Do you have trouble giving your dog pills? Lily has had to take a few lately. I’ve been lucky that my dogs either don’t notice the pills in food or I can just put it on the back of their tongue and get them to swallow it. Below are some tips and tricks on how to get your dog to take a pill.

The go to when giving pills to your doggo is introducing it to their food in some way.

Hide the pill in:

• Cheese
• Peanut Butter
• Hot dog pieces
• Braunschweiger
• Any kind of smelly meat, really
• Mixed in with their kibble

 

When you put the pills in food you can also play the game where you give them a couple pieces of the treat without the the pill first so they don’t suspect it. Remember some pills have a smell dogs can smell through the food. You may need to wash your hands in between handling the pill and giving it to your pup to disguise the smell.

 

What if they aren’t fooled by these? There are a couple things you can try:

• Put the pill on the back of their tongue, hold their mouth closed, and massage their throat until they swallow. You can also blow in their nose lightly to get them to swallow. You have to be careful with this method as you could accidentally get bitten.

 

• There are also Pill Pockets by Greenies that you can hide the pills in. They have different flavors depending on your dog’s preference if they are picky.

 

• Tomlyn Pill-Masker is used as a paste that you can use to mask the taste of the pill. This is great when you have a larger pill as you can use as much as you need to cover any shape of a pill.

 

• The biggest thing to remember is to catch your dog at the right moment. If your pup is easily distracted, choose that moment as they won’t see the pill coming.

 

 

Have a great week!

Love,

Jess & Lily