How to Trick Your Dog into Taking Liquid Medicine

Owning a pet also means that you should be available to take good care of it. There are people who often neglect their pets, even when they are sick. A pet is like a human being, it will also need medical attention when it gets sick. Let us say you now have the right medication to give your dog, how can you get it to take it. Dogs are not always known for taking medicine easily. Sometimes you have to trick it into taking the medication by mixing it with food. Today, we want to look at how to trick your dog into taking liquid medicine. At the end of this guide, you will now know all the tips to adequately care for a sick dog.

How to Know if Your Pet Needs Medical Attention

It is only if you understand that your dog is sick, that you can take the appropriate steps to help it. Below are some of the symptoms that will tell you that your dog needs medical attention.

Change in eating habits

While it is common for your dog to skip a meal or two, it should be a problem when it becomes a habit. When your dog goes for more than two days without feeding, then it should be an issue to investigate. It is best to take it to a vet for further examination to understand what might be the problem.

There are various diseases that might lead to unusual eating habits. Let us say that you have a well-behaved dog and suddenly it is going through garbage for food, then you should be worried. Something is wrong when a dog behaves this way.

Excessive thirst

Excessive thirst is a sign of a kidney disease or diabetes. You are required to keep track of how much water the dog drinks. When it seems that your dog is excessively thirstier than before, then you know something is wrong.

Because the dog is drinking a lot of water, then expect it to have an excessive urine amount.

A dry or rough coat

A healthy dog will have a thick, shiny, and soft coat. However, that can quickly change when your dog gets sick. The coat tends to be dull, dry, and rough. Depending on the severity of a disease, there might be bald patches too. The wrong kind of food, skin disease, or sometimes an allergy could be the reason for a dry coat. Well, a trip to your local vet can help understand what is causing the questionable coat appearance and feel.

The dog seems tired and sluggish

If you own a dog that is always eager to play, then suddenly it seems sluggish and tired, you would know something is wrong. The dog would also lose interest in going for a walk or participating in any other activities it loves.

It is normal to see a dog being fatigued due to high temperatures. However, when this persists for more than two days, then you know there is something wrong.

A lot of vomiting

Occasional vomiting in a dog should not raise an alarm. It is a common thing that animals do to get rid of something they ingested, but didn’t like. However, when vomiting happens frequently or several times in a day, then it should be a concern to you. The worst is when the dog vomits blood and has a fever.

Unusual stool

You might want to look at the dog’s stool to tell you a lot more about its health. Any healthy dog is likely to have small, firm, and moist stools. When the stool turns to dry and hard, it is then a sign of dietary problems or dehydration.

There are times when your dog’s stool might have worms, blood, mucus, and much more. Whenever this happens, a trip to the vet is necessary.

Sudden weight loss

Even for an overweight dog, having a sudden weight loss should be a sign of a problem. Losing weight rapidly is an indication that there is a serious health condition that needs looking into as soon as possible. With the assistance of a vet, you would know what is probably wrong with the dog.

How to Trick Your Dog Into Taking Liquid Medicine

You might be surprised just how hard it might be to get your dog to take its medication. Once you understand the various methods you can use, then it is possible to make the exercise fun and enjoyable. So, choosing the right method for giving your dog liquid medicine is not always straightforward. It might need a bit of trial and error before finding the right method. Here is how to trick your dog into taking liquid medicine.

Mixing medicine with food

This is the most common way on how to trick your dog into taking liquid medicine. You need to mix the liquid medicine with its favorite food. The food should be soft and easy to mix. Here, canned food is often preferred. The food should also be enticing and comes with a strong flavor to mask the smell of the liquid medication.

Some of the common foods to use with this method include canned fish, meat, and more. When using this type of method, make sure to use only a small amount of food that the pet can finish in one serving.

If there are other pets in the same area, try to separate them from the sick dog. The last thing you want is for the other pets to eat food laced with medicine. If the dog does not finish the food, try to spoon feed it the remaining food ensuring that it completes its dose.

Using a syringe

This is another easy method to use on how to trick your dog into taking liquid medicine. Whenever you opt for this method, make sure you are using a silicone tipped soft feeding syringe. This type of syringe is important so as not to harm the teeth and gums of your pet.

Visit a pet store and request to get a pet feeding syringe. Well, the syringe can also be used as an oil syringe, liquid, food, and medication syringe. With a syringe, it should be easy to get the right dose administered each time you want to give your dog liquid medication.

Below, Dr. Angie Cabeza explains the tips you can use for giving your pet liquid medication by using a syringe.

Additional Care for a Sick Dog

When it comes to caring for your sick dog, it is the little things that you do that will help it get better faster. First, it is best if you withhold food for a dog having diarrhea or vomiting all the time. For puppies or dogs older than 6 months, withholding food up to 24 hours can be good for them. This will help a lot in relieving them from symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. It is not just withholding food, but also rawhides and treats.

Unlimited access to water

When nursing your sick dog, ensure that it has access to enough water. You can withhold food, but never do the same for water. Sometimes dehydration is what makes the dog sick. Whenever a dog is dehydrated, then it would look fatigued and have a dry and hard stool. By allowing it access to water always, it helps to keep the dog healthy.

Keep it indoors

At this point, keeping your dog inside should be ideal. Do not leave it outdoors where the temperatures might be hard to regulate. Keeping it inside helps to create a comfortable space for it to recuperate from its illness. Also, some medicines can be strong and make your dog drowsy. Keeping it indoors should be something safe for it in such a situation.

Provide creature comforts

A comfortable bed is something a dog would also appreciate when it is sick. Make sure that you provide it with a nice area for it to feel comfortable. It is best if you also clean its bedding and the whole area is sleeps to avoid more health issues from arising.

Keep the house quiet

It is no brainer that keeping the house quiet will be ideal. At this point, your dog would be irritated easily from too much noise. The dog needs a quiet area where it can sleep off the medication. Limit the number of visitors going to where it is resting. The same goes for children who might want to play with it.

Keep it from other dogs

It would be great if you isolate the ailing dog from the others. This is important if you have to give it the medication through food. Other dogs might try to eat its food and thus end up taking medication they are not supposed to. Also, this helps to prevent any disease transmission from one dog to the others. A break from the others will still be ideal to give it enough time to rest.

Create a medicine routine

Still as part of caring for your sick dog, make sure it gets to take its medication on time and the right dosage. This helps it to get better faster and back to its normal life.

How to Keep Your Dog in Good Health

Now that you know how to administer liquid medicine to your dog, what more can you do to keep the dog healthy? Below, we look at some of the tips you can use to maintain your dog’s good health.

Neuter or spay

Spay can be great for female dog as it prevents it from going into heat and further prevents possible cases of pyometra, an infection of the uterus, and cancer. Neutering male dogs is good for making them less aggressive and further prevent cases of testicular cancer, hernias, and prostate disease.

Vaccinate

This should be common knowledge for anyone who owns a pet. Vaccination is very important. At three months of age, your dog needs proper vaccinations as it would have used up all the antibodies passed down to it through breastfeeding. With the right vaccination, your dog would be protected from many common diseases. Such include distemper, parvovirus, and leptospirosis. Depending on your area and vet advice, sometimes your dog will get additional vaccinations for Lyme disease and kennel cough.

Make a visit to your vet occasional

To help maintain proper health, it is best if you make the visit to your local vet habitual. The regular visits ensure that your dog remains in good health. These visits help in identifying illnesses before they get serious. The vet will also advice you on how best to care for your pet, what to feed it, and exercising routines to consider.

Say no to fleas and ticks

Fleas are no joy to any pet. They tend to make its skin itchy. Other than that, fleas can still be a source of anemia, allergies, and tapeworms. Fortunately, it should be easy to control them. Whenever you note that your pet has fleas, take the appropriate measures to deal with them. The same thing goes for ticks, which can be a nuisance to your pet.

Exercise your dog daily

Dogs love to go for a walk. However, if you do not make it a routine, then they would just sleep around the whole day. As a result, they will end up obese with other types of diseases. Well, it is best to exercise your dog daily. Take it on walks to help it maintain a healthy weight, heart, and increase its muscle mass.

Watch its diet

Just like for humans, a good diet is essential for your pet. It is best if you take the time to learn about what is best for your pet. Talk to a vet when not sure about which type of food to feed the pet. The last thing you want is to feed your pet with poisonous foods. Some of the poisonous foods to a dog include coffee, avocado, grapes, yeast dough, alcoholic beverages and more.

Conclusion

By now, you know how to trick your dog into taking liquid medicine and helping it stay healthy always. How fast you act when your dog is sick can help save its life. It is good to monitor the dog to identify any illness as soon as possible. With regular visits to a vet, makes it easy to detect and treat various conditions in their early stages. Whenever you take good care of your dog, you should always end up with a healthy pet.