Getting the right treatment for my dog can be tough. I love him to death, but when it comes to the rare time where he gets sick, finding a solution is tough as a student studying marketing and not animal medication. As a Pomeranian breed, my nine-year-old dog is a short, fluffy, and bubbly character that can immediately brighten up my day. Yet, when he falls under the weather, even the expensive treats that he once loved are spit out on the ground. The whining is turned into a constant and all hope seems lost to get him back to feeling normal. If I try to give him a prescription from the doctor, it’s not hard for him to turn a blind eye and walk back on to his bed. What’s a girl to do when she needs to find a medication her picky eater will approve of?
While I always thought that the medications that pets are prescribed to are a one size fits all type of deal, in reality the opposite of that belief is true. Like people, every animal is picky and has a body that is completely different both physically and mentally. One dog may love the taste and crunch of a fruit flavored tablet, and another might get nauseous at the idea of eating anything other than their favorite bacon bite. A great development that I discovered a few years back with my family to treat our taste conscious pet is to seek a compounding pharmacy catered towards animals. These are agencies licensed in the state that work around the clock to change the actual form of prescribed medications so they become much easier for your pet to take. Call it witchcraft or the best invention available, compounding is an amazing solution to help your pet get on the road to better health. If my own dog was able to become satisfied with the results, I’m sure your pet will be as well once you understand how the process works!
How to Start
Just like choosing a new medical expert for your own health, the first step my family took to finding a compounding pet pharmacy was to look up who was licensed within our local area. We wouldn’t want to see an unprofessional doctor, so the risk of bringing our pet’s health into an untrained stranger’s hands was one we didn’t want to take. Online, we found the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy website that conveniently listed all the agencies that were legitimate and had pretty positive reviews. From there, we then narrowed down which location was closest to our home and specialized in compounding medications for smaller types of breeds. Although our dog is no hamster size, he’s still pretty tiny compared to the average household breed. After we finally found a place that sounded trustworthy, we called the office to schedule an appointment to learn about how their process worked. During that appointment, we gained a lot of insight into certain mistakes traditional vets can make when prescribing pets and why compounding a medication is truly beneficial. We also learned about why each pet is treated as a case by case basis, as one compounded medication is different from another. No one would want to harm their health by taking another person’s medicine, so animals are treated the same way. No two prescriptions are mixed or shared regardless of weight, age, breed, or gender of the animal.
Some popular forms of compounded medication include:
- Aminopentamide
- Cisapride
- Cyclosporine
- Diethylstilbestrol
- Methimazole
These may sound complicated, but all treat common pet problems like uncontrollable vomiting, limited mobility, immune disease, hormonal imbalances, or metabolism instability. These are one of the many drugs that pharmacists can compound so your pet can have peace of mind!
How To Pay
Don’t be shy to talk finance with your vet once you find a solution! I know I was at first because some animal medication can be extremely expensive depending on how severe their actual sickness is. We decided to compound my dog’s allergy tablet medicine into a liquid form that would be much quicker for him to down each time he had to take dose. Normally, this drug was a couple hundred dollars off the shelves to buy. However, my vet was happy to discuss what alternatives could be used that would be a little cheaper on my family’s wallet. The particular medication she found still performed just as well as the mainstream drug, but fell under an unbranded name so the cost could be maintained low. Without asking what was open to take, we would’ve ended up spending much more than necessary for the sake of supporting a commercial company. At the same time, one thing I do want to stress is to not allow a slightly lower medication sacrifice your sanity. As you look at the pros and cons between different pet medications, aspects like the wait to obtain it from the pharmacy, the side effects it can cause, and how many doses are necessary are important. Make sure to maintain a balance of cost effectiveness and convenience when choosing the right medication take home. My family found the middle ground and were happy we weren’t breaking the bank to help our little guy out.
Have A Healthy Pet
The compounding veterinary pharmacies that are available can treat a variety of problems, so there’s no reason to stress if your pet happens to fall ill. My best advice is to stay calm throughout and assess what your choices are to make sure they can feel healthier again. If they end up using a traditional medicine with success, that’s great! However, if they don’t react well, the process of compounding can fix that situation so they don’t have a problem. It doesn’t take long to know what your resources are and reaching out to your local vet in advance of such an issue is a great way to gain better insight!
Getting the right treatment for my dog can be tough. I love him to death, but when it comes to the rare time where he gets sick, finding a solution is tough as a student studying marketing and not animal medication. As a Pomeranian breed, my nine-year-old dog is a short, fluffy, and bubbly character that can immediately brighten up my day. Yet, when he falls under the weather, even the expensive treats that he once loved are spit out on the ground. The whining is turned into a constant and all hope seems lost to get him back to feeling normal. If I try to give him a prescription from the doctor, it’s not hard for him to turn a blind eye and walk back on to his bed. What’s a girl to do when she needs to find a medication her picky eater will approve of?
While I always thought that the medications that pets are prescribed to are a one size fits all type of deal, in reality the opposite of that belief is true. Like people, every animal is picky and has a body that is completely different both physically and mentally. One dog may love the taste and crunch of a fruit flavored tablet, and another might get nauseous at the idea of eating anything other than their favorite bacon bite. A great development that I discovered a few years back with my family to treat our taste conscious pet is to seek a compounding pharmacy catered towards animals. These are agencies licensed in the state that work around the clock to change the actual form of prescribed medications so they become much easier for your pet to take. Call it witchcraft or the best invention available, compounding is an amazing solution to help your pet get on the road to better health. If my own dog was able to become satisfied with the results, I’m sure your pet will be as well once you understand how the process works!
How to Start
Just like choosing a new medical expert for your own health, the first step my family took to finding a compounding pet pharmacy was to look up who was licensed within our local area. We wouldn’t want to see an unprofessional doctor, so the risk of bringing our pet’s health into an untrained stranger’s hands was one we didn’t want to take. Online, we found the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy website that conveniently listed all the agencies that were legitimate and had pretty positive reviews. From there, we then narrowed down which location was closest to our home and specialized in compounding medications for smaller types of breeds. Although our dog is no hamster size, he’s still pretty tiny compared to the average household breed. After we finally found a place that sounded trustworthy, we called the office to schedule an appointment to learn about how their process worked. During that appointment, we gained a lot of insight into certain mistakes traditional vets can make when prescribing pets and why compounding a medication is truly beneficial. We also learned about why each pet is treated as a case by case basis, as one compounded medication is different from another. No one would want to harm their health by taking another person’s medicine, so animals are treated the same way. No two prescriptions are mixed or shared regardless of weight, age, breed, or gender of the animal.
Some popular forms of compounded medication include:
- Aminopentamide
- Cisapride
- Cyclosporine
- Diethylstilbestrol
- Methimazole
These may sound complicated, but all treat common pet problems like uncontrollable vomiting, limited mobility, immune disease, hormonal imbalances, or metabolism instability. These are one of the many drugs that pharmacists can compound so your pet can have peace of mind!
How To Pay
Don’t be shy to talk finance with your vet once you find a solution! I know I was at first because some animal medication can be extremely expensive depending on how severe their actual sickness is. We decided to compound my dog’s allergy tablet medicine into a liquid form that would be much quicker for him to down each time he had to take dose. Normally, this drug was a couple hundred dollars off the shelves to buy. However, my vet was happy to discuss what alternatives could be used that would be a little cheaper on my family’s wallet. The particular medication she found still performed just as well as the mainstream drug, but fell under an unbranded name so the cost could be maintained low. Without asking what was open to take, we would’ve ended up spending much more than necessary for the sake of supporting a commercial company. At the same time, one thing I do want to stress is to not allow a slightly lower medication sacrifice your sanity. As you look at the pros and cons between different pet medications, aspects like the wait to obtain it from the pharmacy, the side effects it can cause, and how many doses are necessary are important. Make sure to maintain a balance of cost effectiveness and convenience when choosing the right medication take home. My family found the middle ground and were happy we weren’t breaking the bank to help our little guy out.
Have A Healthy Pet
The compounding veterinary pharmacies that are available can treat a variety of problems, so there’s no reason to stress if your pet happens to fall ill. My best advice is to stay calm throughout and assess what your choices are to make sure they can feel healthier again. If they end up using a traditional medicine with success, that’s great! However, if they don’t react well, the process of compounding can fix that situation so they don’t have a problem. It doesn’t take long to know what your resources are and reaching out to your local vet in advance of such an issue is a great way to gain better insight!
