We’ve two little Shih Tzu dogs, Milly an Molly.

Now they’re getting older, they need to take more tablets, but as they’ve aged they’ve got smarter. A while back, a piece of cheese or ham was sufficient to disguise the tablet. They’d take it without trouble. Now, they’ll eat cheese all day long, but the tablet will always be spat out onto the floor. They even look smug when they do it!

I trawled the internet looking for suggestions and they all seem to give the same advice … disguise it in food.

I eventually found this video.

Perfect dog taking a tablet

His ideas are almost there, but have you ever seen a better behaved dog? He pops the tablet in and the dog is already swallowing the thing!

As our vet said, the trouble with Shih Tzu’s is they have a short snout and a lot of tongue inside. The chances of forcing a pill in are really quite slim. So I’ve modified the suggestions and combined the ideas to make the perfect dog tablet bomb!

Make a Tablet Bomb:

I think this is a fish knife, but it is slim and sharp.

A decent sized hotdog sausage makes six bombs. I need to use six, three pieces for each dog, A taster, the bomb and the treat. Even if its only one dog needs the tablet, they both get the same to stop them getting suspicious.

Peanut butter! I tried it on its own, but that didn’t work. We ended up with it every where and they still managed to get the tablet out. However …

Slice the sausage into suitable sized pieces

Hollow out each piece (they all need to be done!)

Hide the tablet inside one (and keep a note which one has it.)

And seal them all using the peanut butter!

By the time they realise there is a tablet in there, the peanut butter has it stuck to the roof of their mouth. Plus the temptation of the third piece waiting is irresistible.  They swallow the tablet and beg for more.

Two months on and I’ve not had a problem with this method.

Hope it helps!

I’ve been a back pain sufferer for almost as long as I can remember. If I let up on my regime of exercise I can guarantee I will only manage a few days before I regret it.

I tried using an exercise ball as a chair, but in honesty it didn’t seem to help much and it took over my small office. When it had a run-in with my seven year old grandson and a letter opener I decided not to replace it.

There was an article in the press recently about how people benefit from standing for a period each day. Not that easy when you spend 99% of the day at a keyboard. Undeterred and feeling I wanted to try it, I searched the internet for various devices. There are hugely expensive electric desks that will rise and lower. I could have used a pile of books and boxes, but with my wife’s new minimalist approach to clutter that wouldn’t last. Ikea claim to have a full range of office equipment to suit, but as their website requires time to load and I have the patience of a bear with a burr in his fur, I gave up on them.

There are items similar to this on Amazon, but as a sucker for a good promo video I opted for a slightly more expensive one from Backpain.com. The booklet that comes with it shows people using their computer, sitting, lying, kneeling and standing. It all looks quite exhausting!

In truth, I doubt I will ever know if this is helping, because as I said earlier, if I’m diligent with my exercises, I can go for months without a twinge. What I can say is that for the last few mornings I’ve woken up feeling as if I’ve slightly overdone the sit ups. (Overdone as in done some!)

It’s supposed to burn 25- 50% more calories (than what isn’t stated) therefore, I can allow myself a few more thought-inspiring nibbles. Which, as I am currently working on the kitchen table are all too easy to succumb to.