Tomlyn’s Pill-Masker has revolutionized pilling time at my house. I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “But Dr. Jen, aren’t you a vet and therefore an expert at giving dogs medications?” Well, yes and no. I certainly can get it done in a clinical setting when I have to, but I prefer to just be “mom” (or “Aunt Jen”) to the dogs in my life. In other words, a positive, low-stress, and fun experience getting medications is what I’m after. There are 3 dogs in this household, all with different stories on how Pill-Masker has helped me accomplish just that.

In the first installment of this three-part series, I describe the use of Pill-Masker with a healthy puppy.

Ranger – “Positive Puppy”

Ranger is the youngest of the 3 dogs, and the only one that is technically mine. I got him as a 9-week old puppy, not long before I joined the Tomlyn team. In fact, he was still in puppy kindergarten classes when I was first introduced to Pill-Masker. At the time, we were testing treats to determine his most favorite, and therefore highest value, treat to give him as a reward for the most important commands (“stay” and “come”). After extensive testing, Tomlyn’s Pill-Masker came in second, only to pieces of cooked chicken. Fast forward two years. While I can’t say that I was 100% successful in teaching Ranger “stay” and “come”, I can tell you that introducing Pill-Masker at a young age has recently proven to be mighty handy.

Last week, Ranger was not feeling well and ended up going to the veterinarian’s office. For the first time in his life, he was prescribed five days’ worth of medication. Fortunately, because he was already used to getting Pill-Masker as a treat, giving him his medication was no big deal. Each time he was due, I pinched off a small amount, made sure the pill was completely covered and gave it to him like I would a treat. It all worked out well, and Ranger has fully recovered. Just to maintain continuity, I will give him a few “blank” bites over the coming days and weeks.

Stay tuned for the next edition of this three part series! In it, I will tell the story of how Pill-Masker completely changed the experience for an almost impossible-to-pill dog.