How to Give a Dog a Pill? – It’s pretty challenging to give pills included in the medication of our dogs prescribed by the veterinarian. Dogs are fond of the unpleasant taste of medicines. That’s why they refuse to take pills.
Dog owners must have to adopt various tips and tricks while giving pills to their dogs and also have to care about the proper directions by the veterinarian. Now how to give a dog a pill? Mix with foods like peanut butter or meat by crushing or opening the capsules.
Everything about giving pills to a dog will be discussed here, so continue reading the article to collect the required information.
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, if the dog is suffering from acidity or some severe stomach disease, the vet will prescribe some anti analgesics to neutralize the acidity in the stomach.
The owner should maintain the exact directions of giving the pills to their pet as prescribed by the vet because a bit of mistake in the process can cause their dog to suffer more.
Why Do Dogs Refuse to Take Medication?
Being humans, sometimes we refuse to take medicine due to its bitter taste. That’s why it’s not worth it to expect our dog not to deny medicines.
The extracts of the plant products, anti analgesics and analgesics, and the 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 dog’s 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, which will make the procedure of 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 and after that, add this crushed pill to your dog’s favorite food and then give it to the pet. The dog will never refuse to take medicine if provided in this way.
Use of Pill Pockets
Using pill pockets is also a relatively better option to go with while trying to give 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, then you can open the pills and sprinkle the powder inside the capsule over your dog’s food. It will be relatively 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 all 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 from your vet, which will be better in taste, or liquid medication. This type of medication will be quite expensive, but your dog will not refuse 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
If you’re going to trick your pet by following the techniques discussed above, don’t forget to wash your hands.
Washing hands is necessary because the smelling capability of dogs is 10000 times better than 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 it comes to giving pills to a dog.
How to Give Pills to Your Dog Without Using Food Products?
It’s quite easy for your dog to smell the food and identify if there is medicine in the food or not, as their smelling capability is very high. Once your dog detects the presence of medicines in the food, it will refuse to take it.
Here are the steps you can follow while food products can not be used for giving 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, and 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 for the lubrication of the pill.
Make a Correct Posture of Hands
Now it’s time to start holding the pill in between your fingers in one hand so that you can easily put the pill 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 perfectly 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 you are done 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, don’t forget 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
We all know that dogs will never refuse their favorite foods, so disguising foods with medications could be the best option that a dog owner can go with when it comes to providing pills with foods.
But the food product has to be chosen very carefully as per your dog’s choice or 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 with it. The smell of the peanut butter will balance the smell of the treatment, so your dog will not be able to identify what’s inside.
Meat
Dogs prefer to eat meat most of the time, and it is one of the favorite foods for dogs. You can cover the pill with some meat and 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 contained in the cheese can be harmful to your dog, so it’s preferable to consult with the veterinarian first before using cheese.
What Food Products Should be Avoided for Giving Pills to Your Dog?
Indeed, the use of food products for giving pills to your dog is the best out of the rest processes. But some products should get 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 suffers from any disease.
Dairy Products
Using dairy products can be very helpful, but the high amount of fats contained 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 be included, and what to avoid. Everything discussed in this video will help you in every aspect while giving pills to your dog.
