Hello, pet parents. My name is Courtney. I'm with Central Texas Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital as a veterinary technician. I'm going to demonstrate another method to be able to administer pills to your dog. This may be a dog that isn't very food-driven, that is smarter than the average bear and being able to find a pill even in the largest amount of peanut butter or cheese.
This is actually going to be our floor demonstration. If you're feeling agile and limber, if it's just your dog is larger, then being able to just be on the couch or be on a counter top. You'll want to start behind your pet. Their instinct is going to be to back up. Now, if you have a larger breed dog, what you'll likely want to do is find an area of your house that has a corner such as in a kitchen by the cabinets, maybe in a bedroom or a bathroom. That way, if they're trying to back up into the corner, they're able to only go so far. Another key to this is trying to make it as quick and smooth as possible so that it is less traumatizing for them and also less dangerous for you.
I'm going to take a pill and hold it between my index and thumb. I'm going to come over Molly's head here, grab a hold of her muscle, open her mouth, get as far back as I can. She's already licked her nose because she's a good girl. Another good trick, if the throat rubbing does not work, you can also give a quick blow on their nose. That often will make them lick their nose and therefore, swallow the pill.
Make this as happy of an experience as you can. As you can tell, Molly is a little bit nervous, a little camera shy, so we want to make it happy. Maybe follow up with some treats that don't have pills in them and then let them go about their way.