5 Tips for Giving Pills to Your Dog

There comes a time in every pet parents life when your dog is going to be prescribed some sort of medication. Many dogs make giving them a pill a workout and since they’re so smart, tricking them can be difficult. Before giving up and deeming it impossible, here are five tips for getting your dog to easily swallow a pill. 

Pill Pockets

A lot of the time, hiding the pill in some peanut butter, meat, or cheese will get a dog to take a pill with ease and they won’t even realize it happened! But for those super tricky pups, a pill pocket may be a better alternative. Pill pockets are super moldable, allowing you to easily hide the pill inside. They also smell delicious, to dogs, and taste even better, so they may work better than your typical piece of deli meat. 

Make It A Game

Get out multiple treats and start having your dog perform tricks or simply tossing them in the air for your pup to catch. Once they’re excited and waiting for the next treat, throw the pill into the mix, hidden with a treat. They’ll most likely be too focused on getting more treats to even notice!

Distract Them

Take your dog on a walk or car ride and during the journey give them a treat along with their medication. They’ll probably be distracted by the new sights and smells surrounding them and won’t even notice you added something extra to their treat. 

Competition

If you have multiple dogs in the house, gather them all around for some treats. They’ll all be focused on eating their treats faster than the others that you’ll easily be able to sneak in the medication. 

Note: if you have food aggressive dogs do not use this method

Pill Them

If all else fails and your dog is still outsmarting you, pilling them may be your best bet. To pill a dog, open their jaw and place the medication in the back of their throat and then close their jaw and hold it closed while their head is lifted up. You can massage the front of their neck or blow on their face to encourage them to swallow.