Summary
Giving a dog a pill can be tricky due to their aversion to the taste. To administer medication, try hiding the pill in a small amount of peanut butter, meat, or a pill pocket treat. You can also crush the pill and mix it with their favorite wet food. For capsules, you might be able to open them and sprinkle the contents over food. If your dog is consistently refusing, ask your vet about compounded liquid medications that may taste better. Alternatively, use a pill dispenser to place the pill far back in their mouth, then gently hold their muzzle closed until they swallow. Always reward your dog afterward. Avoid using sugary foods like bananas or fatty dairy products without consulting your vet. Wash your hands to avoid them smelling the medication.
How to Give a Dog a Pill? – Why Should Dogs Take Pills?
Pills are a part of medication, and owners don’t usually give this bad-tasting medicine to their dogs on their own. Veterinarians prescribe this medicine to a dog when the dog is suffering from a particular disease.
For example, suppose the dog suffers from acidity or severe stomach disease. In that case, the vet will prescribe some analgesics to neutralize the acidity in the stomach.
The owner should maintain the exact directions for giving the pills to their pet as prescribed by the vet because a mistake can cause their dog to suffer more.
Why Do Dogs Refuse to Take Medication?
As humans, sometimes we refuse to take medicine due to its bitter taste. That’s why expecting our dog not to deny drugs is not worth it.
The extracts of the plant products, anti analgesics and analgesics, and chemicals like lorcainide hydrochloride and gallium nitrate, which are used to reduce the high blood calcium levels in the medicines, make it bitter.
The dogs detect the bitter taste of the medicine through the stimulating receptors in the taste receptor cells, as this process signals in the taste buds, which are further carried by the neurons to the brain. This was the primary reason dogs refused to take the medications prescribed by the veterinarian.
Steps to Follow While Giving Pills to a Dog
We all know that dogs always refuse to take pills, which are a significant part of their medication, and avoiding this can affect their health. So, the owner has to follow some steps discussed below, making giving pills to dogs easier.
The steps to be followed are –
Crush the Medicine
If the dog continuously refuses to take the pills, then the owner should adopt the idea of crushing the tablet.
The owner has to take medication and crush it. After that, add this crushed pill to your dog’s favorite food and give it to the pet. The dog will never refuse to take medicine if provided in this way.
Use of Pill Pockets
Pill pockets are a relatively better option when giving your dog pills. Pill pockets are usually a pocket of treats that contain a small pocket where the owner can easily hide the pill to trick their dog while giving the medication.
Open the Capsule
If your dog was prescribed to take capsules, you can open the pills and sprinkle the powder inside the capsule over your dog’s food. It will be more manageable for you to give medicines to your dog.
Ask for Liquid and Compounded Medications
If your dog is consistently refusing to take pills and after trying your best, you are not able to convince your dog to take the necessary pills at the time.
You can ask for some compounded medicine or liquid medication from your vet, which will taste better. This type of medication will be expensive, but your dog will accept to eat it as these medicines are not chewed.
Use of Pill Devices
Pill devices were commonly known as pill poppers. These tools were designed to safely deliver the pill to a dog’s mouth by preventing accidental bites.
By using these poppers, the drugs can directly get into the mouth far back from the tongue, making it easier for the dog to swallow.
Wash Your Hands
Remember to wash your hands if you’ll trick your pet by following the techniques discussed above.
Washing hands is necessary because the smelling capability of dogs is 10000 times better than that of human beings, so they will be easily able to identify the smell of pills from your hand.
These steps are experimentally proven to be the best when giving pills to a dog.
How to Give Pills to Your Dog Without Using Food Products?
It’s easy for your dog to smell the food and identify if there is medicine, as their smelling capability is very high. Once your dog detects the presence of drugs in the food, it will refuse to take it.
Here are the steps you can follow when food products can not be used to give pills to your dog.
Arrange a Comfortable Place
At first, you have to arrange a comfortable place where your dog can’t slip out of your hand quickly; this is necessary because your dog will try to escape from the site to avoid taking medicine.
Lubricate the Pill
It’s important to lubricate the pill to make it easier to get into your dog’s stomach through the jaws. You can use some peanut butter or some edible oil to lubricate the pill.
Make a Correct Posture of Hands
Now it’s time to start holding the pill between your fingers in one hand so you can easily put it in your dog’s mouth.
Hold the Dog’s Muzzle
Now, the owner has to gently hold the dog’s muzzle and put the fingers behind the canine teeth to keep it perfect without causing any pain to the dog.
Tilt the Dog’s Mouth
When you confirm that you have a firm grip on your dog’s upper jaw, try to tilt the mouth so that you can easily put the pill in your dog’s mouth.
Close the Pet’s Mouth
After putting the pill in your dog’s mouth, close the mouth with a bit of pressure until your dog eats the pill completely to avoid splitting the pill.
Reward the Dog
After completing the process, remember to reward your dog with a treat, as this will make the pet understand that conceiving the pill gets it a treat.
Food Products that Can be Used for Giving Pills to a Dog
Dogs will never refuse their favorite foods, so disguising foods with medications is the best option for a dog owner to provide pills with food.
However, the food product has to be chosen very carefully, according to your dog’s choice, which will not reduce the effectiveness of the medicine.
The suitable food products that should be chosen are discussed below.
Peanut Butter
Dogs often love to eat peanut butter, so using peanut butter to make your dog conceive the pill can be the best way.
You have to put the medication inside a spoonful of peanut butter and try to cover the whole medicine. The peanut butter smell will balance the treatment’s smell so your dog cannot identify what’s inside.
Meat
Dogs often prefer to eat meat, and it is one of their favorite foods. You can cover the pill with some meat, make it a meatball, and give it to your dog, and the pet will never refuse to eat its favorite food.
Cheese
Cheese can also be used to make your dog conceive the pill. You can wrap the pill in a cube of cheese and give it to your pet. The fats in the cheese can harm your dog, so it’s preferable to consult with the veterinarian before using cheese.
What food products should be avoided when giving pills to your dog?
Indeed, using food products to give your dog pills is the best out of the rest processes. But some products should be strictly avoided.
The list of the food products to be avoided is
Bananas
We all know that bananas are good for health, but using bananas to cover your dog’s pill is not preferable because they contain a high amount of sugar, which can affect your dog’s health if he previously suffered from any disease.
Dairy Products
Dairy products can be very helpful, but the high amount of fats in the products can harm your dog’s health. So, it’s preferable to consult with your dog’s veterinarian before using dairy products.
With this, we have discussed all the tricks and steps to follow by which you can give oral medication to your dog, which foods to include, and what to avoid. Everything discussed in this video will help you in every aspect while giving pills to your dog.
