Pilling

   2023-10-21  Posted in Client Education, Medications, Techniques & Tips

Pilling The Impossible Pet

(Especially Dogs and Especially Small Breed Dogs)

The key is to give their pills as a liquid but how? And is it practical? YES

Practically impossible to pill.

Materials:

What I found EASY was pill-to-liquid transfer.

  1. You need a pill crusher. They sell them for about $5 at the pharmacy without any prescription.
  2. CRUSH the pill(s) – I find it easiest to “tighten-loosen-tighten-loosen” with the crusher instead of one long crush. You’ll see what I mean.
  3. Once the pills are powdered, the size of black pepper mix them up and then:
  4. Put the crushed pills in a pill bottle. (Sending a pill bottle)
  5. Add 3 cc salad dressing like ranch or thousand island.
  6. Stir. Then add 3 cc water. (Just enough to make the stuff thin enough for syringe.)
  7. Cap the pill vial:
  8. SHAKE VERY WELL.
  9. Using a syringe: Pull up the 6 cc watered-down-salad dressing with powdered meds in it –
  10. Put this deeply in the CORNER of the mouth. You do NOT have to go over the teeth. Just in the “pouch” between the lip and the teeth
    ##IMPORTANT## You MUST keep the head tilted UP to the ceiling or they’ll just spit out the medicine. If you keep their head UP the medicine runs down the throat and they HAVE to swallow it.
This is a common pill crusher. You tighten and loosen the top until it screws “pretty much all the way” and then the pill’s crushed. Crush ’em all together. Put the powder in a vial.
The pills are crushed together and now they’re ready to put in the “solution” which is 50% salad dressing and 50% water. Shake well.
The powdered medicine and the 50:50 salad dressing mix totalling 6cc is shaken in a vial.
Draw up the 6cc dose from the vial. Put this in the cheekpouch of the dog WITH THE HEAD TILTED UP! You have to keep their head up or they’ll just spit out the medicine. You DO NOT have to go over the teeth or “get their mouth open” – just fill the cheekpouch with their head UP.
Author: Dr. Erik Johnson
Dr. Erik Johnson is the author of several texts on companion animal and fish health. Johnson Veterinary Services has been operating in Marietta, GA since 1996. Dr Johnson graduated from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991. Dr Johnson has lived in Marietta Georgia since 1976.