[Dailydrool] Arthritis treatments--tramadol

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

If you put tramadol into food, you will never get a basset to eat it. This pill is very bitter and nasty tasting. Take it from one who had to take it for a short time for a shoulder problem. I'm not surprised a dog wouldn't eat it.

When we had the behaviorist in for Horton, I was talking to her about Belvedere's arthritis and the problem I had getting him to take these pills. She said that with her regular veterinary patients, she recommends that people have their vet order empty capsules--they require a prescription from a vet, but once you have them, you pop the tramadol inside and feed it to the dog, who will not be able to taste the bitterness. 
 
Wish I'd known about that when Bel was refusing the drug. I don't even know if I'd mentioned the problem to my vet, but I sure wish I had. That would have been a simple solution.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets