# Getting the supplements into the dog



## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

Up until the last couple days, Lady Jane had been gobbling up her supplements mixed in with her kibble. I swear she must be telepathically communicating with Kramer because now she acts like the supplements are poison. I'm off to pick up some canned tripe to hide them in.

Joanne


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Chama does this with her garlic powder. I have to flavor her food with all kinds of things just to get her to eat. She loves her Longevity though. For the not so tasty items I put them in a glob of Nature's Variety dog food and feed them to her that way. She gobbles them right up.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I wrap Brady's in Turkey Breast


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## VHgraphics (Sep 9, 2008)

I give supplements in powder form which I can hide in their muscle meat meal. Pills I hide in cream cheese or peanut butter; bigger pills I just use my finger to get it down their throat or I crush them with the back of a spoon in their bowl and add cottage cheese or a beaten egg.

I count my blessings I don't have picky eaters. Just holding something up to my lips and making yummy sounds usually gets them to eat what I want.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I stuff them down the back of Morgan's throat.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I usually use yogurt to hide pills. I mix the yogurt with the food after I put the pills in. For my terrier I had to use the 3-treat-method or he would figure out there was a pill and spit out ANY treat I tried to give him.
With Ginger I can just toss them on top of her kibble and she'll eat them, or I can pop them right in her mouth.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I have tried stuffing them down Brady's throat but it usually comes back up, sometimes I use frozen yogurt too now that gets his attention


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

LOL, the back of the throat throw requires long fingers, no fear of being bitten and years of practice! One of my boys was very skilled at finding hidden pills. Back when heartworm was a daily dose, I used to find his pills hidden all over the house until I started jamming them down his throat. Old habits die hard...


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

I picked up a couple cans of beaver and tripe. I emptied all the capsules, popped the fish oil caps, and crushed up the others, mixed them together with some beaver - and she ate it off a spoon. She also slopped it all over me. My fingers stink of fish oil. Of course my husky thinks I smell m a r v e l o u s!

Jenn, I'm too chicken to stick my fingers that far into her mouth! 

Joanne


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Zamboni is the world's WORST pill taker. We've tried everything -- cream cheese, meat balls, peanut butter (well soy butter at my house), tuna, etc.

This week, I found a new secret that will work (for a while, til she gets bored with it). Mashed potatoes. Instant mashed potatoes. Warm slightly in the microwave or with warm water. Cold mashed potatoes are icky.

I also find that with Zamboni and Camper that they often don't want to take pill blobs off my fingers, but if I put the same blobs on a plate, they'll eat them right up, especially if I put a few decoy blobs there too.

Plates.







Yes, I know. Camper will take any medicine I give him in cream cheese, but only off a plate. (He takes his nightly supplement from Dh off his fingers, but let's face it -- Dh doesn't do all the terrible medical stuff to him that I do. He trusts Dh more.) 

A plate. A nice medium sized ceramic plate. 

Appetizers, I call them. Whenever possible, I serve them before meals, so the dogs are hungry.

I can't believe I do it either. 

Try it.


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

Tonight's appetizer (thank you 3K9Mom) was stinky tripe. I almost tossed by cookies. It worked though. She gobbled her little globs up. I served them on Corelle. They dine everyday on Williams-Sonoma pottery so it was either a step down to the Corelle or unpack the fine china. 

She loves cream cheese but it took almost 3 months to get the extra 8 pounds off her - She had been eating A LOT of cream cheese.

Joanne

PS Still awaiting the return of my brain...


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

(Um, I used your brain this morning...)

This morning's hors devours was cream cheese, with canned chicken mixed in (canned chicken, drained well to remove as much salt as possible). The result was bit less fat and more appetizing than plain cream cheese. 

Our regular Pfaltzgraf stoneware salad plates.









Zamboni liked it so much, she asked for seconds. So I gave her some additional supplements that I'm always wishing I could give her, but can't usually manage to shove down her throat.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I thought I would explain the three-treat method in case anyone doesn't know it. That was the only thing that usually worked on my terrier, and even that did not always work. Anything else and he'll spit the pills out.
I used cheese or bread most often, but anything soft that can hide a treat is ok. What I would do is give him one treat, then give him a second treat which is hiding the pill. As soon as he took the second treat I would offer him a third treat immediately, requiring him to quickly swallow the treat with the pill so he can grab the third treat.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

Five of my six will eat supps off a spoon with pumpkin, cottage cheese or yogurt. Sometimes I stuff them in with their ground muscle meat. Now Nucky.... he seems to have issues with eatting off of a spoon. He will lick lick lick it off but not EAT it off. I got tired of opening his mouth, inserting spoonful, closing his mouth and pulling out the spoon. One night I dropped one of his pills and he just DOVE on it and devoured it before any other dog could get to it. I bent over and put each pill on the floor and he scrafed them right up. Including the vit C!!!! I have been giving them to him like that every nice since and no problems. Go figure!


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## dogs_dolls (Apr 27, 2001)

Our girl is the champion at discerning a pill lurking in some delightful food stuff. Does she think I have been waiting patiently all these years to poison her in her old age?? So for now what works...I wrap them in soft bread all mashed up around the pill then I coat it with a little bit of wet cat food. Ahhh now she will eat it. i do not use much cat food of course. Just a little bit mushed into the bread. very messy and yucky but ..it works... sigh...Then I remember dear departed King, he was absolutely the worst!! He was able to manfully refuse any treat any time any where!


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## Northern GSDs (Oct 30, 2008)

My one gal will just gobble them straight up if I put them on top of her breakfast and dinner. 

My senior boy, well, let's just say that he is exceptionally skilled at picking them out and leaving them untouched. 

What I have found works best with him is to wrap each pill in a small piece of processed cheese slice (kraft singles, etc) and squish it until it pretty much resembles a mini "cheese ball". Works about 99% of the time and I find this is the quickest and least messy method when I'm in a hurry!


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

I gave in and started using cream cheese again. She still wouldn't eat them. So I switched from store brand cream cheese to Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese. Problem solved. She rolls the first one around in her mouth, determines it to be the real deal, and gobbles up the rest.


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

cream cheese and bologna-paige is an expert at spitting out her vitamins


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## barbprzyby (May 15, 2008)

Like Chicagocanine's "three" method, we use the processed cheese. I take one slice and divide it into nine small squares. The fish oil cap is huge so I use one square to encase the pill and slide it in her mouth first,on the side, behind the large canines. Naomi gets the rest of the cheese piece by piece and considers this twice a day ritual treat time! She complains if we are not on "schedule". 
When we have doggie cousins visit they all join in waiting for their turn at some cheese. I think that part made Naomi think of it as something special and it carries over to every day.


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