Is getting a dog to take a pill like pulling teeth, or is pulling teeth like getting a dog to take a pill? Dog parents who’ve tried to get their furry friend to take their medicine might tell you there’s no difference!
Keeping your dog healthy sometimes requires a lot of work, from finding quality foods that picky eaters will go wild for, to getting the right amount of exercise and, of course, taking medications. For many pet parents, making an animal eat something that is not food (or a pair of socks, or shoes, or anything else your furry friend decides is a chew toy that day) is a challenge, to say the least.
One way or another, dogs who need their medications orally will need to swallow something that they instinctively know is not real food--this is no easy feat! In this brief guide, we’ll take a look at a few ways to get your beloved beast to swallow their medicine, (including capsules, tablets, and liquid medications) whether or not they’re willing to eat something at the time.
Quick Tips
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Be ready to try multiple methods - all animals are different, with different preferences and tendencies. You may have to experiment with or rotate between a range of methods before one finally sticks.
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Try not to get discouraged - it is not easy to get dogs to eat things that they don’t want to, hence this entire article! Staying calm and optimistic will rub off on your pup and increase your odds of getting the job done with less stress.
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Give rewards once it’s over - reinforce behaviors you’d like to see in your dog. Even if it was difficult to do, once the medicine is swallowed, be sure to reward your buddy quickly with their favorite treats…and don’t be stingy.
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Deception is your friend - while not always possible, the most agreeable way to get your dog to ingest their medication is to disguise it within food they otherwise enjoy. Start with some basics like hiding the pills among your dog’s daily kibble, then branch out into combining it with higher-value treats.
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Using new environments can help - while on an outing like a walk or a trip to the park, dogs can get distracted and you may be able to hide it in a treat that they wouldn’t take at home.
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Make sure they swallow the medication - the firmness and texture of whole pills often contrast with foods you may hide them in. Dogs are sensitive to these changes and may eat the food around the pill, and hide or spit out the pill itself. But that’s ok, you just need to try again or switch it up!
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Consult your veterinarian - there may be restrictions on how an animal should take their prescriptions. Some can be crushed up and put into food, while others must be taken whole. Some may require food be ingested with the medication, while others might need to be taken on an empty stomach. Additionally, some techniques, like giving high-value (and often high-calorie) treats, may go against your dog’s suggested dietary plan.
Disguise the Medication
Most dogs are food-motivated at some level. This is one of the prime elements of a canine’s nature that dog parents can take advantage of when the day rolls around to “pill o’clock”. Grounded in the sage advice to “keep it simple,” the best way to get your dog to take their medicine is to incorporate it into established feeding routines when they’re most hungry and in anticipation of food.
Serve Crushable Medications with Mealtime
If the medication can be crushed into food served at mealtimes, you may be in for some smooth sailing. However, many dogs will use their powerful noses to sniff out this ruse and refuse to eat food that has been mixed up with medications that may smell or taste different from what they’re accustomed. Before trying something else, you might add something to the meal that helps disguise the taste and smell of the medication further, like freeze-dried meal mixers and toppers, or some wet dog food. Other options to hide crushed medicine in mealtime dog foods include:
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Adding some pumpkin puree with dry food - just be sure not to feed Fido pumpkin pie mix by mistake!
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Moisten dry food with bone broth - this will help disguise flavors and smells and help the dry medicine to stick to dry food.
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Marie’s Magical Dinner Dust from Stella & Chewy’s line of freeze-dried raw meal toppers is a delicious natural add-on for all types of doggy bowls, and it visually hides any trace of powdery medications within.
Hide Whole Pills in Treats
Some tablet and capsule medications can’t be crushed up and served with foods. These are often long-acting or delayed release tablets meant to slowly administer their effects. Crushing those types may mean an unintended rapid release of the medication which can cause negative side-effects and may actually make them harder to convince a dog to take, due to their flavor or odor.
In these cases, serving up medication inside a soft type of treat can do the trick. Finding healthy and chewy dog treats with a strong flavor and odor can act as a perfect vehicle for hiding pills, since your dog will be too excited for their favorite treat to notice. Pet parents may also find dog treats specifically made for hiding pills inside, which work too.
Still, some clever dogs may be able to tell that something’s amiss with their normal fun-time treat if you try to slip a tablet or capsule inside. In those cases, it may be wise to up the ante a bit and serve them something a bit more special. Healthy human foods are easy to find and serve as a great special treat in which your dog may ignore a secret pill in order to eat. Some great options include:
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Cheese - dogs love it, it’s malleable which makes it good for hiding pills!As long as it’s not certain types (aged, blue cheeses, garlic cheeses) that are too high in fat and calories, and your dog isn’t lactose intolerant, this can be a game-changer. We specifically recommend:
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Mozarella
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Mild cheddar
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Colby
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Cottage cheese
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Fruits - some dogs like fruits and veggies more than others, but softer fruits like bananas, strawberries, and pumpkin can work to disguise hidden pills.
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Eggs - plain hard boiled eggs are easy to make in bunches and serve as a good hiding spot for pills. They’re good sources of protein and many dogs love them.
For Doggy Detectives: Decoy Treats
Some of our more clever four-legged friends may know what’s up and will figure out that they’re being “pilled” when they’re given treats. In those cases, assembled balls of treats and pills may get disassembled quickly while the pill remains uneaten. A little trickery can work here too!
For dogs that catch on to the pill-wrapped-in-a-treat gambit, you could try to give multiple treats in series, where the second of four contains the pill. Make sure your dog knows you’re holding a whole bunch of treats that they will be getting all of in quick succession. Give them the first empty treat for a taste to establish trust. Second, you slip them the treat with the pill inside, rapidly followed by one to two pill-less “chasers” that force them to swallow the treat with the pill if they want the others. Hopefully by the time they’ve eaten one or two of the decoys, their guard will be down and the one with the pill will go down without a fuss, especially when followed by the bribery of more!
Still having trouble? Talk to your Vet
Regardless of age, some dogs just don’t seem to fall for new tricks. As dog parents, we need to remember that convincing certain individuals to take a pill is fairly unnatural and an uphill battle; but it’s only a failure if you stop trying.
When all else fails, consulting your veterinarian about ways to get dogs their needed medications may be the only way. In some cases, medications can be liquified or suspended in liquid so that they can be taken in liquid form - which is much easier.
Possible Alternative: Liquid Medications
Liquid medications can be squirted in the space between the dog’s cheek and teeth which can be opened using the thumb of your non-dominant hand. Once this is done, simply hold the mouth closed and softly massage the throat until the dog swallows. Again, blowing on the nose can be a helpful trick to encourage swallowing.
Whether it's antibiotics, monthly flea/worm treatments or daily anxiety medications, there is no shame in the “getting my dog to take pills” game. By sticking to it and trying some of the techniques listed above you may be able to turn the dreaded pill time into something that barely requires a second thought.
Best of luck, and happy pup-parenting!
