use to put our animal's pills in before we give them their pills. Its especially great when you have to give multiple pills or when they are an ornery pill taker, because it keeps the pill from dissolving in your hand.

[elmunadi.livejournal.com]

We had a sheltie who was a licker, as well - peanut butter coating the pill, then wrapped in food (kibble laced with PB seemed to work well. Nonetheless, the jaw-pry method is pretty well a guaranteed success.

[lonotter.livejournal.com]

What others have said - pry open jaws and deposit the pill(s) at the back of the throat, followed up by a cookie.

Hopefully she'll get to the point where resistance is token - our husky won't open her mouth voluntarily, but she comes out of her crate when I rattle the pill bottle at her, and I've pilled her one-handed a few times (2 antihistimines twice a day).

If she's not good about not biting down, get a pill-shooter from the vet. I haven't felt the need with the huskies, but I wouldn't pill a cat without one.

Re: Vet Pharmacy

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Do you have your vet send them the prescription, or send it yourself?

Thanks for this information!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. Looks like there's a mini-industry revolving around getting meds into pets.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

It's funny. I tossed the metro down her throat with relative ease this morning. This evening, she knew what I was going to do as soon as I approached her pill in hand. I had to chase her around the coffee table and order her to sit, but she finally let me pill her.

Poor little mite. We're looking at another 5-6 days of this.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

She is, fingers crossed, but I could detect a dip at about the time the nausea med wore off. We'll see how tonight goes.

Re: Vet Pharmacy

[(Anonymous)]

Your vet can just call them with the prescription. If they are shipping directly to you, then you will need to call after your vet calls to set up your payment and give them your address. If they ship to your vet, I don't think you need to do anything else, because your vet will pay for it and then bill you. Their toll-free number is 1-800-481-1729. I hope that Gaby gets better soon!

Christa