How To Give a Pill To a Dog

Most hogs hate swallowing medicines. Some dogs may spit out the pill. Just as with human medication, dog pills come in different shapes and sizes. You may be lucky and have tiny pills, or you may be unlucky and be stuck with horse-sized pills. Regardless, most likely the pills are not flavored, so giving them may be an arduous task.

The easiest way to give your dog a pill is to hide the pill in food. This usually works best if you hide it in a special treat such as a small amount of canned dog food, peanut butter, or cheese. Soft treats are also available that can be used to hide the pill by molding the treat around it.

Easy Tips on Giving Pills to your Dog

Understand and Follow Directions

When medicating a sick dog, your first responsibility is to make sure you understand the directions given. One pill twice a day is not the same thing as giving two pills once a day. Additional notations may warn about the dangers of combining certain medications or direct you to give Charlie his pills on an empty stomach—or conversely, right after a meal.

Wash Your Hands

Your dog’s sensitive snout can smell the pill on your hands. Once he has the scent, your clever pup is more likely to figure out where you have hidden it.

So, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling your dog’s medication. A soapy rinse under warm running water will do it!

Use Dog Pill Pockets

While pill pockets for dogs might not always be the healthiest option, they offer a convenient, pet-friendly choice for many pet owners to hide and successfully administer medications to their pets.

Pill pockets are specifically designed to be tasty and appealing to dogs. They come in dozens of flavors, making it convenient to rotate flavors and find what your pet’s favorite is.

Compounded Medications

Sometimes you can opt for a flavored compounded medication or a chewable “treat” tablet. This works well for dogs that don’t like to swallow their pills. However, these medications can be more expensive — depending on the drug — and your veterinarian may caution against compounding certain drugs because it could impact their effectiveness. Also, medications are not always compounded at every pharmacy. Ask your veterinarian to guide you to pharmacies that are noted for compounding medications.

Use Treats

By giving your dog multiple treats without a pill, he will be more likely to ignore the food with a pill in it.

For best results, keep the treat the same. For example, if you are using pill pockets to hide the pill, then the other treats you throw at your dog should be pill pockets too.

The treats should be small enough that your dog can easily swallow them in a single gulp. If your dog can’t he may pause to chew, which may reveal the pill hidden inside. If you have a small dog, you will need a small treat.

Give it just before their daily walk

Many dogs can’t contain their excitement when they know that you’re about to walk them. Because they’re distracted, this is an opportune time to give your dog a pill. You can give it as soon as you step out the door, or maybe at the park where he’ll be busy looking at the surroundings. Remember to bring some treats with you so you can use them together with the pill.

Contact Your Vet

If all else fails and your dog will not take pills, enlist the help of a well trained animal behaviorist or a vet