My dog refuses Denamarin chewables. How can I get him to take them?

It does need to be given a hour before a meal but it is ok to give it in a small piece of food (hot dog, cheese, etc); it just should not be given with a full meal. The only other option is to put it directly down her throat as seen in the video link attached. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3yHgItqGmo )

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Unfortunately, Denamarin only comes in tablet form. You could try pill pockets, or potentially crush it and mix it with a bite of canned all-meat baby food. If that doesn't work, and you're really struggling to get the medication into him, I recommend reaching out to your vet. We understand that many cats are nearly impossible to get pills into! There are other liver support options, such as milk thistle, that can come in liquid form if you need a "plan B" option. It wouldn't be quite as good as Denamarin, but better than nothing! Hope this helps!

For optimal absorption, tablets should be given on an empty stomach, at least one hour before feeding, as the presence of food decreases the absorption of S-Adenosylmethionine. For those owners who have difficulty administering tablets to their pets, Denamarin tablet(s) may be disguised in a small bite of food. Pill pocket is fine too.

If she is not on dietary restricitons you can try hiding the pill in some soft cheese or peanut butter. Sometimes canned dog food works. . Some dogs just won't eat medications on food. If that is the case you may have to actually put the pill in the back of her mouth and get her to swallow. Here's a website with good instructions. https://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/outreach/Pet-Health-Topics/categories/procedures/dogs/giving-oral-medications-to-your-dog

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Vetmedin, most of the time, is taken well by most pets. However, if you are finding it difficult to administer in it's tablet form, you can crush the tablet and give with food. The only downside to this method is that your pet may not eat all of the food and there is no guarantee your pet is getting the full dose. You can try pill pockets, peanut butter or liver wurst to see if you can get your pet to take the Vetmedin in it's tablet form as well. I hope this helps!

Medicating pets can be very frustrating - particularly since Mattie is so picky! I never recommend dissolving medications in water to give via a syringe because in most cases, the medication falls out of the mouth so there is no way of knowing how much was actually ingested. Personally, my favorite way to medicate animals is simply to push the pills down the back of the throat, provided that Mattie is agreeable and unlikely to bite you. As you mention, hiding pills in peanut butter is often successful, but if you choose to continue using this, make sure your peanut butter does not contain xylitol, as it is highly toxic to dogs. I don't know if they are available in the UK, but Greenies makes a product called pill pockets which are basically highly palatable, doughy, pliable treats in which you can hide medications for pets.

Hello, thank you for your question. As a general rule I try to avoid breaking open capsules and spreading them on the food as this could mean that your dog doesn't always get the exact amount of medication. For example, if your dog didn't finish all of his meal how would you know exactly how much of the pimobendan medication he had received. To help your dog with the larger capsules you could try hiding it in a slice of deli meat/cheese or could try some peanut butter. Another option would be to try creating a small meatball of canned food with the capsule in the middle. Hope this helps!