12 Tricks to Give Your Dog Pills
Read on to learn some tricks on getting your dog to eat its pills.
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Is There a Foolproof Way to Give Dogs Pills?
So you need to give your dog a pill, and you are looking for some tricks of the trade. No worries, you are not alone! Many, many dog owners have the same problem! Indeed, when I worked for an animal hospital, we often had appointments just for this purpose.
Yes, dogs and cats were coming to see us just to get their pills! The dog owners were so desperate they were willing to pay a fee just so we could administer pills to their finicky dogs and cats! This wasn't a bad idea, after all. Many dogs and cats may and will put up a fight when they don't want to ingest pills.
Pills Are Too Bitter
For starters, some pills just taste awful. You can't just tell a dog to take the pill in his mouth and wash it down with a big gulp of water. If you don't know how to give pills to your dog, most likely, you are making him taste them—which will cause him to categorically spit them out. Once your dog discovers you are trying to give him a pill, he will likely give you distance-increasing signals and disappear in thin air.
Scared Dogs Bite
Hunting him down with a pill in your hand is a daunting and unnerving task. It leads to problems. Your dog may become defensive, which can lead to a bite. Often this happens when your dog is in a corner with no way out or under a bed as his flight option (ability to flee) is taken away.
Trying to pull him out from under a bed is unsafe, and so is chasing him down and cornering him. Of course, this doesn't apply to all dogs—many dogs have higher bite thresholds than others—but keep in a corner of your mind that any dog (yes, even the angelic ones with halos over their heads) will bite in certain circumstances.
12 Tricks to Give Dogs Pills
- Cheese Balls
- Hot Dogs
- Meatballs
- Liverwurst
- Creamy Textures
- Savory Sprinkles
- Pill Pockets
- Several Treats in a Row
- Desensitize to Surprises
- Pill Gun
- Force the Pill Down
- Pet Pharmacist
Among the best foods to hide dog pills in, meat and cheese consistently rank 1 and 2 for a reason.
12 Tricks to Hide Dog Pills
So, your veterinarian prescribed pills for your dog. Just as with human medication, animal 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.
Most likely the pills are not flavored, so giving them may be an arduous task. No worries! There are several tricks of the trade, and I will also share some ideas I have come up with when pilling my dogs. Here are several:
1. Make Cheese Balls
Does your dog love cheese? If so, your dog will love this trick. In this case, you'll roll up your dog's pills in slices of American cheese and close the edges so the pill is undetected. This works well with most dogs, but at times, the cheese may unroll in their mouth and your dog will detect the pill. Afterward, they may get finicky and will not even want the cheese anymore because they associate it with the bitter taste.
As a better option, try making cheese balls. I just came up with this the other day. As I was about to pill a dog, I was boarding him and sent him out briefly to potty with the cheese in my pocket. Being almost 100 degrees as it often turns out to be in sunny Arizona, the cheese softened to such a degree that it was the consistency of play-dough. I placed the pill in the middle and made a tight ball.
We then did some training exercises, and he was rewarded with cheese balls, which he readily ate. So, if you want to try cheese balls, leave the cheese out of the fridge for some time and warm it up, keeping the sealed slices between your hands. That should do the trick to make it as soft as play-dough.
Note: There are some medications that shouldn't be taken with any dairy products such as cheese. This info may be on the label or accompanying medical leaflet, but not always. Ask your vet before trying this trick.
2. Make Meatballs
You can make your pooch some fun-to-eat meatballs. In this case, you can soak some dry kibble in water and then grind it up until you can make some "meatballs" to hide the pill in. If you feed raw, just make a meatball with ground meat.
Another option is to use canned food to make the meatball or some meat-based baby food with no onion or garlic in it mixed with some ground kibble to make it more dense. You can get creative here and use anything your dog likes, grind it up, and then add the ground kibble to get the right consistency. For a special touch, roll the meatballs in the ground kibble.
3. Use Chunks of Hot Dogs
Most dogs won't turn down hot dogs. In this case, you'll need a big enough chunk to hide the pill. The video above shows you exactly how that's done, along with several other helpful tips.
This method works well for dogs who gulp down hot dogs, no questions asked. However, the disadvantage is that often, parts of the pill may stick out of the hot dog, which will be readily detected. You can't make hot dog balls like with the cheese, so hot dogs may or may not work out.
Remember: If the dog detects the pill, he may lose trust and then become suspicious of any future tricks. In the next paragraph, we will look at how to remedy this.
4. Provide Irresistible Liverwurst
Many dogs go bonkers over liverwurst. What exactly is liverwurst, though? Liverwurst is often confused with other types of deli meat and sausages that may have similar-sounding names but are totally different products. Differentiating them is important.
Liverwurst, also known as leberwurst or liver sausage, is a popular food in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Denmark. As the name liver sausage implies, liverwurst is a type of sausage made out of liver. In the Midwest, liverwurst is also referred to as Braunschweiger.
Now, not all liverwurst is crafted equally. In the USA, many types of liverwurst are spreadable and contain pig or calf liver and sometimes even a variety of spices, so it's important to read the label carefully before feeding it to your dog. In general, avoid liverwurst containing onion.
Veterinarian Dr. Rebecca suggests trying liverwurst to get dogs to take their pills. She claims: "the best way I know to get a dog to take distasteful medication is to put it in liverwurst. It can be formed around the pill."
However, everything in moderation. Liverwurst is quite rich and may bother certain dogs with sensitive tummies. In small dogs, consider that the fat content in liverwurst can potentially trigger a bout of pancreatitis.
If meat and cheese aren't available, it's hard to go wrong with peanut butter. However, please avoid sugar-free peanut butter because it contains xylitol, which is toxic to dogs.
5. Create Creamy Textures
Foods with a creamy texture can also help camouflage a pill and transform it into a tasty treat. In this case, we're talking about things like peanut butter, plain pumpkin, and cream cheese. Veterinarian Karen Becker also suggests using coconut oil to hide pills.
These work well because they are sticky, so it's hard for the dog to separate the pills from the creamy texture. Most likely, the dog will just take it all together and gulp the whole concoction down.
Note: If you use peanut butter, make sure to avoid the sugar-free versions made with xylitol. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs!
6. Use Savory Sprinkles
If you want to try this option, make sure you read the medication's label and instructions carefully, and if in doubt, ask your vet. Some medications should not be crushed, and capsules should not be opened as they can do harm this way.
If your vet gives you the OK to crush the pill or open the capsule, you can sprinkle it on your dog's kibble in hopes he just eats it all. However, consider that you may lose a pill this way if your dog refuses to eat his food and that he may leave some food behind, and this will prevent him from having the full dose he needs.
A better option is to mix the powdered pill with the dog's canned food. Most dogs love canned food, and since it is sticky, it will be difficult for him to separate pill particles from the food.
7. Invest in Pill Pockets
Alternatively, if you don't like to feed people food and are looking for a healthier option, you can try pill pockets. These are sold at the vet's office or at your favorite pet store. They consist of hollow treats in different flavors that can be filled with the pill and then closed.
There are pill pockets made for capsules and pill pockets made for tablets. Flavors to choose from consist of Chicken, Peanut Butter, or Hickory Smoke.
8. Feed Your Dog Several Treats in a Row
So, your dog was always great at taking his pills well hidden in some cheese, and now, suddenly, he casually discovered that there's a pill inside. If so, he may start getting all suspicious, carefully sniffing the cheese as if he lost trust.
To help him overcome the problem, give him several pieces of cheese in a row without the pill. Start with small pieces that your dog can visibly see there's nothing inside. Then, make them bigger and bigger and shape them as if the pill were inside. Once he's taking these, casually add the piece of cheese with the pill inside, immediately followed by one without it.
Giving a piece of cheese immediately after the one with the pill will help him gulp the pill down in his eagerness to get the next piece of cheese. It doesn't hurt to do this exercise sometimes if you have a dog who gets suspicious every now and then.
Give like five treats in a row, and then randomly mixed-in, give one with the pill followed by one without it. If your dog is used to you tossing treats as a game, toss his pill hidden in food as well. Many dogs are so eager to catch the food that they'll just swallow quickly in hopes of continuing the game.
9. Desensitize to Surprises
Many dogs are smart enough to start chewing Pill Pockets or meatballs because they have discovered that a pill hides in the middle. What to do in such cases?
My veterinarian, who has often dealt with challenging cases, suggested one astute strategy: Feed my dog every now and then Pill Pockets with kibble hiding inside. As the dog chews down, he learns that there's nothing inside to worry about, and he'll soon go back to gulping it down. In the midst of these kibble-based Pill Pockets, you can then deliver one with the real pill inside followed by a kibble-based Pill Pocket.
10. Use a Pill Gun
Don't feel like manually forcing a pill down? You can employ a pill gun. This tool is simply a sort of syringe that will deliver the pill without the need to stick your hands in your dog's mouth. Watch the video above for an expert demonstration.
11. Force the Pill Down
This is when things get difficult. Your dog is sick and has lost his appetite, but it's very important that he has his pill as his medicine should help him get better so his appetite comes back. Or your dog has allergies and is on a strict diet, and you can't give the pill in a treat.
In this case, you have several options, but your dog won't likely love them. See the video below on how to accomplish this without food.
The first option is just that, forcing the pill down. In this case, you'll kneel down at your dog's level and hold his muzzle with one hand upwards, facing the ceiling. With the other hand, you'll pry the mouth open and push the pill as back as possible.
Afterwards, massage the dog's throat to encourage swallowing. Praise and pet your dog to reward him.It's very important to check if your dog actually swallowed the pill. Some dogs are artists in this and will hide the pill in their mouth and spit it out later when you're not looking.
Possible Negative Repercussions
There's no denying the fact that fighting your dog to get him to ingest his pills is not a pleasant task. It could also affect your future interactions with your dog. If you forcefully open your dog's mouth to push that pill down his throat, a time may come when he won't allow you to touch his mouth area anymore.
He'll likely say, "Hasta la vista, baby!" and turn his head the other way. This may translate into difficult future veterinary exams when his mouth needs to be checked. So, how can you make giving pills a more pleasant task? There are several tricks of the trade. We will see several options in the next paragraph, along with some tricks and options to muffle that awful taste.