Tikva was due her 3-monthly visit from her beloved Ram at the beginning of October, but due to the four weeks of Jewish Holy Days and Festivals when the surgery was closed [and being diabolically busy on the days it was open] it had to be delayed until today. The excitement started when Tikva saw Ram's car pull up outside, and as soon as he was close enough for her to reach, she took a flying leap into his arms! First the weigh in, and after her weight having yo-yo'd this year, first down 400gm and then up 600gm - with no alteration to the amount of her food - I was delighted that she has neither lost nor gained and weighs 7.2kg - exactly the same as last time. Then it was a Parkworm shot and a Drontal worm pill which, after she bit in half and spat both pieces out while Ram was trying to shove it down her throat, she swallowed on his second attempt, followed by a discussion about the Bravecto flea and tick pill. According to Ram, his dogs gobble it up, and everyone else say their dogs gobble it up. Tikva Does Not. Offer it to her in my hand with her other pills [one large multivitamin, one large hip & joint, three normal size brewers yeast pills, and one pre-probiotic chewable.] She knocks the Bravecto off my hand and gobbles the others. Wrap it in something tasty? Suspicious look and refuses it. It is not the sort of pill that can be crushed, so I have ended up shaving it into tiny pieces and mixing it in her evening meal each time. And the only time she has ever left anything [apart from the meat, which she carefully picks out] are when there are salt-grain-sized bits of a "deliciously tasty" chewable Bravecto. I have never seen a flea or tick on her, so presumably she does get some of the Bravecto down her, and with an un-fenced yard which loose dogs and strays can, and do get into [unless Tikva is around to see them off], it is too risky not to give her an anti flea and tick preventative. So, after a short discussion we decided I should try Simparica, which has to be given monthly and not three-monthly, but best of all, does not have to be given with food. Plonked into the kitchen to get her pill box and emptied today's lot into my hand, together with the Simparica pill. Tikva took one look, sat down with her right paw up in her "please" position, and hoovered the lot up in one go! The expression on Ram's face - wide-eyed and open-mouthed dropped jaw! He said in all the years he has been a vet he had never seen a dog gobble up pills like Tikva had just done! He also said that if he had never seen Tikva before and had been asked to estimate her age, he would have said she was about five or six years old, maximum, possibly less. I must have been doing something right for the last ten years then!
Tikva is doing well, maintaining her weight and now gobbling up all her tablets! I don't have any problems with Tally either, but Beagles don't discriminate, if it can be eaten it usually is! Tal's weight is a constant battle though. I manage to keep her in the 12.5 - 12.7k window, but she is always hungry. I'd hate her to creep back to the shape she was in when I was unable to exercise her.
Carole, the only tablet I have ever had a problem with Tikva refusing, is the Bravecto. Ram has always given her the Drontal one as that one is a "put in the mouth, hold jaws closed, stroke throat so the dog swallows" pill, and no way could I do that. Small she may be, but she is far stronger than I am! As for her weight - she has weighed more in the past, and also less. Her weight has always fluctuated but Ram says as long as she does not go above 7.5kg [my preference being 7kg] he is not bothered whether it fluctuates or not. I think that raw feeding, time consuming though it is [and getting more and more difficult for me], has helped keep her weight fairly constant - and keep her healthy. And because I have never needed to train her to do anything more than the basics a dog should do, being told she is a good girl has sufficed so she has never expected treats. So what if she will not lay down and roll over, or give a paw when asked. She does what I ask her to do, is a great watch dog, and is incredibly good with children - even very young ones. And there are enough of those around! And even though she will not let me cuddle her she is perfect for me - and I like to think I am perfect for her.
A typical example of what Tally has for lunch. The tablets are just an antihistamine and a probiotic. She has a squirt of salmon oil and anti plaque seaweed on her meat/kibble mix.
Way to go Tikva!!! You keep that weight steady and keep taking your pills My two insist on sharing their bowls, so it was a hassle trying to find the right amount. If I feed a bit less, Cat-dog will let Tornado-dog eat more of it so he stays chunky and she loses too much weight. At the level I do feed them, he's still chunky but she's just right. So that's what we do. They both love their heartguard and nextguard pills and take them happily. Cat-dog's prosac goes in a pill pocket so she takes it with no issue. He gets a placebo (empty bit of a pill pocket) at the same time. I'm also giving her 1/2 a carprofen every three days for her legs and she takes that without issue. I will prep their pill pockets for 2-4 weeks at a time. One half a pill pocket around the prosac and then I roll up 1/4 of a pocket for his placebo. I keep them in a tupperware type container and just pull one set out eat day when we get up. Works great. With Looney1 on his med twice daily now, I started prepping his in advance. But, being a cat, he refuses to eat any pocket that is older than 3 days. So now, I have a ziplock bag with the pockets rolled and his monthly pill case with the 1/4 pills. Each morning and night, I put the pill in the pocket and he eats it like a champ. But I have to make sure I keep the pockets from going stale. And he is a total beast when I am prepping the pockets - he'll eat full pockets (multiple) if I don't keep careful watch. The good thing is that 1 dog capsule size pocket will give me one pocket for the prosac, 2 placebos for Tornado-dog, and about 12 pockets for Looney2's pills. So one package lasts about 102 days - depending on how many Looney2 swipes during prep.
