How to Give Dog Liquid Medicine?- Yes, being a dog owner is a very blissful experience, but we face many difficulties as pets of our lovable canines.
Dogs often refuse direct intake of any type of liquid medicine as they can’t resist the unpleasant taste of the medicine.
This is why most dog owners search for steps regarding how to give a dog liquid medicine.
Giving a dog liquid medicine involves using a dropper or syringe, aiming for the pouch between the dog’s teeth and cheek. Slowly dispense medicine and allow your dog to swallow. Follow with a treat or meal. Always consult with a vet for correct dosage and administration techniques.
Everything that will help the dog owner in getting detailed information regarding the processes to follow for giving liquid medicine to dogs will be discussed in this article.
So if you are willing to know the detailed information, please be with us until the end.
Contents
Why Do Dogs Refuse to Take Medicines?
To properly understand the methods to make your dog eat liquid medicines, you should first know the reasons why the canines refuse to take the medications, which are very important for their health. The factors due to which the canines refuse to take the medicines are discussed below:
Bad Taste
The bad taste of the medicines is the most probable reason why the dogs keep refusing food consumption.
The different types of ingredients and the chemical solution used in the manufacturing of the medicine give it a mixture of salty, sour, and bitter tastes, which seems very weird to the dogs while they eat. Thus the dog always refuses the intake of the fluid medicines.
The Habit of Always Having Delicious Food
To keep our dog happy and reward him during the training sessions, we always provide delicious treats and food according to the favorite flavor of our canine. Due to this, our canine gets into the habit of eating delicious food always.
Therefore, they refuse the consumption of that weird-tasting medicine.
The Unpleasant Smell of the Medicine
We know that the capacity of our dog to smell things is far better than that of humans. The canine can get that weird smell of the medicines from a distance, due to which they become aware that something bad is coming to them, thus always refusing the intake of medicines.
Difficulty in Swallowing
The dogs that previously suffered from medical issues like breathing issues and inflammation in the organs are mostly noticed to avoid the intake of liquid medicines.
This happens because the friction within the liquid particles and the throat increases, which often leads to the dog choking. Thus the canine refuses to take the liquid medicines.
These are the most important factors which are responsible for the refusal of medicine intake by your lovable canine. So if you are heading on to make your dog eat the liquid medicines, then you have to first take care of the above factors.
Sometimes, when the medicine is thick in consistency, or in the form of pills, they refuse to proceed further due to their past experiences.
How to Give Dog Liquid Medicine?
Now, we have discussed the factors which make the dog refuse the intake of liquid medicines. It’s time to discuss what appropriate steps you can follow to make your dog consume those liquid medications.
The steps to provide liquid medications can be categorized into two types one is for dogs who are in normal condition, and another is for the ones who split out the medicines.
Understand the Proper Dosage
The first and most important step you must follow while providing liquid medications to a dog is to understand the appropriate dosage for the canine. If you overdose on the dog, it can cause many side effects, so understanding the proper dosage is necessary.
Prepare the Syringe
Now, after understanding the proper dosage of the canine, you must prepare the syringe according to the doses prescribed. Try to pull the plunger back to the syringe line for the appropriate dose.
Make a Pocket Within the Lip and Teeth
The third step you must follow after preparing the syringe is to make a pocket within the teeth of the dog and its lips for injecting the syringe. Gently pull the lip of the dog a bit away from its teeth, and make sure to pull with light hands as there’s a chance of getting bitten by your dog.
Place the Syringe
Now you are all done with making the proper place to inject the syringe. It’s time to know where to properly place the syringe and place the needle in the pocket you have made just behind the teeth of your canine.
Inject the Syringe
Make an angle of around thirty-five degrees from the tooth while placing the syringe and slowly squeeze the syringe to dispense the liquid into the dog’s mouth. Make sure you are not squeezing the syringe fast, as slowly squeezing will give sufficient time to swallow and breathe.
Encourage the Dog to Swallow
Now it’s time to help the dog to swallow the liquid medicine. All you can do is just hold the mouth of the dog closed. You can even stroke their throat to promote the swallowing of the medicine. Make sure you are not pulling the head back as it can lead to the dog choking.
Avoid Overdosing
Sometimes the dog splits up some medicines while swallowing them due to severe choking.
In this situation, most dog owners think that they should give a few more drops of the medicine to complete the dose, but this should be strictly avoided as giving a few drops after the dog splits some medicine can lead to an overdose which might be difficult for the dog to handle.
These are the simple steps followed by veterinarians while they are used to provide medicines to the canine. Dog owners can also go for these steps if their canine is not suffering from any kind of health issues.
What are the Steps to Provide Liquid Medicines to Dogs who Spit Out?
The dog spits out the medicines due to the weird taste of it. That’s why some tricks should be followed while providing liquid medicines.
Hide it in food
This is one of the most effective ways to trick the canine into the intake of liquid medicine. All you can do is just go for one of his favorite treats, which has a very strong taste and a strong fragrance too.
Put the appropriate amount of the medicine dosage in that food and mix it well with a spoon. It is necessary to ensure that the medicine can be taken with food, as some medicines are often prescribed on an empty stomach.
Use a Small Spoon
Dogs are often scared of the syringes as they remember that this thing causes them pain. So instead of using a syringe to give the liquid medicine, you can also go for using a small spoon to give the medicine.
Make sure you encourage the pet to take medicine with baby talk with the canine. This step can work well if the reason behind the refusal is the fear of the syringe.
Positive Reinforcement
This is one of the most important steps you should always take care of while giving liquid medications to your dog. Make sure you are not using any kind of bad words or punishment or forcing the dog to consume the medicine.
As this will only have bad effects on your lovely bond with your canine instead of making the dog consume the medicine, that’s why it needs to be strictly avoided.
Make the Dog Calm
The reason behind your dog’s refusal can be anxiousness due to the better taste. This can be easily handled by putting some love and extra effort into making the dog understand that consumption of this medicine is very necessary.
All you can do is give a slight massage to your dog’s head and make him sit on the ground, then try some baby talks with him to convince him of the medicine, and then try to use a pill dropper to give the medicine by slightly opening the mouth.
Reward the Pet
Now you can try all the above-discussed steps to make the dog consume the medicine. But if you want to make it a habit for your dog to consume that medicine daily, then all you can do is just reward the pet whenever he intakes the medicine.
This will make the pet understand that after tolerating the little bitter taste of the medicine, he will have some delicious treats, which will indulge the pet in taking the medicine and will also make the pet familiar with it.
The process of giving liquid medicine to the canine is not as easy as it should be done in such a way that the canine can’t even realize the intake of the medicine.
That is why it is suggested to the dog owners that they should strictly follow the steps mentioned above while learning how to give dogs liquid medicine.
