Dosing Meds On A Trip

[a_daerr]

Just wondering if there are any tips/tricks to dose Henry's meds while we're at GIG. Usually, he gets them with ravioli or cheese, both of which require refrigeration. I'm not sure if there are mini refrigerators at the Eisenhower? Either way, it would still be good to have some ideas for any future vacations sans fridge. Looking forward to hearing your answers.

[JAJ2010]

Peanut butter, squirty cheese, marshmallows, for travel you could buy pill pockets, etc

 

I usually just pack a jar of PB and some plastic spoons

[Guest Yankeegreyhound]

We brought a cooler to Grapehounds to store the ham for Sara's pills. She can sniff them out of anything else like peanut butter so we have to use ham. Just kept replacing the ice and everything stayed nice and cold.

[tbhounds]

Squirty cheese in a can :-)-otherwise I just pack a cooler with ice and replenish as needed.

[krissy]

If he's not super fussy I'd go with pill pockets personally. For Kili I use canned dog food, but that requires refrigeration once open. If I had to travel I'd use pill pockets. But she'll eat just about anything. Certain pills she'll even eat right out of my hand.

[a_daerr]

If he's not super fussy I'd go with pill pockets personally. For Kili I use canned dog food, but that requires refrigeration once open. If I had to travel I'd use pill pockets. But she'll eat just about anything. Certain pills she'll even eat right out of my hand.

 

You need to bring Kili to one of the greyhound events! I want to meet her before she's totally grown up.

[krissy]

 

You need to bring Kili to one of the greyhound events! I want to meet her before she's totally grown up.

 

I wish! They're all so far away from us. And remember, she's closing in on being a 10 thousand dollar puppy... I have no money left after all her medical expenses for a vacation! I guess we could fund raise. lol. "Puppy's Wish Foundation"?

[Batmom]

We use the "shove 'em down the throat" method. Most dogs adapt to it quite well, especially if they get a treat after.

[a_daerr]

 

I wish! They're all so far away from us. And remember, she's closing in on being a 10 thousand dollar puppy... I have no money left after all her medical expenses for a vacation! I guess we could fund raise. lol. "Puppy's Wish Foundation"?

 

Bahahahaha! We're coming to Niagara on the Lake at the end of May, but I think that's still a good distance away from you.

[cleptogrey]

We use the "shove 'em down the throat" method. Most dogs adapt to it quite well, especially if they get a treat after.

that's what i do, but if you must have cheese, believe it or not it really doesn't have to be refridgated. all over europe cheese is out- room temp. it's not that that hot that it's going to melt and most cheeses produced in the states have enough junk in them to preserve their shelf life forever. i would go for a demo on shoving it down the throat. greys are the EASIEST dogs to pill since their jaw is the same size as their throat. open the mouth- take your longest finger and just push it down. try it, i guarantee you'll succede. if he spits it out, try again.

Edited April 18, 2013 by cleptogrey

[a_daerr]

that's what i do, but if you must have cheese, believe it or not it really doesn't have to be refridgated. all over europe cheese is out- room temp. it's not that that hot that it's going to melt and most cheeses produced in the states have enough junk in them to preserve their self life forever. i would go for a demo on shoving it down the throat. greys are the EASIEST dogs to pill since their jaw is the same size as their throat. open the mouth- take your longest finger and just push it down. try it, i guarantee you'll succede. if he spits it out, try again.

 

I'll do this as a last resort if he keeps spitting them out. He takes six pills a day, so sometimes it starts getting a little difficult!

[kudzu]

We use the "shove 'em down the throat" method. Most dogs adapt to it quite well, especially if they get a treat after.

[Batmom]

Here all pills given at the same time go down in one "stuff," unless they're gigantic. Angel Batman used to show up @ the proper time and wait patiently to have his pills shoved down his throat, and of course the special treat following. Easy peasy.

[Wonder]

I shove them down as well. Passion is ok about it. Thunder is perfect. They both get awesome treats after.

[krissn333]

If I have to give a few at a time, I use a tiny bit of pill pocket just to bind it all together to make it easier to be sure everything stays together when I put it down their throat.

[Guest budsmom]

If you decide to go with the shove them down method, I highly recommend a pill gun. It lets you get way back in their throat so they can't spit them out. It's great with my cats, I wouldn't even attempt to pill them without one.

[MP_the4pack]

The Eisenhower has ONE fridge that you can ask for. The problem is that you can ask for it only when you check in. So the chances that someone else is not using are good.

What I did (because my girls breakfast is refrigerated) is I bought this:http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=9+gal.%20Coca-Cola%20Personal%20Cube%20Fridge&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=Search+All

 

It's a 6 lb personal refridgerator. it can hold up to 9 cans of soda. I already received mine and I like it. It's the perfect size for me, quiet and cools enough for my needs. I'm putting a frozen ice pack in it before we leave to cool it down for when we get there. (or I could attach it to the car!).

[TheFullHouse]

Peeps! No need for refrigeration! Marshmallows work just as well. Just slit the marshmallow, shove the pill in and it closes around the pill. Peanut butter needs no refrigeration either. We were able to put Saint's meds in his food when we traveled we just kept to the same schedule we had at home.

[cleptogrey]

6 pills a day- you should become quite proficient in no time what so ever!(don't do each pill seperatly) and it's a good skill for a p/t job if you wish to be that inventive! ah, come-on- you can do it!

[tbhounds]

Just wanted to mention that the "shove um down the throat" method is not always the best way to admin medication. We had a dog admitted to our clinic that had esophageal erosion from having a tablet dissolve in the esophagus. If you direct pill please give your hound a "chaser" afterwards. To be completely honest I'm not sure why you would pill your dog if he's/she's willing to take a treat--pill time in my house is a happy event--they love yummy time.

[queenwinniesmom]

We actually bought a little fridge! Of course, it's more for beer and wine. It's going to make Grapehounds NY even more fun. We've been using canned cat food for pills, but some of these suggestions make sense. We'll poke 'em down if we have to, but with 6 pills a day, I could see why you'd want an alternative. I'm going to try bringing peanut butter to GIG. Polly is on antibiotics right now, and I can't remember if the Comfort Inn has fridges.

[a_daerr]

We actually bought a little fridge! Of course, it's more for beer and wine.

 

Hahaha! Of course!

Thanks everybody for the suggestions! We'll figure something out.

[GeorgeofNE]

We use the "shove 'em down the throat" method. Most dogs adapt to it quite well, especially if they get a treat after.

 

Exactly. I don't play games with my dog and meds. He needs them and I have better things to do than screw around trying to find a pleasing way to do it. It can't be too awful, as he doesn't even move when I come towards him with the pills. Just takes it like a good dog and then he gets his meal. You don't ever have to worry about running out of that special treat if you don't use 'em!

[KF_in_Georgia]

Sam clenches his jaw shut. Even the vet was unable to pry it open for an exam of Sam's throat.

 

Should you get his jaw open and your finger in his mouth, Sam will close his mouth down hard. He's not impressed when you scream and cry. (He does open his mouth quickly, but by then you've got toothprints in your finger--and a natural reluctance to try again.)

 

And Sam currently is taking 22 and three-quarter pills a day--some big, one tiny, most in-between. It's 4 or 5 or 6 at a single meal, 4 meals a day. He likes Pill Pockets well enough, but he doesn't need a whole meal of them, four times a day. Besides, he started chewing Pill Pockets instead of swallowing them whole, and he absolutely should not be biting into these nasty capsules.

 

He gets pills glued inside a slice of turkey lunch meat by about half a teaspoon of peanut butter. The lunch meat is rolled into the longest, skinniest roll the pills allow. Then he gets his turkey-torpedo poked into his mouth. He'll swallow that without a problem 19 out of 20 times. On the 20th, when he's spit the thing back at me and locked his jaws, he just doesn't get the pills. It's not worth the fight, and next time out, I'll shuffle things around to try to get him the most important bits he missed earlier. (I'm not going to double-up his pain meds--methocarbamol, tramadol, gabapentin--but he gets the missed metronidazole or ciprofloxacin or thyroxine or doxepin or Prilosec or probiotics.)

 

 

So folks, don't feel bad if "shove 'em down the throat" isn't going to work at your house. You're not alone.

Edited April 19, 2013 by KF_in_Georgia