Not liking medication - tips for tasty addition

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Orangehorse

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My elderly dog was 12 months ago prescribed paracetamol in a low dose. She ate it up quite happily, no problem at all.

However, now she seems she doesn't like it and hesitates to eat her food. She does go back and eats a bit at a time, but she isn't very enthusiastic. She has had the same feed throughout her life and she gets a small morning feed and a larger tea time.

I feel I should try and find something that will hide the taste of the paracetamol better. I mix it up with her meat ration, and added a bit of meat to her morning feed to hide it in, but she obviously knows its there.

So any ideas? I expect there is something pretty obvious, but I can't think of anything at the moment.
 
Paracetamol tablet, or is it a liquid? I’d request a tablet form, and do a tried and tested ‘roll in half a slice of ham and make a big deal about giving it as a treat’ method.
 
cheap pate out the supermarket is quite a strong flavour and has always worked with my lot. Its quite soft so you can mould the pill into it or else crush the paracetamol into smaller bits and put it in a pate ball.
 
Arden Grange liver paste is always my answer. If in tablet form, you can shape around it. If liquid, just mix them up into an irresistible paste.

With tablets - whatever delicious thing you wrap it in - you can feed a couple of just the tasty stuff in quick succession, feed the tablet filled one, and follow up rapidly with a couple more.
 
I found that using paracetamol capsules rather than tablets made a big difference too...seems to hide the taste a lot better. Especially when served with Primula squeezy cheese.
 
fiwen30 said:
Paracetamol tablet, or is it a liquid? I’d request a tablet form, and do a tried and tested ‘roll in half a slice of ham and make a big deal about giving it as a treat’ method.
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Its a 1/4 of a tablet, morning and evening.

I wondered if there is any difference in the tablets. I try to get Tesco (what the vet said) but am currently using Waitrose.
 
Unicorn said:
I found that using paracetamol capsules rather than tablets made a big difference too...seems to hide the taste a lot better. Especially when served with Primula squeezy cheese.
Click to expand...
Unicorn said:
I found that using paracetamol capsules rather than tablets made a big difference too...seems to hide the taste a lot better. Especially when served with Primula squeezy cheese.
Click to expand...
Do you undo the capsules? A big difficult to do a 1/4 of a capsule.
 
My 14yr old is having Paracetamol and Vivitonin twice a day,I have cocktail sausages and half them and insert the tablets and smear with peanut butter which works a treat. The Paracetamol has a strong taste so putting them in food even crushed doesnt work.
 
I always roll any tablets up in a bit of a cheese slice, if the dog gets wise I can start throwing balls of cheese slice for them to catch and then sneak the one with the pill into the lineup.
 
You can buy empty gelatin capsules to hide tablets in if they’re good at finding them (& lets face it paracetamol tastes gross!). Would second liver paste for being a fab tablet hider.

Alternatively ask either for your vet to supply to you or give you a written prescription for liquid paracetamol which has quite a sweet taste and some dogs (mine included) take it better than tablets. Please note there are only specific types of this that are safe for dogs due to some artificial sweeteners being dangerous to them hence needing a prescription for the correct one
 
Put it between 2 small thin pieces of cheese or ham or chicken or any other meat. Cheese needs to be bendy and pliable not crumbly.
 
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Orangehorse said:
My elderly dog was 12 months ago prescribed paracetamol in a low dose. She ate it up quite happily, no problem at all.

However, now she seems she doesn't like it and hesitates to eat her food. She does go back and eats a bit at a time, but she isn't very enthusiastic. She has had the same feed throughout her life and she gets a small morning feed and a larger tea time.

I feel I should try and find something that will hide the taste of the paracetamol better. I mix it up with her meat ration, and added a bit of meat to her morning feed to hide it in, but she obviously knows its there.

So any ideas? I expect there is something pretty obvious, but I can't think of anything at the moment.
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Never mind dogs - they’re easy - anyone got a foolproof method or worming a spitfire little cat? Already got the leather motorbike gauntlets and welder’s mask ....
 
Exasperated said:
Never mind dogs - they’re easy - anyone got a foolproof method or worming a spitfire little cat? Already got the leather motorbike gauntlets and welder’s mask ....
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Straddle them on the ground between your knees, head facing the front. Cross your feet behind you so that they can’t back out, and have a 2nd person to hold their chest in front so that they can’t scrabble at you. Tip the head back with 1 hand and open the mouth with a finger behind the canines, like bitting a horse, and pop the pill down the throat with the other hand.
 
fiwen30 said:
Straddle them on the ground between your knees, head facing the front. Cross your feet behind you so that they can’t back out, and have a 2nd person to hold their chest in front so that they can’t scrabble at you. Tip the head back with 1 hand and open the mouth with a finger behind the canines, like bitting a horse, and pop the pill down the throat with the other hand.
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Right, think we might have had a crack at this method before, didn’t go too well with us both being past the first flush of youth and agility, so to speak (so’s the cat, actually, ex feral, ancient battleaxe) - but thanks anyway!
 
Re the cat Arden Grange do salmon paste too (although my cat thinks the liver paste is amazing and will take most things in it). Alternatively dairylea type cheese can be a good tablet hider
 
Boulty said:
Re the cat Arden Grange do salmon paste too (although my cat thinks the liver paste is amazing and will take most things in it). Alternatively dairylea type cheese can be a good tablet hider
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This cat is even more wily than a very wily coyote which is also a professor of wiliness.....sigh.
Never had this trouble with others, but she’s been feral most of her life, still eats a lot of vermin and does look wormy, so now I’m determined.
Tried a variety of favourite substances as disguise, mixed shredded tablets into pate, and panacur guard into milk - nothing doing. Even purchased a tablet gun from the vets - and wasted plenty of tablets.
The spot-on might do it though, provided can get near her again after all these failures!
 
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