[Stevenas]

My sweet 7 year old chihuahua was recently diagnosed with CHF and placed on lasix and vetmedin.
The lasix is small and she takes it with little problem. However, the vetmedin is a different story.
I have tried peanut butter, cheese, yogurt and in her wet dog food but she is smart and smells it, won't take it.
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Her health condition has me stressed out, I watch her breathing status and make sure she is not over worked.
I just hate it, I tell her I love her everyday but it seems she is responding well to the lasix.
She is not in any distress and is active.
Any encouraging words again, will be deeply appreciated.
Thank you

 

[DaySleepers]

Oof, that's rough to go through. I'm hoping the medication manages things well and you can have many more years together.

I'm "blessed" with dogs that will eat almost anything I hand them, pills included, so I haven't used this trick personally. But I've heard some good things about doing a 'treat train'. Basically, you give treats rapid-fire and sneak the one with a pill in it somewhere towards (but not at) the end. So it'd look like treat-treat-treat-treat-treat with pill-treat-treat. The idea is the dog is anticipating the next treat so swallows whatever you give them reflexively in preparation for the next treat. Then another treat (or two) follows immediately, so they don't have time to think 'wait a minute, what did they just give me?'

You might need to get her used to rapid-fire treats by making it a game with her regular meals. Of course, this one works best with dogs with a decent appetite, but I hope it'll be of some help for you.

 

[LeoRose]

You can teach a dog to take a pill. This video outlines the training.

It works with cats, so it should work for a Chihuahua.