# Help-how do I get Tessa to take her pills?



## Tessa'smom (Mar 25, 2013)

The vet gave me antibiotics to help with a bacteria infection after finding blood in her stool today. She is sleepy nd lethargic now. She has to take three tablets a day. I have tried to hide them in treats, cheese, hotdogs, I even bought pill pockets! She is tiny (less than 4 pounds) so has to chew everything and finds the pill and spits it out. It has taken time for her to trust me so I don't want to force them down her  I am very worried. I would be very grateful for any suggestions. I am amazed at how precious she has become to me in the last 6 weeks! I love her so much!


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Ask the vet clinic if the pills can be crushed. If they can, do that and mix it with something she can't refuse, like a new kind of wet food. 


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## Lisa T (Sep 3, 2010)

Hi, if they can be crushed try putting them in a bit of pro-biotic yoghurt, this should disguise the taste and also be good for the flora in her gut. Good Luck.


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## Daisy n Max (Feb 23, 2013)

We had same prob. Try squashing a bit of cooked chicken around it.


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## Julie1962 (Apr 28, 2013)

Cream cheese, cheese or pate work well we find. Not had a dog yet who didn't swallow a pill in one of those.


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## Alula (Feb 3, 2013)

I have found that Basil can be sneaky and will eat the cheese/chicken/hot dog but spit out the pill. Those we can crush we mix with yogurt, those we cant get rolled indside a soft dog treat you get over here called Baffos which I stick under the tap so they go sticky too, makes it harder to separate it from the pill and he can't resist a Baffos!

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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Peanut Butter is a good one too as it sticks to the pill


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I start feeding my pups p.butter as little pups, so that if they need pills, I hid them in that. I have a chi that takes phenobarbital; three pills a day. She looks forward to her p.butter in the am and the pm!!


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## MMS (Aug 2, 2012)

I won't be much help here, I'm sure. I have a dog who will find a pill in ANYTHING and spit it out. I have taken to doing exactly what I do with the cats -- shove it as far down his throat as possible and then massage his neck so he swallows. Unfortunately sometimes that is the only way


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

Usually I can hide my chis pills in a chunk of meat, but every now & then she'll find it & spit it out. I push it to the back of her throat, close her mouth & blow on her nose which causes the swallowing action. Works every time.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Was going to mention that if you do need to force a pill down, sometimes the antibiotics might be available in a liquid form which is much easier. We were having to force pills down our cat's throat and he is now on the liquid form and it is a breeze compared to the pill, which would sometimes get caught in his cheeks. 


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## Aquarius (May 8, 2009)

My two chis are like that - any kind of pill and they nibble around what ever I try to hide it in but the one thing that does work for me is a tin of wet dog food - there's a brand here called Caesar which do a something and liver flavour and that seems to do the trick, they love it and wolf it down, try to get the smelliest flavour!! Pill time is the only time they get that food - so it's a big treat - nutrionally it's probably junk, but it does get the pill down


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## Tessa'smom (Mar 25, 2013)

You guys have been a huge help! I haven't wanted to force it down her because it tooks weeks to gain her trust and I don't want to ruin that. I tried peanut butter and she wouldn't eat that. She found the pill in the hot dog, the cheese, the chicken, and the over the counter pill pocket! I finally bought cream cheese and opened the capsel and mixed it in the cream cheese (advice from here) and the spread it on some turkey. She finally ate it!!! One dose down...


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## BlueJax (Jun 25, 2012)

Good to hear you finally got her to take it. I use cream cheese too. Works every time!


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

Can they give you a liquid? I just had my dog on an antibiotic and it was liquid so I could just shoot it down with the eyedropper


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## Tessa'smom (Mar 25, 2013)

Ahhhhhhh....next dose not going down so well. May call tomorrow about a liquid version


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Another trick is to give them a bunch of treats really quick in a row and always have the pill in a different one. So for instance make 4 little balls of cream cheese and give them all to her one after another. If she takes them quick then next time put the pill in the 3rd one. She will be looking forward to the next one and will want to eat the first ones quickly and wont even notice the pill. You put them in a different order every time and they never catch on. Also the cat pill pockets are a much better size for chis in my experience.


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