Doggish Discontent

[stoutfellow]

Murphy's dental work yesterday will take a fair bit of healing; he was clearly groggy and uncomfortable on the trip home. The vet gave me no less than four pills he has to receive once or twice a day for the next couple of weeks. This morning, therefore, was a bit of an adventure. First, I wrapped the pills in butter - my usual trick - but he refused it. The next-best option was the direct approach: I stuffed one of the pills into his mouth. He immediately spat it out. I picked it up and put it back in; he swallowed and walked away... and spat it out. Once more: I held his muzzle shut and rubbed his throat until he swallowed, then followed him around for a while to make sure he hadn't faked me out again.

That was the first pill.

The other three went more smoothly, as I went immediately to the muzzle-and-throat approach.

About five minutes later, I found the remains of the last two pills, welded together with saliva, on the rug. I washed them off and tried again, this time successfully. I think.

The vet has also instructed me to give Murphy nothing but soft food - almost gruel, she said - for the next couple of weeks. She gave me a couple of cans of food to tide him over until I can get to the store. The procedure I've adopted is to scoop a big forkful of food into his bowl, chop it up fine with fork and knife, add some water, and mash it up. He just laps it up, not even having to chew. (For this evening's dosing, I just dropped the pills in with the food, and he absorbed them without complaint.)

The problem is that I can't give him treats, or share my food with him - and if not with him, then in the interests of fairness not with Ben either. (Fairness, and the prevention of fights...) I don't think either dog is very happy with me at the moment, although Murphy looks much more chipper than he did last night.

Comments

[sraun]

You might want to check out Pill Pockets. I've discovered that they work wonderfully for the daily pill I have to give Mac.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I'll keep that in mind for future reference - I have better uses for butter - but I think that, with the current restriction on Murphy's diet, they might not work just now. (How big are they?) Anyway, thanks!

[sraun]

They come in a variety of sizes - the only ones I've actually held are size small. The small are a good size for up to about the size of most OTC pain relievers. The large are probably good for something twice that size, or multiple pills at once.

It might be worth asking your vet about - they're actually almost as malleable as butter.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Will do. Thanks again.

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

Oh, puir wee Boyz!!

Murphy is pretty smart, though. Even groggy, he knew that he didn't intend to swallow those pills!

Having teeth removed makes it harder to do the muzzle thing. I don't know if you remember last year when our cat Inca had numerous teeth removed - she also ended up with a convenient way out. I'd shove the pill in, try to hold her mouth, and she'd push it out of her mouth through the open spot where there were no teeth!

Can you share things like rice or potatoes? Those can be practically blendered into gruel.

Good luck!!

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

What hornedhopper said about the blender: It's really the trick for making doggy gruel. 1 part normal dog food (whatever kind you use) to 1 part low-sodium beef or chicken broth (whichever the dog prefers). Vary the ratio to get the consistency you want.

I wouldn't worry about fairness: Dogs don't think that way. But if Murray's spot as top dog isn't absolutely secure (and I'm betting, as he's older and less well, it won't be) you don't want to go given the bottom-ranker and funny ideas.

The top-rankers get to eat first, bottom rankers last (if at all)

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about fairness

Oh, you thought I meant human-style fairness?

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

Yes--my bad!