Deb -- this is long (as is typical of me) but I've put this in the IMHA thread many times and I've pretty much copied it from there. Change the "her" to "him" ok?? Remember when a dog has something like IMHA they take 15 - 50 meds a day (and no, that's not an exaggeration) -- so this DOES work. It really does..
The big deal for me is I *NEVER* lie to the dog. Their sense of smell is SO keen they know it's in there and if you try to just "fool" them it doesn't work, particularly long term. They are also smart enough to smell it in their own poop and if they take a med and it makes their gut hurt they don't want it again. Yes they ARE that smart.
So it needs to be simple obedience. AND TRUST. They don't want to bite into something that's mega bitter -- and all it takes it biting into a pill ONCE to be real memorable. So you **SHOW** them you're doing meds **and** that you're putting it in something slippery.
Brunschweiger or liverwurst (same thing) -- deli case (I like Kahn's the best, but Oscar Meyer is good) -- I do NOT use the low fat one cos it has more chemicals. It's animal fat anyway which is far far better tolerated.
But I just take a slice of liverwurst and cut it into sections. Then just moosh a pill or several into the liverwurst (it's soft).
Take ONE piece first that has nothing in it and show it to her. Tell her what it is and tell her it's yummy but "JUST SWALLOW". Hold it well above her nose (have her in a sit) with another plain piece in the other hand. Give it to her but hold the next piece right there to drop that in IMMEDIATELY (you want her to get used to just swallowing it).
This is YUM stuff. Then -- show her the next one and TELL her it's got a pill in it -- "This has your medicine in it -- this is gonna help!" and again have a second piece in your hand so she gulps the one with the pill and gets the next one.
I literally will have ALL of them mooshed into however many lumps it takes to do the meds and pop, pop, pop one right after the other!!
+++DON'T omit teaching this other command!!! It WORKS+++
THEN later on -- take a piece of steak or something you can hang onto. Put her in a sit again and say "CHEW good!!" and as you let her have it HANG ONTO IT so she begins to nibble at the end "Good girl!! Chew it GOOD it's yummy!"
This is like teaching a dog to bark to teach it NOT to bark. You teach two commands "Chew it good" and "Just swallow".
this helps UNBELIEVABLY in all of this because you don't want them to bite into the azathiaprene or something like cyclo. But you DO want to also let them know you're watching out for them and good stuff that's not bitter they can chew.
Honestly? DON'T **EVER** try to hide anything. Don't try to "sneak it" by -- their nose is SO highly developed they KNOW when something is "in" something and you'll wind up with a suspicious dog who has to examine everything thinking you're gonng "slip" something in on them. Instead, teach them to TRUST you. Teach her that you won't be sneaky but you'll TELL her when there is a med, but you'll give it in a yummy form that's slippery enough to slide down easy. Teach her also this way that you CAN be trusted to let her know when something is yummy and a treat.
Now -- you CAN mash the powdered milk thistle into the brunschweiger. but I'd roll it into little balls -- again to just be swallowed if you do it that way. But if you get her used to it and let her SEE you put it in her food (so she doesn't feel like SHE has to censor her own food) but that you're making it as yum as you can -- you can train most dogs to accept things like this.
There are a lot of things you can use like this -- ricotta cheese (very low in fat anyway), butter (again it's an animal fat -- FAR better tolerated than something like margerine which is a veggie fat and not digestible for them), yogurt (try different flavors -- it does NOT have to be plain yogurt. Just don't use one with nutrasweet in it -- and I prefer an organic yogurt like Stoneyfield.
Stuff like peanut butter (which is a nut oil and really NOT at all good for them) and cream cheese -- I don't like them because they are sticky and you want this to be easy.
Another thing that I have used **extensively** with meds for IMHA is baby food. I get both meat and veggie babyfood and then I'll take a small Glad container and combine one jar of meat with one small container of veggie baby food. It's slippery but a thinner consistency.
Same principle as above -- except use a plastic spoon and let her lick it off the spoon. Then put a pill IN the stuff and scoop it out with the spoon (but TELL her "This one has your aza in it!";)
I'm not crazy Cheryl -- truly .. if you TELL them what you're doing and let them learn to *trust* you, that you won't try to fool them, this works.
The baby food is good quality and good FOR them. It keeps in the fridge so I just take it out after a meal and give out meds when I have stuff that they won't take IN their food.
I put up Billy's and Tink's meds last night for three weeks (I use those little pill caddy things to divide them up - separate ones for each meal). The ENTIRE TIME I was doing it, they were BOTH under my feet in the kitchen WAITING. Because they know that stuff gets added to their food or given to them in a goodie. This was ALL medicine but both of them are sitting there hoping I would give it to them *now* because to them it means GOOD STUFF.
(Deb -- I actually put up meds last night again -- and yep -- all 3 are sitting there cos meds mean YUM stuff!! No reluctance at all.)
Don't apologize to her -- don't act like it' s something bad. TELL HER "This is gonna help".
I use that phrase ALL THE TIME with a sick dog. When you go to the vet "Dr. ____ is gonna HELP you feel better!!" and I always take TREATS to the vet. High value stuff (pieces of steak or liver -- any mega yummy thing and I hand the bag TO the vet so they get to play nice and give the dog treats.)
Vets and techs appreciate this -- and it turns going to the vet into a GOOD time. THEN the dog associates it with feeling good and feeling better (even getting a blood stick isn't too bad when a gigglilng tech gets to give you something yummy). So then, I have that vet's "name" that emphasizes a command.
"Dr. Bailey says this will help" --- introduces a new med painlessly.