A while back I had switched the dogs from separate heartworm meds and flea meds to just one med, Trifexis. I made the change at the suggestion of one of the vet's receptionists. Not only is it convenient, it is cheaper (and with four dogs cheaper is better). It works great, although I do occasionally see an almost dead flea but the vet said that is normal and the fleas are not able to reproduce at any point in their life cycle. The only problem is that the dogs don't like the way the pills taste. I've been using the peanut butter trick (put a blob of p.b. on my finger and stick the pill in it) and it worked fairly well. I usually had to coax Blossom with eating the pill and the p.b. But last night we had a little episode with this routine.
It was late, I had been to school and was tired. Wasn't thinking clearly. Baylee and Bentley gobbled down their p.b. and Trifexis dose. Blossom licked two blobs off my finger and no pill. So, no problem I thought, I'll come back to her. I tried Sawyer and he did the same thing, ate the p.b. and pushed the pill off my finger into the floor. At this point I was tired and just wanted to go to bed.
So I decided to shove the pill down Blossom's throat the old-fashioned way. It wouldn't have been a problem except I had don't done the trick in a while and forgot how far down the throat I needed to push the pill. Yep, it came right back up. And to add insult to injury when I fussed at her she went tee-tee all over the place. Oh no, I was not happy! I picked her up again and tried to open her mouth but she is amazingly strong for a very small dog. She had clamped her teeth together and wasn't opening them no matter how much pressure I put on her. I don't have a lot of strength in my fingers, but finally got her mouth open and shoved the pill far enough down. Rubbed her throat and gulp, the pill was down. Success! I will have to note; however, that her little tiny teeth looked real sharp and menacing as I opened her mouth the last time!
Sawyer was next, but I had remembered the trick. I think he was half afraid after hearing me fuss at Blossom so he was cooperative and I got the pill far enough down. Gulp and he was done, too. I felt bad about the tussle with Blossom, especially at bedtime. I felt even worse after I went to bed and remembered that I had a new, unopened container of plain vanilla yogurt in the fridge. The pills would probably have worked just fine in the yogurt because they would have gobbled it right down. Next time, right.
BTW, Blossom was totally not scarred by the whole episode. She was wagging her tail this morning when I let her out of the crate and she is laying beside me right now sleeping peacefully. All's well that ends with a little ear scratching and the words, "I Love You Blossom".
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