How to Give Your Dog Liquid Meds
The Dog Trainer explains how to give your dog liquid meds.
Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA
In my article a couple of weeks ago, I explained how to give your dog pills. Some pointers about liquid meds:
- Stick the syringe in the side of your dog’s mouth, rather than in the front. This makes it less likely that she’ll aspirate the meds (take them down her windpipe instead of swallowing).
- Angle the syringe toward your dog’s throat, so the liquid hits the back of her tongue. This helps especially with bad-tasting meds, because it deposits them less on her tastebuds and makes the medicine easier to swallow.
- If your dog is foaming at the mouth after you dose her, the medicine is probably very bitter. Ask your vet whether it’s available in pill form, or whether it can be compounded with a flavoring agent to mask the bitterness.
- As always, give your dog a special treat when you’re done!
If you have more questions about your dog, swing by the Dog Trainer Facebook page.
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).