# Can dogs have marmite?



## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

I appreciate it's very salty, but do you think a tiny smear once or twice a day would do any harm to a 30kg GSD with liver issues and the world's most sensitive stomach?

Due to current pancreatitis, he's on a huge amount of pills and potions, and we've had to trim the volume of wet food that we used to add to his kibble to hide his pills in. 

I'm replacing some of his 9% fat Sensitivity Control with plaint white fish and rice at the moment - just to bring the fat content down further and early days as to whether his stomach can actually tolerate it - and adding a spoon of Chappie to hide the pills in, but he's grown very suspicious of the yucky bitter pills hiding in lumps of fish and has started to carefully chew and examine anything I give him really, really carefully. Add to this the fact his appetite is compromised because of pancreatitis and I'm starting to get really stressed about getting his twice daily selection of medications into him.

We already have to force-feed his liver supplement down the back of his throat, but I don't want to do it with the other 6 pills that he can have with food.

He's grown wise to the 2 or 3 plain bits of food I give him first before the hidden pill as he dumps everything on the floor, examines it and then eats it, even the scrummiest things he used to eat, but a tiny smear of marmite worked like a dream last night!


----------



## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Be fine, rich in Vitamin B complex which can only be a good thing, a tiny bit each day is not going to be harmful.


----------



## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for such a quick response. I did scrutinise the ingredients closely first, and apart from the salt I couldn't see anything that might do any harm.

Hopefully it'll get us over the dodgy appetite period and he'll start to trust that I'm not trying to poison him all the time.


----------



## Halifu (Jan 22, 2012)

My dogs have always had a little bit of my toast in the mornings with marmite for many yrs.
All have lived long & healthy lives


----------



## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

marmite was always one of my standby pill disguisers. Found the best advice is to have a selection of coatings & chop and change regularly


----------



## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Any suggestions for any other low fat but strong flavoured alternatives? We've even had to change his glucosamine supplement as it was the bacon flavoured ProTreats from VetsUK which they've confirmed are very high fat. No wonder he used to beg for them  

I always used to wrap anything particularly bitter in a small amount of slightly warmed cheese and it used to just go down whole, but we still have this issue of him testing everything by gingerly crunching first nowadays. And cheese is just fat in a solid form really so that's out now too.

Any suggestions for anything low fat but still gooey and strong flavoured? White fish simply doesn't stick!


----------



## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

I used to squash flat a small piece of fresh white bread smear of spread/butter, so it sticks round the pill. Then on the bread would use any of the following

jam
marmite
cheese spread
pate
brie
peanut butter
those little jars of sandwich spread beef/salmon etc
squashed tinned sardines (messy though)

Do you try the have 3 pieces trick? giving same thing with no pill and then one with pill?


----------



## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for those ideas - the jam is certainly an idea but the others are too high in fat for his pancreatitis I'm afraid.

And yes, we've tried the 3 treat method. We've even tried the 15 treat method! But he's examining everything really closely now - even the usual treat bits of kibble I have always given him in the evening.

I did try throwing things to him. He's a bit of a rubbish catch, but has always immediately swallowed anything he caught before. Nowadays he catches most things first go, dumps them on the floor, carefully examines them, licks them a bit, and only if it's not remotely tainted does he actually eat them, crunching them gingerly just in case.

I can see how the idea of rotating flavours will work though. If I just use marmite then obviously he'll get put off that the first time he crunches it but if I keep a few things in rotation then maybe I can keep him guessing.

Who said an old dog couldn't learn


----------



## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

As you say the crunch is the problem I think, once they accidently bite into the pill and get the horrid taste they get wary. I don't envy you with all those pills, it was our previous dog we only had to give one pill a day but it was huge and plastic coated. Couldn't do the pill at back of tongue thing he would have bit my hand off I think


----------



## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

I've decided to reserve a portion of his kibble and coat it in a variety of things and give them to him at varying times of the day, with no warning and no routine.

With any luck this might desensitise him a little to treats always having pills in, and as long as I use some of his daily ration of kibble, and only use the teeniest amount of flavoured coating, I won't end up over feeding him.

I've also thought of a way that I can get white fish to stick. I'm going to whizz it up in a blender with some of his kibble, also crushed/powdered to make a nice gooey mess. Yeuch. But if it works it'll be worth it.

If only we didn't have to contend with extra low fat, plus extra sensitive tummy the range of stuff would be so much wider. But then again without all those other things I doubt he'd need so many pills in the first place.

Jam seems popular by the way. I'm perpetually on a diet so I make 'fridge jam' which is just cooked fruit with half a sachet of sugar free jelly so it's not even that sugary for him, but once I'd given him a taste on the end of my finger he followed me around drooling.


----------



## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

There are lower salt alternatives to Marmite. Vegemite is one, there are others - but in tiny amounts it won't make much difference.


----------



## Kittenfostermummy (Jul 25, 2011)

What about baby food? Apple sauce?? Good luck on the hunt xx


----------



## Phoenix11 (Jan 8, 2017)

I used to have one dog who had to have his pill drilled into a Malteser. Even when he watched me do the preparation he still ate it. 
Another, Flicker, would eat anything I was eating. His meds would be put on the end of a slice of bread and Golden Lyle. I would eat half and Flicker would wolf his medicated half.
Mali used to have a cod liver oil pill daily, referred to as his fish pill. As he enjoyed it he did not spit it back up and if we needed to give him any meds we would just tell him to come and get his fish pill. He always took it.
Our current dog, *****, has his pill sandwiched in cheese or a sausage which works quite well. He has usually caught and swallowed whatever without tasting it. Result.
Find what works for you, and I wish you the best of luck.


----------



## Jazzybird (Mar 7, 2013)

Our Labradors have Marmite every day and they both love it. In small doses on toast of course


----------



## Darkangelwitch (Mar 16, 2016)

We push tablets into a strawberry usually goes down really well


----------

