Dog Vitamin

Another class of essential elements in food is vitamins. It may soundlike heresy, but there is good evidence that far too much stress has beenplaced on this subject. Too many people drew rash conclusions fromthe scanty information available to them. We are now finding that wewill need a great many more facts before we can speak with the confi-dent tone many adopted some years ago. New vitamins are in theprocess of being tested daily, and there will be many others. Our knowl-edge will be incomplete and inconclusive for some time to come.

The definition of a vitamin is: one of a class of substances, existing inminute quantities in natural foods, necessary for normal nutrition andgrowth, whose absence produces dietary diseases. Some vitamins can beproduced synthetically. Some are soluble in fat and are found only infoods containing appreciable amounts of fat. Others are water soluble.Some are destroyed by heat, some by rancidity, some by age.

Vitamins are necessary only in minute quantities. With a few excep-tions, all the essential vitamins arc present in a normal diet. What issure about the information we have now is that it seems certain thatour dogs can get all the vitamins they need if their diets contain yeast,fresh alfalfa-leaf meal, and some form of vitamin D. This may be fistsliver oil, in tiny amounts, irradiated yeast, and so forth. It is as simple asthat.

teeth and partly opening the mouth. The dog won't close its mouthbecause to do so it will have to bite its lips. With your right hand pickup the pill or capsule between the thumb and first or second finger andwith the little finger pull down the lower jaw. Hold it open with theside of the little finger and drop the pill as far back on the tongue aspossible. With your forefinger, or with the forefinger and second finger,push the pill gently but quickly as far back into the throat as you can.Then withdraw your hand quickly, let the mouth close and hold ittogether until the dog sticks out its tongue in the act of swallowing.Several pills and capsules may be poked down in this way at one time.Some capsules contain bitter or irritating drugs. If a dog bites themthey may cause fright, suffocation, and a taste so obnoxious that thedog will try for many minutes to cough or scratch it out. If you aregiving your pet medicine of this sort, you will want to be certain thatno capsules are dropped between the teeth or insufficiently pusheddown the throat.

Short-nosed breeds, such as Boston Terriers, Boxers, English Bull-dogs, and Bullmastiffs, have such fat tongues and restricted throats thatlaymen frequently have difficulty in properly medicating them. Whenwet, the pills or capsules become slippery and slide around sidewaysover the back of the broad tongue. It is wise never to try to give wetpills, especially wet capsules. If you are unsuccessful in the first attemptto give the medicine, take the capsule out and dry it. It will often stickto your finger just enough to enable you to pilot it into the back of thethroat properly. Sometimes two fingers can keep it from sliding side-ways, and on large dogs evens three fingers may work well.

There are other effective methods you may prefer in the administra-tion of pills, tablets, and capsules. Some may appeal to you. You mayhave noticed how when offered a tidbit of food dogs smell it, pick it upgingerly, chew, and swallow it. If it is to their liking, most gulp thesecond and subsequent morsels. With this in mind, prepare three unitsof, say, peanut butter, cheese, or liverwurst on crackers. Place the cap-sule or tablet under the chosen goodie on the second cracker. Give thedog cracker number one, which will be checked out thoroughly, thengive the second cracker with the medication and immediately show thethird tidbit. The dog will often gulp the second to get the third.

The advantage of using crackers with goodies lies in the fact thatwhile crunching a cracker the dog is not apt to notice the pill if it iscrunched at the same time.

The next method concerns candy and this brings to mind the factthat many pet owners tell us their dogs have never tasted candy. Al-though many people eat candy themselves they believe it is somehowunhealthy for dogs. We fed ao percent corn syrup to puppies ironsweaning until they were two years old to try to produce cavities. Weproduced no cavities and that litter of six were as healthy as any pup-pies could be. Sweets in moderation cannot harm a dog.

Hiding a pill or capsule or tablet in a soft-centered chocolate candy isa simple and good way to administer it. Once again, use three candies;the second one offered should have the medication. There is anothermethod using candy wherein the dog must be "pre-fooled" before itstarts taking the medication. As a treat, toss the dog broken pieces ofLife Savers every now and then. When the time comes that the dogneeds medication, toss the pill or tablet along with a few pieces of LifeSavers on the floor. Most dogs will pick up the pill or tablet along withthe sweets.

Another client found that with the spherical capsules we had pre-scribed he could put one in a "pea shooter," open the pup's mouth,and blow it into its throat, close the mouth and rub its throat: "Noproblem, Doc."

One of my clients solved the problem by sewing chickens skin aroundeach capsule and placing them in the refrigerator to give to her dog asdirected.

One of our favorite methods of administering solid medications is inmarshmallows. Leave a few exposed to the air for a few hours until theybecome tough on the outside, then insert the medications in one ofthree. Once again, give one without the medication first. Gumdrops,raw hamburger, meatballs, and soft cheese are other ways favored bypet owners.

Liquid medicine when not given by the lip-pouch method presentsperhaps a greater challenge. It may work to combine it with honey orcorn or maple syrup and pour the mixture on a piece of bread, andsome find an ice-cream sundae with the liquid medicine as the top-ping poured over it as a sauce works, too.