Pill Taking Made Easier
For many years, we adopted senior dogs who got to live out their final chapter with us. Each varied in how amenable they were to taking pills so we got creative. Here are some of the options that worked for us.
Option “A” - Many dogs will consume a pill or capsule hidden in food or a tasty treat especially if:
it is especially tasty so that they gobble down without hesitation
covers the pill well, and
goes down with ease.
Popular options include cheese, hot dogs, commercial “pill pockets”, peanut butter without added sugar or artificial sweeteners, liver paste, or a thin coating of butter.
Use caution hiding certain types of medications, e.g. bitter flavored pills. Hiding a bitter pill in special food may risk teaching your pet to avoid that food in the future. Conditioned taste aversion is very powerful.
Ask your veterinarian if it is okay to crush the pill. If it does not have a strong taste, you can mix the crushed pill with a teaspoon of baby food, tuna or clam juice.
Some medications, such as antibiotics, may have a strong odor or bitter taste. Ask if the medication can be compounded into a flavored liquid or chew or made into a small tablet size; note compounding a med usually is done for a fee and there is a cost savings with volume. Ask if the medication can be placed in an empty gelatin capsule to minimize the odor and taste.
Option “B” - Try the 1-2-3 (4-5) trick!
Prepare 3 to 5 “treatballs,” with one containing the medication. Give 1 or 2 treatballs sans the medication. While your pet is swallowing the treat, let him see you coming with the next one. Slip in the treatball with the medication, quickly followed by a chaser treatball. It’s useful to practice this w/out the medication at least a couple of times before introducing the med treatball into the lineup. Another variation is to give 2-3 treats of lower value, the treat w/medication, followed by the bonus treat of higher value.
If your dog likes to catch treats, you can do a 1, 2, and 3 (w/med) toss sequence. If your dog likes to grab treats off the floor you can line them up on the ground.
Option “C” - It is possible to teach dogs to open their mouths voluntarily for you to put a pill in the back of their mouth to swallow.
Happy pilling, Tracy
