How to Give a Dog a Pill: 7 Tricks to Get Your Uncooperative Dog to Take a Pill
Your puppy is sick, and your vet prescribed him a couple of tablets. Your dog is always happy, excited, and full of energy, but when it comes to taking a pill, suddenly it becomes a battle between you two. Yes, this happens with many pet owners. They find it challenging to give their dog a pill. Let’s see how to give a dog a pill?
So whether your dog is not feeling well or these pills are just your puppy’s daily dietary supplements, don’t worry about whether he’ll eat the tablet or not. Because today we’re going to tell you how to give a dog a pill.
Most dogs hate the smell, taste, and swallowing pills (even sometimes we hated it too!). They become quite stubborn when it comes to eating a pill. So…How to get a dog to take a pill? Surely there will be an easier way. Keep reading to learn the best tricks for getting your uncooperative furry friend to take his pills.
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7 Simple Ways to Give a Dog a Pill
Below are seven easy methods by which dog will eat his pills and will never know how you give them:
1. Mix it in with your Dog’s Meal
This is probably the most common way to give your dog a pill. Every time you give your puppy a meal, just hide the pill inside it. But avoiding kibbling or crumbling the food, because if your dog is clever, he’ll immediately spot the pill.
Try with canned dog foods because a can of dog food can do a lot!! Just push the pill into the canned food, and it will mask the smell and taste of the tablet. Does your puppy like to eat from a slow dog bowl? This time give him food in an ordinary bowl. This way, he will gulp the food, and there will be fewer chances that he’ll notice the pill that you have hidden inside his food.
But do you have many dogs? If yes, then make sure that you’ve hidden the right medicine in the right dog’s meal.
This is the easiest way to give him medication, but some dogs are smart enough to eat around it. They’ll lick every small piece of their food but leave behind the pill. Pretty frustrating, right? Don’t worry; still, there are many ways to do this.
2. Hide the Pill in a Treat
What is the one thing that every dog is crazy about? Treats…right? In the battle of giving your dog a pill, this will be your ultimate weapon. Just hide it in the treat and throw it. You doggo will catch and eat it without even realizing anything.
But make sure that you carefully seal the pill in the treats because if he feels or smells it, he will refuse to eat it. So try to use the smellier and tastier foods so that he will not resist himself to eat it.
3. Pill Pockets
If you find it challenging to seal pills in your dog’s food or treats, try pill pockets. They’re treats that come with built-in pouches, where you can easily hide the medicine. This is the most hassle-free way to conceal dog pills. They’re specially designed to cover the smell and unpleasant flavor of the bitter pills.
Just load one treat or pill pocket with pills and then pinch the pocket closed. Your dog will happily eat it and will never know that you gave him medicine. Brilliant idea, right? You can also break these pill pockets into chunks and use a single pill pocket on up to 6 pills as they came in various sizes.
4. Crush it Up
If the above three ways didn’t work for your dog (he is undoubtedly a clever boy!), but this method will definitely work. Crush the pills! Yes, because crushed tablets can be more natural to hide than solid ones.
To do this, first, you need to crush the pill into a fine powder. You can use a pestle and mortar, rolling pin, or even hammer…whatever works for you. There are also various pill crushers available in the market; you can also use them.
But crushing a pill is not the main motive. The main thing is, how do you give it to your puppy, right? Well, one way is to mix it in his food, but what if he smells the pill and rejects the entire food. This happens commonly with bitter medicines, so don’t crush those bitter pills into his food. But what’s another way of giving your dog a pill?
For that, you may have noticed that every dog has a habit of licking his paws. So smear the paste on his paws, he couldn’t resist himself from doing this, and when he does, he’ll ultimately medicate himself.
5. It’s Pill time Or Walks Time!!
You already know this thing that every single time you say words like “ Walk” or “Park,” your doggo is filled with so much excitement. Because whenever he is outside, he gets distracted by the various sights, smells, and people, which makes it difficult for him to focus on one thing. And this is the best time for you to give him a pill.
You mostly carry your puppy’s favorite treats with you whenever you take him on a walk, but this time carry one extra thing, and that is his medicines. But at what time should you give your dog the pill? Give it when he is most distracted.
6. Pretend to Eat it
What is the tastiest thing in the world for dogs? Whatever you are eating. You already know about this habit of your puppy. He’ll keep staring at you until you finish your meal. But why we’re reminding you about this thing is because you can take advantage of your dog’s obsession with human food.
All you need to do is to “pretend” that you’re eating a portion of tasty food. Ideally, your dog will start staring at you, and he’ll not resist himself from tasting the food. Make sure to pretend that you’re really eating it and also don’t forget to fake chew.
As soon as your dog will start to waggle his tail and want to eat this delicious food, give it to him. He will gulp it without taking a minute.
7. Use your Hand
All the above methods rely on foods, but what if your doggy is smart enough to identify the pill in the food and then refuse to eat it? Well, you have to give a pill to your dog, so the last option is to use your hand and put a tablet in your dog’s throat.
It may sound harsh, but it is easy and don’t worry, you won’t harm your dog. This is the same trick which most of the vets use. Some pet owners also use pill guns. If you don’t know what it is, a gun pill is a useful tool by which you can force-feed a tablet to your canine.
Speak to Your Vet
Before you try any of the above methods, first, you should speak to your vet. The reason is that it depends on medicines. Many pills are advised not to break them into pieces or crush them. For example, Keppra, a seizure medication, should never be broken into pieces, and Antibiotics like amoxicillin and clindamycin should never be crushed into a powder.
So it’s good to take advice from the vet about what is the best way to give your dog his specific pills. Even nowadays, pet medicine came in various flavors so that animals don’t even guess that it’s a pill.
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