# Refuses To Eat HeartGard... Help...



## AppleTheYorkie (Jul 9, 2011)

Apple just got her rabies vaccination Tuesday, and the vet gave us some HeartGard for her. Apple took one bite of it, took off, and hid under a chair. I tried to feed it to her in tiny pieces, day by day, but she always runs away. She refuses to eat her food if I try to mash it in... Help!


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Just stick it down her throat like any other pill (note: the chewable kind does say to make sure the dog chews it. . .but if it's digestible, why should that matter, I always wondered. Maybe you should call the manufacturer). Then for next month ask the vet about other options. They can make a flavored liquid if that's easier, give you the Heartgard pills, or give you another brand to try.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

Have you tried coating it in peanutbutter? Mine loves PB and gobbles anything up coated in it.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I have no advice on how to get your dog to eat the HeartGuard. But if you end up switching to something else you might try Interceptor. It's a meat-flavored pill that's super small. I bet it would be easier to administer to a dog who isn't inclined to eat it willingly. In a glob of crunchy peanut butter I'd think it would be basically undetectable. Sydney thinks it's a treat all on it's own, but then I believe my parents used to give her HeartGuard and she liked those as well.


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

Break it in half, wrap each half in sliced cheese. Another ion is to get a bag of pill pockets, smoosh a pocket to wrap around each half. These are both things that have always worked great for us. Never have had to force any meds or supplement, we make the outer taste yummy and they are happy to eat.


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## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

I pulverize it by pressing a knife blade on top of it. I scrape it up with the knife, and put it into a piece of flattened liverwurst. I carefully fold the edges around it and give it to the dog. Usually I make several packets. So far, the dog has not discovered the heartworm meds inside, maybe because of the strong smell of the liverwurst.

I also give him a few small "liverwurst balls" that are untainted first, so he won't suspect anything.

This works with Aidan, and it worked for 8 years with my collie.


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## AppleTheYorkie (Jul 9, 2011)

Peanut butter and cheese unfortunately does not work... Apple sniff its, gives me a "You really think I'm that stupid?" look, and walks away. With pill pockets, she eats the pocket and then runs. Apple is also a master at seperating food from meds, so liverwurst doesn't work The "shove down throat" method is the most likely to work, but I'm afraid that Apple will choke or throw up. She threw up a little after her rabies vaccination, too, but now she's okay. I'm afraid that the forced meds will make her hurl again.


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

If it is such a huge issue, take the Heartgard back to your vet and tell them the issues. Ask for Interceptor. It comes in a much smaller pill form that should be a lot easier to force feed. I also am inclined to believe it has less of an odor so hiding it might work better for her.


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

I tried force feeding an antibiotic once, we finished with a mushy pill on the ground and powder (now a paste) all over my hands. Try a hot dog, cut it in half and shove the pill into the middle of it, or cut it in forths and shove the pill into one of them if you don't want your dog to have a full half hot dog. Hot dogs always worked for us. Same as RoughCollie, if you use a half or fourths, give the other piece(s) to your dog first then give the pill one.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

+two said:


> If it is such a huge issue, take the Heartgard back to your vet and tell them the issues.


Oh, I forgot--Heartgard does have a policy that if your dog doesn't like the chewable, they'll refund your money. So let your vet know and I'm sure he/she will take care of that.


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## firehawk (Jul 31, 2011)

My late pit mix was a master of finding meds in food, separating them out, and then stealth discarding the meds in another room. It got to the point where I'd put him outside so he wouldn't even see me touch the bottle, then I'd have to make 4 smallish treat balls of canned food that was slightly frozen so it was doughy. Then I'd feed the first pill free ball, let him get excited about it, slowly give him the second pill free, give him the third one with the pill, and then immediately stick the 4th one in his face so he'd gulp the third to get to it. If he chewed the third ball at all, game over.

My mal/collie mix was on an antibiotic and I was doing it the same way with him out of habit. I ran out of the canned food and it was too icy to go shopping, so just for the heck of it, I told him we were out of the meatballs so he'd just need to swallow the pill by himself and i handed it to him. and he did. Still does. LOL


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

firehawk said:


> Then I'd feed the first pill free ball, let him get excited about it, slowly give him the second pill free, *give him the third one with the pill, and then immediately stick the 4th one in his face so he'd gulp the third to get to it.* If he chewed the third ball at all, game over.


That is genius!



firehawk said:


> My mal/collie mix was on an antibiotic and I was doing it the same way with him out of habit. I ran out of the canned food and it was too icy to go shopping, so just for the heck of it, I told him we were out of the meatballs so he'd just need to swallow the pill by himself and i handed it to him. and he did. Still does. LOL


I bet Sydney would be the same way. She gets fish oil pills which she LOVES so she already gets excited when she hears a pill bottle, lol.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

kafkabeetle said:


> I bet Sydney would be the same way. She gets fish oil pills which she LOVES so she already gets excited when she hears a pill bottle, lol.


Soro LOVES his fish oil too! He didn't like the Glucosamine/Chondroitin one at first, but he's such a chow hound that he I just fed it to him with a handful of kibble and he inhaled it without even thinking. Then he learned that we always fed the Gluco. and Vit. E first, THEN the fish oil... He spat out the Gluco. once and looked at me; I had the fish oil bottle in my hand but I put it back in the cabinet. He got the idea and quickly scarfed up the Gluco. We rewarded with fish oil. I think he's so used to the Gluco. now that I don't even think twice about how I feed it to him; He'll eat it.

For pickier dogs, I think Firehawk's idea is brilliant!


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

I wouldn't really suggest hot dog for a Yorkie -- really fatty. A little cheese won't hurt, IMO, if you are only giving it for pills.

Jackson, too, is VERY hard to get to take pills. He doesn't care how much food is wrapped around it, he WILL eat everything around it and spit it out.

Since we've been dealing with pancreatitis, he was getting 5 pills a day. I had to coat it in his RX wet food, put it in his mouth as far back as possible, close his mouth and gently rub his throat until he swallowed.


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

Jacksons Mom said:


> I wouldn't really suggest hot dog for a Yorkie -- really fatty. A little cheese won't hurt, IMO, if you are only giving it for pills.


*shrugs* I guess I would rather give one hot dog than risk heartworms regardless of the breed.


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

the other day, ziva decided she wasnt going to take her heartguard. thinking it was too big for her little mouth, my husband broke it into a million tiny pieces. she looked at him strangely for a minute, then proceded to walk in a careful circle around the mess, slowly moving each teeny piece back into one solid pile. the whole time just looked disgusted, like "these humans are so dumb. the things I have to put up with" lol

what we ended up doing was taking a very thin slice of lunchmeat, pouring the pieces into it, and rolling it up into a ham/heartguard roll up. she sat right on my husbands lap and ate it without complaint.

another idea: put the heartguard aside for now......tomorrow morning, take her straight out of bed and walk....for as long as possible. when she comes home, she should be super hungry...then try one of these tricks. the idea being she is so hungy she will eat just about anything. 

if she gets upset and then you keep trying she might remember that this pill is a bad thing, and fight you more on it later.


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## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

Pill Pockets. Perhaps putting it whole or breaking it into tiny pieces and kneeding into it. They are awesome. The only way to get my medication houdini to take anything.

As a side note - my dogs don't chew 98% of what they eat - food, treats and all. I'm not sure if the heartgard ever gets chewed.


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## AppleTheYorkie (Jul 9, 2011)

Ahhh... Wish Apple was like your mal/collie mix! The treatball-swallow thing is a great idea, but somehow Apple dislikes canned food and prefers dry food. I can use her soft dog treats, though. I'll try that


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## Shiningsummer (May 24, 2010)

firehawk said:


> My late pit mix was a master of finding meds in food, separating them out, and then stealth discarding the meds in another room. It got to the point where I'd put him outside so he wouldn't even see me touch the bottle, then I'd have to make 4 smallish treat balls of canned food that was slightly frozen so it was doughy. Then I'd feed the first pill free ball, let him get excited about it, slowly give him the second pill free, give him the third one with the pill, and then immediately stick the 4th one in his face so he'd gulp the third to get to it. If he chewed the third ball at all, game over.


I do this exact same thing, only with cream cheese! Molly has always hated taking pills. Just like your dog, she would take the pill, so I thought she'd swallowed it, then I'd find it hawked up somewhere else in the house! Can you believe how sneaky they can be lol?

I tried peanut butter, hot dogs, canned food, you name it she always figured it out. Cream cheese is the only thing that's worked so far. Sometimes you just need to find the right combination of technique and food I guess! :/

Molly also hates taking Heartgard. The only thing that gets her to eat it is when I give it to her and my other dog at the exact same time. She just can't stand the thought that Merlin might get something she won't lol!


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

Ask you vet about this product http://www.bayerdvm.com/products/advantagemulti/multi-for-dogs.cfm
It is a topical heartworm preventative. I use it on my two little maltese 5lb. and love it!


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