How to Give a Dog a Pill: 6 Methods for Administering Dog Meds

If your dog is prescribed medication, it can take some work to get the dog to swallow the pill. Some dogs are more cooperative than others, and not all pills will be noticeable or distasteful to dogs. Still, if you are encountering resistance, you may want to administer the medication with food or use special tools, such as applicators or syringes.

Probably the most common method for getting a dog to take a pill involves disguising the medication with food. There are several ways to do this, depending on the type of medication, the food options you have, and your dog. Consider the following foods:

• Peanut butter: A common trick for getting your dog to consume their pill is to cover it in a healthy dollop of peanut butter. Using a chunky style can help conceal the texture and shape of the pill, and the intense flavor of the peanut butter helps to mask the taste of the medication. Just make sure that the peanut butter doesn’t contain xylitol, an artificial sweetener that is highly toxic to dogs.
• Meat: Dogs generally like meaty treats like hot dogs, meatballs (without onions or garlic; just plain meat is best), and liverwurst. The texture of these foods can conceal the shape and taste of the pill, so inserting pills into hot dogs or meatballs can be effective.
• Cheese: Dogs often like cheese. Wrapping the pill in a piece of cheese or coating the meds with cream cheese is a useful trick when giving pills to your dog. (The high fat content of cheese can be harmful to your dogs; It’s always good to consult with a veterinary clinic beforehand.)
• Yogurt: Plain yogurt is another good way to get food-motivated dogs to swallow their pills.
• Bananas: The soft texture, strong flavor, and powerful scent of bananas can be enough to overcome your dog’s senses, making them swallow the pill as they snack on a piece of banana.
• Cantaloupe: This sweet melon is also dog-safe and strongly flavored, which can help your canine consume the pill along with the fruity treat.
• Dog food: If your dog isn’t very discerning and the pill isn’t too strongly flavored (many medications are bitter, which leads dogs to reject them), they can eat it with their kibble and not even notice. Wet dog food is even better for disguising pills. If the pill can be broken down or crushed, this will also be good for mixing in with the food.

Certain medications might need to be taken on an empty stomach. In those cases, other methods for administering the medicine to your dog include:

1. 1. Pill pockets: These helpful devices are made of an edible, malleable substance, often tasting like and looking like standard dog treats. Place the pill inside the pocket, close it, and feed it to your dog as a treat. Pill pockets are often available from vets and pet shops, but they can be expensive.
2. 2. Applicators: In some cases, your dog’s medication will come in liquid form. This can make mixing it with food easier, or, if that isn’t an option, you can directly apply the medication to the back of your dog’s mouth with an applicator like a syringe.
3. 3. Pill devices: Pill devices, also known as pill poppers, are tools specifically designed to deliver a pill to your dog that can help prevent accidental bites. These long-stemmed devices deposit the pill further back on the dog's tongue, making it more likely they will swallow it.
4. 4. Chewable pills: Some medications come in a soft chewable formulation. This will often make them more appealing to dogs, although they can be more expensive.

Successfully giving your dog medication can be challenging. Some tips to ease the process include:

1. 1. Keep things calm. Most dog owners know their pets are exceptionally sensitive to changing emotional states. If you are overly stressed by the process, it’s likely that your dog will be too. Try to keep as calm as possible before, after, and during the process to minimize negative reactions from your pet.
2. 2. Use the element of surprise. Once you establish the routine of administering medication, it can be challenging to get your dog to sit still and submit to the process. Be careful not to signal any aspect of the process to the dog—don’t let them hear the pill bottle, for instance, especially if they’ve come to associate it with the swallowing of a bitter-tasting pill.
3. 3. Reward your dog with treats. Bribery can be an effective method for ensuring that your dog is more willing to take medicine. By rewarding them with special treats after they’re done, or by tempting them with treats in the first place, you can help make it a smoother experience for everyone involved.

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