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  1. #1
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Throw the Gel Caps Out?

    I'm opening some gel caps to distribute the contents on Oban's food. It's fiddly to interrupt food preparation to put the empty caps in the garbage can. Heck, it must take me two steps left, two back right and it takes both hands. So sometimes I put the empty caps in his dish. Bad? Can I continue to be efficient but lazy? I think the only thing wrong with them is they might not digest quickly enough for the contents to get into a dog's system?

  2. #2
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    That's what I always did when I opened up gel caps (now just throw the caps in whole). I figured that anything left inside was better off in the dogs' stomachs than in the trash even if the cap didn't dissolve all the way.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I don't see any problem. If you weren't disbursing the contents, he'd be getting the capsule anyway, it probably takes a few extra minutes for the gel cap to dissolve, but it's probably designed to dissolve within the 20-30 minutes that it usually takes for food to move from the stomach to the intestines. Some pill coverings are meant to allow the medication to pass through the stomach to be absorbed in the small intestine, such as time-released medications. As long as it's OK for the contents to be sprinkled over food and taken like that, I don't think it would be a problem.
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  4. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Hmmm, I think I will try throwing the whole gelcap in when I first mix up the food. Oban is still getting digestive enzymes on his food and after mixing them in the food has to sit for 15 minutes. It's torture for the poor dog. The food is cold out of the fridge so we put his stainless steel dish on a stove element on low just to take the chill off for the 15 minute wait time. I never have tested a gelcap to see how long it takes to dissolve.

  5. #5
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowshoe View Post
    I never have tested a gelcap to see how long it takes to dissolve.
    You'd probably have to test it in a solution with a pH similar to the gastric acids in a dog's stomach, or at least one that is more acidic than water. Vinegar and lemon juice have a pH of about 2, beer or wine about 4, water is 7. I can't find anything that says what a dog's gastric pH is, looks like it varies more than humans and is slightly less acidic than a human's.

    Kids I've seen with cystic fibrosis take digestive enzymes just before eating and they take the capsules whole if they can swallow them. If the enzymes are meant to be taken with the meal rather than on an empty stomach, I'd just throw the whole thing in or sprinkle on the enzymes and throw the empty capsule in along with everything else.

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  7. #6
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    I've always just thrown the capsule in with the food. If you're heating up Oban's a little, I would wait until ready to give him before tossing in the cap. They are made to dissolve in the tummy.

  8. #7
    Senior Dog Blackboy98's Avatar
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    Dog's stomach (empty) PH of 1 is what I read in a study. If the cap is made of gelatin, that should dissolve quickly in warm water. Why not place in a small bowl with warm water, see if they start to break down, then give to him while waiting for the meal.
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