Petey's Pills

Old man Petey takes three doses of medicine each day.  He has half an arthritis pill in the morning and the other half in the evening.  At bedtime he has a quarter of a calming medication so that we can all sleep all night long.  Most of the time he takes the arthritis medicine straight from our hands.  Most of the time he'll take the beddy-bye pill with a little peanut butter.  We think it might have a bitter taste once it is quartered.  It is a good thing that the old dog is so good at taking his meds, or else we'd all be upset a lot of the time.

Some days, however, Petey exercises his right to be contrary and doesn't take his pill when it is offered.  Most of the time when this happens, we just stop trying for a while.  On the second or third try he'll generally give up and take the pill.  There are those times when he just won't take it, no way, no how.  Those are the times, when he starts trying to be sneaky.

This morning, it appeared like we might be in for one of those times with his morning medicine.  He came in from outside and I handed his pill to him.  He turned his head.  I tried again telling him that he liked this pill, so he yawned real big right over my hand, but did not take the pill.  I think I was supposed to believe that he took it when he opened his mouth.  But I was on to him, since the pill was still in my hand.

I told him that I didn't fall for it and tried one more time to get him to take the pill.  This time he lapped it up from my hand much like he was getting a drink, then he spit it right back out, in to my hand.  He's a clever little thing.  If he could just figure out how to spit the pill back out with out it going in to my hand, he might be on to something.

Knowing that he was in a defiant mood, I let it go.  I kept the pill with me waiting for an opportunity to spring it on him when his resistance was down. I tried again in a while. but once again he tried the fake take and the pill wound up right back in my hand.  I wish I had a video of the process, because he really thought he'd fooled me as he trotted off.

This time, I let him think so.  I went on about my business as he settled in to his ring bed to supervise.  After about 30 minutes had passed.  I left the room and he did too.  He has this rule about following me around.  I handed him the pill while his mind was on where I was going.  He swallowed it and is now resting once again in his ring bed.

Matching wits with a dog.  It is how I spend entirely too much of my time!  The good news is, I almost always win.