Any dog psychoanalysts in the house?

[tridim]

Twice a day I give my epileptic dog a pill along with a chewed up pretzel to wash it down. I call it "pretzel pill" for obvious reasons. Anyway, whenever I say those words my other dog runs away and hides downstairs. I can't figure out why, especially since I used to give her a pretzel at the same time to be fair. She loves pretzels, but not when I preface it with the words "pretzel pill". Weird huh? Any ideas?

[Liberalynn]

1. Have you ever had to give your other dog pills?

Maybe she is afraid you are going to give her not just a pretzel but a pill too like you are giving the epileptic dog?

We used to hide our dog Rex's (RIP Rex) pills in between two pieces of cinamon candy, he soon learned to dig the top one off and eat that and leave the bottom half of his cinamon sandwitch with the pill stuck on top.

Not an official doggie pyschologist by the way. Just a long time pet parent.

[tridim]

5. Nope

I doubt she even knows what a pill is. I'm trying to think if 'pill' rhymes with another word she knows, but I can't think of any.

[Liberalynn]

7. That is odd

my other thought was that maybe she was reacting to something she was sensing in the epeleptic dog but if that dog doesn't mind taking the pills, it can't be an empathy response.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Maybe mix up the delivery system? I put Jessie's meds sometimes

in a ball of braunschweiger (sp) sometimes in cheese...she never knows. Although she has gotten quite good at rooting out and spitting out pills. :)

[Liberalynn]

3. That is a clever solution so the dog is never quite sure what will have

the hidden pill. LOL.

[tridim]

4. The dog that gets the pill doesn't mind at all..

She's not a chewer, food goes right down her gullet in a split second. The problem is with my other dog who has a Bush-ian pretzel phobia for some reason.

[Liberalynn]

6. self delete

read your reply above.

[havocmom]

8. Maybe she thinks you said "pretzel Drill" and was afraid

of being expected to bite the shrub.

[HughMoran]

9. Your dog is smart n/t

[henslee]

10. Maybe your tone or body language is triggering t his reaction or

wait a sec.... are you favoring one dog.... or are you giving both dogs a pretzel? If not, maybe she/he is conditioned to this routine in which she does not get a snack as being her regular "beta" dog moment. She knows she wont be getting anything and she over time, exaggerated the beta reaction

[Akoto]

11. I have to give my lab a pill every other day, and ...

I find that, if I disguise the pill in a folded up piece of cheese, she eats it before she even realizes there's a pill inside. :)