Giving your pet medication can feel confusing, stressful, or even overwhelming—especially if your pet isn’t cooperative. In this episode, we walk through the basics of understanding and managing your pet’s medications, including why medications are prescribed, how to read labels and instructions, tips for giving pills and liquids successfully, and what side effects to watch for. Whether your pet needs short-term treatment or long-term medication for a chronic condition, this episode is designed to help you feel more confident, informed, and supported as a pet parent.

Resources:
How to give medications tutorial: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUpOWKSjsMJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Time Stamps:1:00: Medications for animals4:40: Various formulations for medications5:30: Compounded and transdermal medications11:20: Generic drugs13:20: Off-label prescribing19:20: Medication labels - what’s required, and what it all means27:50: Timing of medication administration29:50: Getting the medication into the animal with minimal stress40:00: Do’s and don’t’s of giving medication in food45:30: Giving pills directly to dogs and cats 50:20: Giving liquid medication directly 52:00: Towel wrap for “handsy” pets54:55: Applying topical medications for skin, ears, eyes1:00:00: Applying transdermal medications1:02:00: Giving injectable medications1:13:00: Side note - don’t scruff the cat!1:15:30: What to do if your pet absolutely refuses all routes of medication1:21:40: Adverse drug reactions, when it’s manageable, when it’s an emergency1:37:00: Storing and handling medications1:38:00: Missed doses1:41:00: Long term/chronic medications and monitoring, managing costs1:49:00: Follow up