Ensuring your furry pal’s health and well-being often involves administering medication, whether you’re giving your pet routine parasite prevention, antibiotics for an infection, or ongoing medication for a chronic condition. Administering pet medications can be a challenging task, but with proper knowledge and techniques, you can make the process easy for you and your four-legged friend. Our Twin Lakes Veterinary Hospital team members have put our heads together to share our collective wisdom on medicating pets safely and effectively. Check out the following medication administration tips from the pros to make giving your pet their medication a breeze. 

Pet medication tip #1: Understand the medication

Educate yourself about the medication your pet needs. Learn its name, purpose, and potential side effects so you will know what to expect. Understand how your pet’s medication should be stored and administered for maximum efficacy, as some medications need to be refrigerated, some require vigorous shaking versus gentle rolling before administration, and some must be given with a fatty meal.

Pet medication tip #2: Ask for a demonstration

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but asking for a demonstration can provide you with invaluable real-life tips on how to administer your pet’s medication successfully. During a demo, a Twin Lakers Veterinary Hospital team member shows you their tried-and-true method, pointing out potential pitfalls and sharing tricks of the trade to make your task easy at home. Then, you can try your hand at performing the same skill, practicing until you feel comfortable and have developed some muscle memory by repeating the task. 

Pet medication tip #3: Create a calm environment

If you or your pet are distracted during the medication process, administering the medication can be difficult. Choose a quiet and comfortable place for medication time to minimize stress and focus on the task at hand. Avoid taking your pet into an area they may not enjoy, such as the bathroom, but stay away from noisy spots like the living room. A good place to set up shop is usually in a quiet bedroom. Remember to gather all your supplies before bringing your pet into the room.

Pet medication tip #4: Be prepared

Create a medication toolkit that contains all the essentials for making medication administration easy. By having a fully stocked kit that you can grab when it’s medication time, you avoid fumbling for missing items while trying to wrangle your anxious pet. You may need:

  • Cotton balls
  • Gauze squares
  • Long cotton swabs
  • Ear cleaning solution
  • High-value treats
  • Pill pockets
  • Pill dispensing tool
  • Pill splitter
  • Syringe

Pet medication tip #5: Enlist help

Having another person help you administer your pet’s medication can make the process so much easier. If you’re giving eye or ear medications, your helper can distract and reward your furry pal with high-value treats. When administering oral medication, your helper can gently restrain your pet and have treats handy to help wash down the tablet or liquid.

Pet medication tip #6: Practice safe restraint techniques

When medicating your cat, never grab them by the scruff of their neck. This restraint method is extremely inhumane, as it causes a great deal of discomfort and stress for the cat. Instead, use a thick towel to swaddle your cat, tucking their legs inside to prevent them from scratching as you treat itchy ears or squirt a liquid medication in their cheek. Towel-wrap techniques also work well for wiggly small dogs, while a corner is ideal for providing hands-off restraint for large dogs.

Pet medication tip #7: Disguise oral medication

Unless your pet is a chowhound or a Labrador, your furry pal is unlikely to treat their medication as a snack. Disguise tablets, capsules, and liquids in your pet’s favourite treat, canned food, or commercial pill pockets to ensure they consume all their medication. 

If your pet catches onto this tactic, you may be able to crush tablets into powder, empty capsules’ contents, or pour a liquid, and mix the medication into a tasty solution of canned or baby food and water. Then, squirt the delicious mixture into your pet’s mouth and watch them slurp it down none the wiser. However, not all medications should be crushed or mixed, so check with your Twin Lakes Veterinary Hospital veterinarian before reformulating any medication.

Pet medication tip #8: Make the experience rewarding

Keep your pet coming back for more—at the next medication session, of course—by making the experience rewarding from start to finish. Use your furry pal’s favourite snacks as a bribe, distraction, and reward for their cooperation, and praise them heartily for being such a wonderful pet. Avoid using punishment or a harsh voice, and never force your pet to take medication, as you will continually fight an uphill battle in the future after damaging your relationship.

Pet medication tip #9: Ask about alternatives

If you’ve exhausted all the tricks in the book, a solution remains available. Check with our team to determine your options. We can work with compounding pharmacies to create a chewable tablet, tiny tablet, liquid medication, or transdermal gel to make the medication process easy. Some medications are also available in injectable form, which our team can administer.

Medicating your pet doesn’t have to be an impossible chore. Give our Twin Lakes Veterinary Hospital team a call to learn additional stress-free ideas on how to give your four-legged friend their medication.