How to Give Dogs Pills

For some dogs, taking the pill is as easy as eating cheese. However, taking medication can be more difficult for other dogs. There are many different ways to give your dog medication. It’s worth taking the time to figure out what works best for your dog to make the process of giving your dog the medication simpler.

Table of Contents

Hide the pill

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Use food your dog really enjoys. You need to use irresistible dog food to mask the taste of medicine that your dog hates. You should make sure to choose healthy dog foods like meat, cheese, peanut butter, or yogurt. Avoid junk food like candy or chips.

This will work if the dog swallows quickly without chewing the food.
This will work if the pill is mixed in food and can’t fall out.
Pill packs available at veterinary clinics are sometimes more effective than food. ^{[1] X Trusted Source American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Go to source}

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Hide medicine inside food. There are different ways to hide drugs, depending on the type of food you use. In general, you should try to cover the medication with food or push the medication into the food so that the medication is safely concealed. You should try different ways of hiding the medication to find the one that works best for your dog.

Ground beef, turkey or chicken may coat the medicine.
You can push the pill into the sausage.
Soft cheese can be easily restored to shape to encapsulate the medicine inside.

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Feed the dog food. You may have to try a few times. Dogs can sometimes separate medication from food in the mouth, then release it. In this case, you should try again. If repeatedly fails, you can try another method.

You can wait until the dog is hungry, then give him 2-3 non-medicated snacks so he can get used to the taste and ask for more. Next, feed the dog with a medicated and non-medicated food to deceive the dog’s taste buds.
If you have more than one dog, you can try this when all the dogs in the house are present. You can feed another dog a drug-free food first. Next, try to feed your dog medicated foods. Dogs are more likely to be tricked into taking drugs than when another dog tries to eat them.

Crush pills

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Crush the pill. This only works for drugs that can be crushed. In many cases, you can crush the medicine and give it to your dog. However, some medications cannot be crushed because they are too bitter and can cause the dog to stop eating or the drug is released slowly for 24 hours and crushing can destroy this ability of the medicine.

The liquid medicine encased in a capsule can be removed by cutting the capsule and squeezing it out.
Medicines with an outer shell should not be crushed.
Check the medication label and consult your veterinarian if it is okay to crush the medicine.

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Mix the medicine with the food your dog likes. Mixed rice with beef is easy to digest and suitable for mixing with medicine. You should not mix medicine with dry food because only moisture will help the medicine mix with food more easily.

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Feed the dog. Do not give your dog too much food because there is a risk that the dog will miss the medicine if the food is not eaten. ^{[2] X Research Source} If you have a lot of dogs, you should prevent them from eating medicated foods. Let the sick dog eat separately if necessary.

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Use an infant vitamin pump if your dog refuses to eat medicated foods. You should crush the tablet, mix the powder with water, and then put the liquid into the syringe. Then, pump the medicated water into the dog’s mouth. Dogs may not like it, but most medication will be introduced into the dog’s system this way. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Open the dog’s mouth. Just open the dog’s mouth wide enough to get the syringe inside.
Insert the syringe closer to the back of your dog’s mouth to make it easier to inject the medicine into the throat.
Push the plunger of the syringe to push the medicine out. This can almost prevent the dog from spitting the medicine out.
Enjoy delicious dog food.

Pretend you’re trying to eat the pill

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Choose other foods that your dog likes. You won’t be feeding your dog all the food, so you can choose what you like. You should show that you really like this food and purposely get the dog’s attention. The key point is to get your dog to really crave what you’re eating.

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Drop some food on the ground while eating. The food you release does not contain drugs, but this way your dog looks forward to eating such delicious and drug-free food. Dogs will sit down to eat and get used to picking up and eating everything that falls on the ground.

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First, pretend you didn’t notice that you dropped your food. Other times, get the dog food back quickly. This way, you will make your dog feel like he has to act quickly to steal the food. This encourages the dog to try to eat what you drop without thinking.

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Drop the pill. Medicines can be dropped on their own or hidden in food. You should try to get the medicine back from the dog to trick the dog into eating the medicine. However, you do not need to try to do this once the dog thinks he will lose the opportunity to eat.

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Chase other dogs away. The process of tricking the dog into taking medication should go smoothly if there are no other dogs around. It’s more likely that other dogs will take the medicine, so you should keep your dog separate if you want to give it to your dog. However, if you keep another dog in a kennel or outside and let it watch, the sick dog will be more easily provoked to take the medication.

Put the pill in the dog’s mouth

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Force your dog to swallow the medicine gently. Only force your dog to take medication when other methods cannot be applied. This method is difficult but absolutely necessary in some cases. You don’t have to worry about your dog choking. With just a little time and gentleness, your dog will tolerate swallowing pills more easily and safely.

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Extend the dog’s jaw from the back of the mouth with one hand. Then, use your other hand to lift the dog’s palate. Draw the dog’s lips away from the teeth to prevent the dog from biting. You should do it slowly so as not to hurt the dog. Do not cover the dog’s nose.

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Open the dog’s mouth wide and insert the medicine inside. Try to insert the medicine as deeply inward as possible. You should make sure the dog swallows the pill as much as possible. Comfortably stuffing the medication deep down your dog’s throat means you’re increasing his chances of swallowing the medication. If the medication is not inserted deep enough, the dog will most likely spit it out. ^{[4] X Trusted Source Washington State University Cplege of Veterinary Medicine Go to source}

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Gently close the dog’s mouth. You should keep the dog’s mouth closed until the dog swallows the medicine. It can be difficult at first to tell if your dog has swallowed the medicine or not. You should check afterwards to make sure the dog is no longer holding the medicine in his mouth. It may seem a bit difficult, but you just need to hold the dog’s mouth slightly to make sure he swallows all the medicine.

Blow gently into the dog’s nose to help the dog swallow the medicine.
Rub your hand over the throat until after the dog has swallowed the medicine so that the swallowing process goes smoothly. This helps stimulate the swallowing reflex and forces the dog to swallow the medicine.
Give your dog more water if needed.
You have to be very patient, calm but decisive.

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Enjoy the dog food after the dog swallows the medicine. You should eat snacks with high nutritional value. Give your dog a snack before and especially after swallowing the medicine. Dogs only really remember the experience of taking the drug when they are treated to it afterwards. You should make sure to make time for your dog to snack, especially if you have to give your dog regular medication. If making your dog feel like taking medicine is an unpleasant experience, subsequent doses will become more difficult.

Warning

Do not try to put medicine in your dog’s mouth if you have long nails. You can cut the sensitive skin in your dog’s mouth and throat.
If you choose to grind the medicine, you should not mix the powder with whole canned food because it is more likely that the dog will not eat it all and miss the dose.
Check to see if the medicine has been crushed before crushing. Some medicines should not be broken or crushed.
Do not heat tablets or powders as this can change or destroy the chemical composition of the medicine and render it ineffective or harmful.
Do not put medicine in the mouth of a dog with a face, such as a Pug. You may make it difficult for your dog to breathe during the injection. Hiding the medicine in some chopped tuna is the best way.

Steps

Hide the pill

Crush pills

Pretend you’re trying to eat the pill

Put the pill in the dog’s mouth

Warning

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