Lucy Versus Peanut Butter

On Thursday I drove a baggie of poo around in my car for a little while. It wasn't mine, it was Lucy's. Another requirement of the Rescue Group, aside from having my dog's name tattooed on my forehead, was to have a stool sample tested within 7 days of adoption.

Turns out Lucy has Giardia, a pretty common parasite in rescue dogs. I'm actually thankful she has it because perhaps this means that when I take her out to "Go Potty!" I won't pass out from the stench.

I decided to use peanut butter on a spoon to give Lucy her medicine, since I'm not particularly wild about jamming her jaw open and forcing a pill down her throat. I realize this means she'll never get into an ivy league school but that's just the way it goes.

Community college is good for a lot of people too. Our community college has a really nice paralegal program.

The thing about peanut butter and dogs is that it's really very funny.

I know it's important to give dogs their dignity. That's why I'm not putting a pair of Wonder Woman Underoos on her.

Yet.

It's just that it was so funny watching her get all that peanut butter out of her mouth.

I think this should be her driver's license picture.

This is Lucy looking a little troubled about eating all the peanut butter.
But maybe you have more treats?

Comments

[Tameson]

Oh too funny!

[Julie]

Try "pill pockets". They make it a lot easier to medicate a dog.

[Marla]

Yes, pill pockets. Easier but less entertaining.

Lucy's markings give her face so much expression!

[Elizabeth]

Another possibility is tucking the pill into a small piece of hotdog. Still nice for the dog and not so messy!

[Lisame]

I.
Melted.

and, wow!, she has great teeth!

[Stacey]

That is absolutely hilarious. We use marshmallows or roll it in lunch meat. Eventually they always figure it out, but we end up giving Pete one piece of whatever first with no pill so he thinks it's "safe". Then we give him a second with the pill and he inhales it. Works like a charm. Love the pics!! :)

[Lula]

The adoption people are totally coming to take Lucy away from you for causing the dog undue embarassment on your website. ;) They seem a little picky like that.

[Sarah]

Our rescue beagle has a thyroid problem so he gets a pill twice a day. He's gotten to the point where he knows there is a pill in the peanut butter but the desire to eat it is overwhelming and he just inhales it in one big sloppy lick. Marshmallows work well too, split it in half and pop the pill inside. Dogs are so fun for the silliest reasons sometimes. So worth it. Also these adoption people sound like they are very untrusting. Visits? Poop samples? The people who fostered our dog Moe offered him to us when we first met him and he came for a home visit. Totally different than yours. Wow. She's worth it though!

[Kristen]

That is ADORABLE and makes me wish (not for the first time) that I had better picture-takin' skills.

Our latest pup gets a pill every morning (from now until the end of time, sadly), and I've discovered that if I just put it in her bowl, with her dry food, she eats it! And if I forget, I can put a treat in her bowl, with the pill, and she'll eat both.

Yeah, my girl might not even make it in community college, but maybe degrees are overrated. And she just learned how to catch treats that are tossed her way, so I'm holding out hope!

[Lee Laughlin]

Cheese Whiz. Inexpensive, works like a charm.

[Paula]

Love, love, love the facial expressions! I laughed so hard that my two pupper-doos looked at me like I was a little nuts! Lucy is a beauty...I'm so very glad you found each other.

[Mary]

What a face....those are hilarious. :)

Greenie's pill pockets are awesome. On another note - have you given Lucy a Greenie treat? They're stupidly expensive but every dog I know goes insane for them.....they're like doggie crack cocaine.

[Meetzorp]

The awesome thing about it is that dogs LOVE peanut butter so it's not even a little bit mean to give it to them and then laugh at the stupid faces they make while they're eating it.

Another fun and funny thing to do (that I learned from Dooce) is to drape a spaghetti noodle over her snout. She'll totally make Elvis lips while trying to get the noodle off...until she realizes she can just tip her head down and drop the noodle.

I do dumb stuff like this with my dog pretty regularly because she likes it and I think it is hilarious. It's a win-win-win situation.

[JMartin]

Doesn't the wonderful Lucy deserve her own "Did She Eat It" feature?

Of course, this likely will involve more found-objects than cooked meals. For example, my dog just unearthed a loaf of French bread from the snow. And yes. Yes, he did.

[Carrie (in MN)]

I totally agree with Lula, the dog adoption people undoubtedly have a rule - no laughing at your dog, it may hurt her special snowflake feeeeelings.

Greenies gave my dog the runs. Just a little heads up from me to you.

[Beth]

Hee hee, I love your dog! What a precious little face.

When we adopted our Fritz, we were mandated to take him to obedience training (never did it, the dog naturally obeys everybody, including the voices on the TV), not to give him rawhides, because it will expand in his stomach, no Greenies, crate train him, no this, no that, rub his belly after he eats, walk him 26 times a day, paint his toenails, help him become self-actualized, etc, etc. They're all completely crazy.

[schmutzie]

Oh my sweet jeebus, that last picture made me laugh so hard that the cat fell off the bed.

[ksmaybe]

Awesome pictures, and beautiful dog! Maddie must be in absolute love with her.

Never underestimate the, uh, lack of intelligence in some dogs. I have on that will eat any pill I toss in her food bowl. And one that I have to employ peanut butter, cheese, etc. Thankfully, and perhaps relatedly, the healthier of the two is the harder one to medicate. The chronically ill one will just eat pills like candy.

[s]

those pics are hilarious - her markings are cute! Our first rescue had ghardia as well - just make sure if she was fostered that you let the foster family know bc their dog should be treated. And of course you'll have to retest - those "clear" fecal exams become important if you do doggie daycare or any boarding!

Both my rescues get daily meds (yes, one of them is on an antidepressent for separation anxiety - aren't rescues fun??) and I just put them in a small scoop of canned food which I mix with their dry food. Not nearly as entertaining, but allows me to save the peanut butter to stuff in their kongs and freeze! And yes, we have "DOG Peanutbutter" and our human pbutter and the DOG pbutter is clearly marked so I'm not making human pbutter sandwiches with dog pbutter (why is that important? because I doubledip the knife and it goes into those dog slobbered kongs - gross!)

[C]

That last picture just made me laugh out loud...sitting alone...in my apartment. Totally worth it.

(We use string cheese to give pills.)

[watercolor]

yes, pill pockets. Don't even need a whole one. Can just use part of one and mash around the pill. I discovered them when my very old dog became sensitive to proteins and couldn't have peanut butter or cheese any more. My new dog thinks the green bag is a bag of treats, lol. So every morning she gets her "treat" and momma gets her to take her pills the easy way. Gulp and gone!

[Jen]

My 12 year old boxer just passed away last week and looking at these pictures and hearing your stories about Lucy have somehow made these past seven days a little easier, so thanks!

[Deanna]

For a good time, give your dog the "empty" peanut butter jar when you're done with it. You wouldn't believe how long a dog's tongue can get to reach some peanut butter on the bottom of a plastic jar.

[tonya]

Hilarious. But, I agree that embarrassing that precious dog on the INTERNET for the whole wide world to see will certainly not set well with the rescue people who for sure stalk this blog.

For the record, when we got to go through the third degree with an agency, they did not like that we had steps (a lot of rescues have not seen steps and don't know what to do with them), or hardwoods (dogs who are not used to them are afraid to walk on them), and our border collie whom we adore is a big on the pudgy side. The horrors! They didn't see the retractable leash--that may have finished us off. In the end, we passed, only to drive the two hours to get the dog and find that his prickly short hair (like Lucy's) caused my oldest daughter to break out in hives. I now know to avoid short haired dogs and rescues. Those folks are just a bit high-strung for me.

[Rebecca]

Thank you for the smile - I meant mine, but Lucy's is pretty great, too!

[Cookie]

Wow, I hope that you aren't dissing paralegals or that you think they are dumb as a dog for going to community college.

[Kelly O'Keefe]

Jeez-- she is so cute! Even my mom's purebred little pup had Giardia upon arrival. You guys are lucky to have found each other.

[Melissa Summers]

Yeah I'm dissing them.

Ps: went to community college for 6 semesters and spent 2 in paralegal program. Too hard for me. Shit! Now lucys too dumb for that too.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[bonzai]

Wow. I've been reading about Lucy, and your shelter people are... intense.
I just had to talk to a woman for about a half hour, convincing her that I would not (a) roast the dog on a spit (b) freak out that she was still puppyish at a year old and (c) knew a thing or two about standard poodles.
Then I hauled 3 kids and the other standard poodle 2 hours north in the car for a meet & greet. No one bit each other's face off, so I was good to go.
I sent them a follow-up email as a courtesy, since we were Gracie's 3rd home. They never replied, but now I'm in on their mailing list for donations!
I love your pictures - it makes me wish we could have dogs that shed.

[erin]

Our chocolate lab's favorite treat is a spoonful of peanut butter. Or pieces of apple. Or some banana. But the peanut butter is the best treat to watch her eat. If Lucy ever discovers you're hiding medicine in her peanut butter, try covering it in a piece of sliced cheese. She won't notice the meds because she'll be too busy inhaling the cheese.

[joaaanna]

My Hubert gets daily pills. We rattle his pill bottle, make him sit, then reach down, grab his mouth, open it up and then toss them down the back. He acts like it's the best thing in the world. And we don't even have to give him a treat afterwards, but do sometimes. My husband doesn't know it - but the dog also gets one of my fish oil pills in the morning. Now THAT he loves!

[Ashley, The Accidental Olympian]

I am going to capture and steal your dog.

In the sweetest way possible, of course.

[Noelle]

Maybe the most adorable dog ever.

[Frauleinfurioso]

She is so cute! I love reading about her & seeing the pics. I've found a little piece of banana to be perfect for shoving a pill into, but of course that means that you have to want a banana also.

[A]

Hmm, me thinks someone is a little bit in love with Lucy? ;)

Love dogs, have had one since I first wore down my parents some 35 years ago. And then they let my SISTER pick out the dog as she 'had never had a pet before'. Yeah there was a reason for that, she HATED ANIMALS!!

Sorry, I am fine...

Hope Madeline and Max are loving Lucy as much as I loved my first dog. (You know even though technically it was my SISTERS! Who after picking and naming her never had a thing to do with her...)

No really, I am fine! ;)

[Heidi]

We adopted a dog from a shelter who had giardia. Be prepared for a growth spurt once you've gotten rid of it. Our tiny little 5 pound dog turned into a 12 pound moose almost overnight.

I think I gave my dog a complex about peanut butter. She used to love it but I laughed at her so much she won't eat it anymore. LOL. Oops.

You can also put the pill in a little cube of cheese. That's what I do now that she is scared of peanut butter. :)

And Lucy is precious!

[pharmgirl]

Such a face! I just want to muss up her ears and talk baby talk to her.

What is it about dogs that can make my IQ drop 30 points?

Congrats on the adoption!

[Keswick]

Liver sausage. Use just enough to cover the pill. It's a disgusting substance, but it works - with dogs. Our cats would suck off the liver sausage and then spit out the pill.

Also - we need some pictures of the kids with Lucy! They must be so happy!

[lynne]

god this makes me want a dog. too funny!

[sadbulldog]

your dog is just adorable!! We use a slice of american cheese. . just fold up the pill inside the cheese. They'll never notice.

Another peanut butter trick. . stuff it in a Kong and freeze it. It'll keep your dog entertained for a LONG time. :)

[Amy]

My Lucy takes her pills with peanut butter too. I take it off the spoon with my finger and have her lick up the whole glop at once. It's not as entertaining but much neater.

[Jennifer]

Those pics had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. Especially that last photo. What a riot! Lucy is adorable!