Few Instructions to follow - Giving medication to your pet

Administering medication to your pet is never an easy action to carry out unless you plan to hide the drugs in the pet's food. As a pet owner, you owe it to your pet and yourself to know how to give it medication when there is a need for it.

Pet owners see this as a necessary evil that has been done and it's not surprising why the general opinion is so. With the risk of getting bitten, scratched or clawed by these pets, administering medication is no walk over.

In this post, we will be going over in detail some tips to follow when giving medication to your pet to make the process an easy one. With these tips, you will not even need a League City vet service once you know the right medications to administer.

1. Most League City animal clinics Texas suggest you do this when giving pills and capsules

Pills and capsules are one of the forms in which pet medication come in. To give them to your pet, you will need to either put it in their food or put it directly in their mouth to swallow.

Ideally, crushing or cutting the pill is not advisable as it can reduce its potency. For capsules, it's also best to give them to your pet as they are (in the capsule). 

Opening up a capsule medication means the drugs get released too early in the body instead of digesting within it and subsequently getting absorbed into the areas it is needed in the body.

If you can't do this properly, a simple search using keywords like ‘emergency vet clinic near me' should turn up some vet care centers you could visit for assistance. 

"Treating your pet with medication without an approval from a veterinary expert could be dangerous to the pet"

Timing is also an important factor when giving medication to your pet. If the advised prescription is 3 times daily - morning, afternoon and night, then you must follow that prescription to the last letter.

Failing to do this will lead to the ineffectiveness of the drugs given. Every pet owner should understand this reality; it is still the same process as humans.

If you are inexperienced in pet care, you can ask your veterinarian to walk you through on how to give pills and capsules to your pet orally. Never attempt forcing medication down your pet's throat if you are not sure of what you are doing.

2. When giving oral liquid medication League City Vets advice

Young animals like puppies and kittens are usually best treated with oral liquid medication. The process is not a difficult one but if you are new to it, your League City Vet can show you how to get it done.

Most oral liquid medications are best administered using a small syringe or dropper to place the droplets into your pet's mouth.

"Liquid medication comes in two forms - solution and suspension. While solutions can be given as it is, suspensions need to be shaken to mix it up before administering"

It is important to read and follow the prescription on the medication as advised to ensure it doesn't lose its effectiveness. Most oral liquid drugs require refrigeration or at least keeping them in a cool place to keep their temperature low.

A normal room temperature might affect the potency of the drug. Your veterinarian will advise you best on what to do.

3. Topical medications should be done by following these tips from top League City Animal Clinics Texas

Medications of this nature are relatively easy to administer to your pet without support from veterinary personnel. It involves applying medication that comes in the form of creams and ointments on your pet’s body to cause healing on the affected part.

Because it is topical, it is usually easy to apply to the diseased area. The main concern with this kind of treatment is how to keep the topical medication on your pet's body without the animal cleaning or even licking it off.

An easy solution around this is by wearing an Elizabethan collar on the animal - this collar allows the animal to move its head and carry out its activities easily enough but not too freely.

"The Elizabethan collar is also called the cone of shame because it shows the pet is undergoing treatment...very humorous you will say"

Topical medications can be given to your pet without support from your veterinarian once you have their approval to use it.

4. Giving Injections as advised by an Emergency Vet Clinic in League City

Injections are also very necessary for some treatment types. When faced with the need for an emergency treatment to save your pet, injection treatments are usually more effective.

Most injection treatments include insulin shots, allergy management shots, adrenaline injections and other emergency treatment shots that might be needed at the time.

As tough as giving your pet injections might appear at first, the procedure is easy to grasp and deliver. With practice and supervision, almost every pet owner would be to do this with support and supervision from their veterinary clinician.

As challenging as administering pet medication to our pets is, it is something we pet lovers have to live with.

Are you in need of a professional League City Animal Clinic? Visit Safari Vet today to get started!