How to Give Boo a pill!

Okay, so rain is FINALLY moving in, and Boo just really stresses out over thunder way too much. When discussing this issue with the vet, she suggested the over the counter stuff first. Great- chewable pills---easy, right? WRONG!

So, I look at the radar this morning and see storms off to the west. To try and make sure that the pills have time to work, I head to the kitchen to give Boo his pills. I try, at first, to hand him the pill- hoping that it will smell like a yummy piece of steak and take it! He sniffs said pill, and turns his head to the side. Shunning the treat offered him. (Which, honestly, I expected.)

So, I dig in the refrigerator for something Boo will eat. He won't touch cheese, or bread, or anything starchy. I finally spy the left over pepperoni. Hooray! Meat! Right up Boo's alley!

I break the pill in half and wrap it in a piece of the pepperoni and hand it to him. He sniffs the pepperoni, and turns his head to the side. Great! Well, he's too smart.

He knows he's being set up. So I decide to take a different tactic. I get a piece of pepperoni without anything to "taint" it and tear off a piece and offer it to him. He pulls his lips back and takes the piece of meat between his teeth and spits it on the floor, sniffs it, then decides it's okay and eats it. To further entrench that it is not a trick, I give him another untainted piece. This piece is gobbled up more readily than the first. Thinking I have him fooled, I hand him the piece with the pill in it. One sniff, and the nose goes in the air.

We stare at each other- me trying to convince him through osmosis that the pill is REALLY good. I can see by the look in his eyes that he is NOT buying it. I do, of course, have 3 other poodles surrounding me that are more than eager to take the meat, the pill or both.

I decide that we've had enough pussy footing around, and decide to go with brute force. I wrenched his mouth open and insert pepperoni wrapped pill onto his tongue and then hold his mouth shut. We lock eyes again- competitors in an epic battle of wills. I pull out all my tricks, rubbing his neck and blowing in his nose. All this is supposedly supposed to make the dog swallow. All it does in this case is make him mad. He appears to swallow, and thinking I had won, I loosen my grip. I am rewarded by the wet and soggy pill landing on the top of my bald foot. The pepperoni, however, found it's way into Boo's gullet.

Another brief session of attempted osmosis gets me nowhere. As a last ditch effort, I put a few pieces of kibble in his bowl and crush the pill into a powder and sprinkle on top of the food. I find some chicken broth and coat the whole mixture.

Giving in to my persistence, Boo nibbles delicately on the mixture, taking frequent breaks to give me that look that says, "don't fall asleep, bitch!"

Now, we can only hope that after all this, the pills will work!