Any tips to get my dog to take pills?

Question

He's on 16 pills a day right now, 8 in the am and 8 in the pm. He's been really sick lately with a staff infection and skin rashes. Thankfully he's much better, but I have to continue with the antibiotics for 2 weeks. Everytime I try to hide the pill with peanut butter or meat he spits the pill out. I'm getting frustrated!

Answer 1

Your poor baby!! I am so glad to hear that he is feeling better, and good for you to recognize that the entire course of treatment must be completed, even though he is feeling better.

Many dogs dont like to take pills to begin with, & such a regimen is probably trying his patience as well as yours.

One 'treat' I found worked well when my geriatric pooch lost her appetite was to smoosh the pills in a strongly flavored cheese spread. I used Merkts Bacon-Cheddar, it smelled & tasted good to her.

Please, DO NOT CRUSH the medication unless your vet has given the OK.

However, if it is ok to crush pills, & open capsules, many times it is helpful to break them down to the powder form & mush them into the cheese spread. This way, there is no swallowing of an item needed, & they can be given in one 'dose' of cheese.

Since you mentioned antibiotics, talk with your vet about a pro-biotic paste or other formula to help your dogs digestion. Antibiotics will wipe out the natural bacteria in their gut that aids in processing their food, & will cause them to lose their appetite & possibly suffer from diarrhea.
Pro-biotics will replace this natural bacteria. An alternative to the paste (which you can get from your vet) is acidophilus capsules which can be opened over food, or plain/vanilla yogurt. Check with your vet to make sure this will not interfere with the course of treatment, but since your pooch is on so much medication, it may help him feel better even faster, & if he has lost his appetite, may help get it back & be interested in peanut butter again!

Good luck, & he is a lucky pooch to have such a loving person.

Answer 2

There's this dog product called Pill Pockets and all you have to do is tuck the pill in and feed it to the dog. If your dog has to take 16 pills a day he can get really fat if he is eating peanut butter and meat with every pill. That could lead to other problems. The Pill Pockets are low on calories. It's made by the same company as Greenies, and there's more information at http://www.pillpockets.com. Best of luck and hope your dog will get better soon!

Answer 3

the easiest way is to stick them in his throat. That way you know he actually is getting them, but that is the hardest route. To do that you need to grasp behind his canine teeth with one hand and use the other to open his mouth (make sure you have the pills in your hand when opening his mouth). Then stick the pills right at the back of his tongue...almost shoving them into his throat, but make sure to do it gently as we don't want him to choke.
Another route is crushing the pills up and sticking them into some cream cheese or peanut butter, but since he is getting used to the peanut butter I would try the cream cheese. Give him only like 1 tbs if he is a large dog and about 1tsp if he is somewhat small. Make sure you don't give him any other food for atleast 3 hours before to almost guarantee that he will eat the cream cheese. If these don't work your vet should sell what we call "pill poppers". They hold about all of the pills and just "shoot" the pills down the throat without you sticking your fingers inside of his mouth. you just stick the popper into the space between his teeth and cheek. At the back of the mouth there is a small space where the pill popper will fit and is almost gives a direct route to the throat. Goodluck with this. Many dogs can be very stubborn

Answer 4

Do NOT crush the pills up UNLESS your veterinarian tells you it's okay to do so for that specific medication. The proper absorption of some meds can be messed up that way, rendering them much less effective. And don't use things like hot dogs and sausage....they cause digestive disturbances, whether you see evidence of that or not.

Look for a product called "pill pockets." Your DVM might carry them, or they might be available at a pet store. Surprisingly, most dogs (and cats) who spit out pills hidden in food will take them in pill pockets with no problem.

My preferred way is to just 'poke' them down the throat...but when a pet is on as many pills a day as yours is, the pill pockets make life sooooooo much easier on both the pet and the owner.

Answer 5

Ok if the pill is solid break it in half and wrap in cheese slice... if it is a capsule, open it up and put in a small dish of milk or canned dog food, if this does not work, tilt the head right back pull the jaw open and with the other hand with two fingers insert the pill down the throat, back of the tongue, you should have no problems. I have a pit bull and a rottie,

Answer 6

I've had to give tons of pills to dogs over the years, here's a few things that may work: Wrap them in cheese, canned food, or even lunch meat (you didn't really say what kind of meat you'd tried?) Also maybe try stuffing them in a cooked hamburger patty. There is also a treat out there for dogs called pill pockets. They're like a little beef jerky treat but they have a small pocket in them to stuff a pill in. Those might work as they're nice and stinky, dogs love stinky! Good luck and I hope your dog gets better!

Answer 7

Crush the pills so they are tiny pieces or powder. Then mix them in some canned dog food. It wouldn't take much of the canned food to disguise the crushed pills if you usually don't feed him that. He'll think he is getting a treat. I'm glad to hear he is on the way to recovery.
And with antibiotics, even though a human or animal seems well, it's important to take all the medication that's prescribed.

Answer 8

Open his mouth wide and put the pills at the back of his throat.
Close his mouth shut with your hands clamped firmly around his muzzle. Then stroke his throat a few times to coax his swallowing reflex.
Good luck with poor sick doggie!

Answer 9

This sounds gross but the only way my dog will take a pill is if I hide it in a little bit of liver sausage, you know that stuff you can get by the lunchmeat. I just take a little bit and shove the pill right in the middle and give it to her. She loves it and she thinks she is getting a treat!

Answer 10

try rotating the type of food you are putting the pills in. My Goliath likes his in hot dogs. But cheese and liver sausage both work well. Don't put them all in one piece of meat or cheese. Use smaller bites so he doesn't have to chew as much and won't taste them. You could also try crushing them and putting them in water in a syringe. Then lift his muzzle and gently squirt the water in the back of his mouth, not down his throat.