Need help giving liquid medicine!!!

[alex99emmie]

Izzy B. has been on liquid phenobarbital since the first part of January when she started having cluster seizures. She started out with a tiny dose twice daily which I gave by mouth with a shot syringe. The medicine would make her sneeze afterwards and the vet said it was probably the alcohol in the phenobarbital that caused the sneezing. Then we took her to Oklahoma State University to try to find out what was causing the seizures and they tripled her dose of medication. She has had two blood tests since then that have shown she is still not on enough medication so we have had to increase it each time and now she takes a larger syringe but only about 1/4 of it. My problem is she is hating taking the medication more and more every day and she runs from me every time I try to pick her up to give it to her. It is not like with a pill where you can hide it in a weiner which has always worked for our larger outside dogs. The medicine has a pink color to it and though I don't detect the smell of cherries, I suspect it must have some flavor, but she hates it anyway. She also has a collapsed trachea so the more she fights me the more she gets choked on the medication. This morning she coughed for about 15 minutes after taking the medication (it took me at least 10 minutes to "trick" her into catching her)!!!! She has wised up now and I have tried hiding the fact that I am drawing up the medication but you all know how smart Yorkies area!! She knows the timing (8 a.m. and 8 p.m.) and she takes off running. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (P.S. I put the syringe to the back corner of her mouth and try to administer the medicine slowly but sometimes it all shoots out at once, especially if she is struggling to get away - maybe I should be giving it a different way????) She always opens her mouth wide as soon as I put the syringe to the corner - I don't have to pry her mouth open or anything. I always tell her what a good girl she is after she takes the medicine, lots of praise and then, if she isn't choking or coughing, I give her a treat, but even that doesn't seem to matter to her anymore.
Thanks.
Barbara

[Lexi's_Mommy]

You could try mixing it with cottage cheese...

[Superpup]

Call your pharmacist, or any and all pharmacies in your area.

Tell them the milligram dosage your baby takes.

They can tell you if they can specially make the dose in capsule form, or tablet form. Ask them if they can flavor the medication in tuna flavor if it can only be in liquid form.

If they reply yes to any of the above, you will need a new precription from the vet.

Drs. Foster and Smith on the web will also do this with a new prescription.

I mix liquids in a very small amount of applesauce.

Let me know how you do.

[SnowWa]

I have never had any luck mixing my dog's medicine with anything - they smell it immediately and won't go near it. So, trying to do this, has caused me to waste a lot of medicine.

One thing you can do - is get her syringe ready 15 or 20 minutes before you give it to her. Get it ready, go do something else for a while, and then get it without her having watched you get it ready.

It's hard to actually give it to them....I know!!!!

***** I just have to say this because it always amazes me. Any time my vet has ever had to give any of my dogs any type of medicine - he just does it and they take it. No problem whatsoever! I think vets do have the magic touch. Probably from years of experience and the fact that the dog knows the vet is in charge, no doubt.

Anyway - it would be great if you could watch your vet give your dog this same medication (which I'm sure he can probably easily do) and see how he does it.......

Carol Jean

[alex99emmie]

Okay. Thanks for all the good tips. She does eat cottage cheese but sometimes doesn't eat it right when I put it out for her. Haven't tried applesauce but I will. I think I will check and see if I can get the medication in a pill form, although, again, she has a very narrow trachea as seen on her x-ray and it would have to be a really small pill.
Thanks again!!!
Barbara

[teffiemoore]

THey make a syringe that has a little "hook" at the end of it. Its used alot for people to irrigate their mouth after teeth pulled, anyway I use it and you can slip the plastic end/hook in the back/side of the mouth and push it down their throat very quickly and its too far back for them to spit it out. Go to a medical supply and ask them for one. they come in 5cc sizes and up. They good thing about it is they don't even have to open their mouths for it.
Good luck

[alex99emmie]

Hey, that is great. I am a medical transcriptionist and I had never heard of one of those syringes!!! I will see if I can get one!!! This morning I snuck her medicine into the bathroom and filled the syringe, then came out into the kitchen like nothing had happened and when she was climbing up my leg wanting to play I picked her up and took her in the bathroom to give her the medicine. I hate pulling these "dirty" tricks on her. She will wise up to this soon, too, and I am afraid she won't come to me to even play anymore for fear she will be taken into another room and given her medicine.
Barbara

[Dan & Corinne]

I had a HUGE problem giving Jewel her Potassium Bromide. One of her doctors suggested getting a small piece of bread and squirting the medicine into the bread. Then I wrap the bread in a piece of deli meat just big enough to taco it.

Instead of calling it "medicine" I tell her it's time for a treat and she gobbles it up! The best part is I know for SURE she is getting 100% of her dosage!


Good luck!

[alex99emmie]

Corinne: Just read your post - thanks for the tip!!!! I will run to the store and get the deli meat shortly - wasn't able to get to the drug store for a special syringe yet today. As soon as I get this little furbundle spayed, which should hopefully be within the next couple of weeks, we will start the switch over to potassium bromide. Is she going to hate it worse than the phenobarbital???
Barbara

[Dan & Corinne]

Originally Posted by alex99emmie

Corinne: Just read your post - thanks for the tip!!!! I will run to the store and get the deli meat shortly - wasn't able to get to the drug store for a special syringe yet today. As soon as I get this little furbundle spayed, which should hopefully be within the next couple of weeks, we will start the switch over to potassium bromide. Is she going to hate it worse than the phenobarbital???
Barbara

She will love all medicine if it's wrapped in deli meat! Yummmm!

[alex99emmie]

She loves meat, period!!!! When Jewel was on phenobarbital, did it come in a pill form????
Barbara

[whispersmom2]

There are pharmacists that will formulate the med in a tasty gravy-type base. I usually request tuna but they will also take beef. Chicken doesn't have enough flavor. I also have used the liquid stuff that you can buy at the pet store to pour over food. Just draw up the meds and then draw up some tasty stuff, shake the syringe for a second and squirt in the side of the mouth. If you squirt in the back of the throat, it can cause the trachea to spasm and the doggy will remember that and not take it a second time. Or aspirate it and that can cause pneumonia.
I bet there is a pill or capsule out there that can be divided into the size dose you need.
I hope you can work something out. I remember Jesse and how he was with meds..

[Tophersmom]

My lovely terrier mix that I lost in January (from pancreatitis) started having seizures last March and the vet started her on Potassium Bromide (liquid). We luckily could get it in chicken flavour, which wasn't too difficult to administer (we put it in a small amount of milk and she loved milk). She eventually had to start on the phenobarb as well and that was in pill form (we stuck it in cheese).

After a while she grew tired of the Potassium Bromide in the milk so we began mixing it in a small amount of peanut butter. That seemed to work. It seemed that just when we got her used to one thing, she'd grow tired of it and we'd have to come up with some other ingenious way to sneak the med into her!! LOL

Oh, we also used to put the liquid potassium bromide in a small amount of tuna....again, something she loved.

One certainly has to get creative when there's meds to administer every single day! Good luck, I hope you find a way that makes it easier for you.

[alex99emmie]

Thanks to all for your great tips!!! I am definitely checking with the vet when Izzy B. goes for her spaying in a few weeks to see if we can get the medicine in tablet form. For now, I have lots of different things to try thanks to you all. Really appreciate you guys!!!
Barbara

[Dan & Corinne]

Originally Posted by alex99emmie

She loves meat, period!!!! When Jewel was on phenobarbital, did it come in a pill form????
Barbara

The potassium bromide is liquid and is specially made from a veterinary pharmacy. It cost $25.00 and lasts for about 2 mo.

I never asked for a pill. It's so much easier to give the liquid medicine now that I know how to make sure she gets all of it and not tramatize her like we did in the beginning. I wish the prednisone was liquid too!

Did you try soaking the bread yet? Don't forget to wrap it in the deli meat cuz that's the yummy part! When she gets tired of it I just change the meat!

Tear, measure, squirt, wrap, GULP! all done!