A guest post by Josiah, a Yorkie who dislikes pills
Hi, friends. My name is Josiah, and I’m a 17-month-old Yorkie. Miss Janet invited me to share a topic idea you can write about on your pet pro blog. She told me you have a blog that helps pet parents and their pets, and my topic idea will definitely help them. Here goes!
Today, it was time to take my monthly preventive pills. There are two pills: one is really tiny, and the other is small, but it’s noticeable enough to be annoying. They are chewable, but who wants to chew a pill?
While I don’t love pill day, I’ve always accepted it. Miss Janet covers the pills with my Buddy Budder. I lick all around them, and she has to put on more Budder. After I’ve enjoyed enough of the Budder, I eat the pills. Reluctantly.
But today, things were different. At 17 months old, I’ve decided I don’t want to play those pill games anymore. It’s simply unacceptable. I licked all the Buddy Budder but refused the pills. Just kept spitting them out. Finally clamped my jaw shut and wouldn’t accept any more bribes. I was done.
Miss Janet had a meltdown. She was worried the pills were disintegrating and I wasn’t getting the benefits I needed. Her meltdown did nothing to change my mind. If anything, her behavior made me clamp my jaw even tighter. No amount of Buddy Budder was worth these hysterics. This pill-day thing had gotten out of control, and I wanted no part of it.
Through tears, with Budder-covered pills stuck to her fingers, Miss Janet rummaged in the cupboard. She found some yummy treats (my favorite kind) and opened a can of plain pumpkin puree, another favorite. She mashed it all together, plopped it on a plate in front of me, and hovered. I don’t like the hovering, but I couldn’t turn down the smell of pumpkin. I ate it all up. When I got to the pill part, I chewed slowly and made a face. But I still ate them.
Miss Janet spent the next hour trying to calm down, trying to get me settled, and looking up information online to figure out how to do better next time. She was asking herself questions like:
- “Should I have just started with the pumpkin?”
- “What are pill pockets, and do they work?”
- “Should I have mashed up the pill? Wouldn’t I lose some of it that way?”
- “Should I buy a cube of cheddar just for pill day?” (In my opinion, yes. Whether or not I eat the pills is irrelevant.)
- “Why does my Yorkie, who has always taken pills, suddenly refuse?”
- “How do I get my dog to settle after this horrible experience?”
- “Have I just ruined my ability to ever give my dog a pill in the future?”
- “Why is this pill process harder for some dogs than for others?”
- “Why does my Yorkie want to chew on other things he shouldn’t, but not two tiny pills?”
Miss Janet still doesn’t have the answers she needs. I can’t wait to see what pill day is like next month. I have no doubt new treats will arrive on the scene, including cheddar cubes. Yum! I’m prepared to make the most of that, whether or not I feel like chewing up those pills.
You, my friends, actually have the answers. You’re experienced with all kinds of dogs. You can write a great article on your blog that would help pet parents like Miss Janet. If she gets a better plan for pill day, my day will go much better as well. I think it’s a great, helpful topic for you to write about, and it would probably be pretty simple for you to share your expertise.
Just wanted you to know what we pets and pet parents go through on pill day, and hope you can write an article that will help us all.
Thank you for reading my guest post!
Slurps and squiggles,
Josiah
Josiah is a handsome, intelligent, feisty, 17-month-old Yorkie who lives on a farm in north Georgia. He enjoys bossing rodent-squirrels, chasing his goldendoodle friend, and taking comfy naps. He posts weekly about his Yorkie adventures on his own blog: The Inquisitive Yorkie.
