Being a pet parent you will face one primary challenge with making your dogs consume their pill! Indeed, getting these high-spirited animals to take their pills seems like a lot of a battle itself. This is mostly because some canines hate swallowing capsules and create a great fuss about it. If you’ve got exactly such a loyal buddy and wonder how to give a dog a pill, then no worries, we hear you completely. Here we are with a few ways, tips, and tricks to make your pooch eat pills without any trouble. So here we go!
How to Give a Dog a Pill?
Some dogs dutifully eat their pills, while some typically pose a bit of a challenge in front of their parents. When dog veterinarians prescribe tablets, the first and foremost step for individuals is to understand all directions and instructions that they have to follow on how to get a dog to take a pill. Below are some possible ways to get your pet to swallow its puppy medicine smoothly.
Reward your Dog
How to give my dog a pill? Well, dog claming treats could be the answer. Pooches love winning treats and rewards. Hence, we suggest people train their pets so that they will get treats as rewards as soon as they complete a task, like swallowing a pill. So, make eating pills a task that will have some rewards attached. Every time your dog finishes eating his pills, reward him by giving his favorite treats such as some snacks, jerkies, candies, etc.
Wash your Hands
Let’s just say that a doggo’s sense of smell is super strong. Scientifically, it is almost 10,000 times better than humans. Therefore, our loyal friends can easily smell odors of several things which we cannot detect. And when it comes to pet medicine, they are the quickest to detect any smell of tablets in your hands. So, it’s best to wash hands properly with warm water to eliminate any such traces. Surprise these fur buddies without any traces or clues and fool them with pills wrapped in their favorite raw chicken dog food or such items. Any of their favorite meals could be the best foods to hide dog pills in.
Do Not Open the Pill Bottle In Front of your Pup
Most whelps come running whenever they hear a pack’s or bottle’s opening sound. It is because they think that every pack or bottle consists of sweets, biscuits, candies, or any other food. But, if that thing turns out to have pills, then these smart animals will become alert and wouldn’t be anywhere near. And thus, it will become a whole new problem. Thus, it’s important to open the medicine bottles when your pet is not seeing or observing them. Additionally, always prepare the drug away from your tail-wagging mate’s sight. This assists in achieving the mission on how to get a dog to take a pill.
Put the Pill Inside a Treat
Did someone say treats? All pups love treats. They will never deny when something’s associated with treats. Therefore, everything will become super smooth when hiding tablets in these creatures’ favorite treats. Thereby, individuals can offer these drugs wrapped in rewards to their fur mates during task accomplishments. Moreover, we suggest people sneak caplets into tastier and smellier food so that they dominate a pill’s odor. Besides, those who own canines that tend to bite should try throwing a treat or giving them a catch. This will help avoid contact with their jaws. However, make sure to wrap the pill completely inside their favorite and the best food to hide dog pills in. Otherwise, they may detect drugs and deny eating them.
Tips & Tricks on How to Feed Dogs Pills
Here, we have some of the best ways possible to help with the how to feed dogs pills issue. Implement these tips and tricks to enjoy an easy way to give dogs pills without a fuss. While giving pills to your pup, be mindful of all the instructions and directions prescribed by your veterinarian. There are various methods of giving pills, such as breaking them into smaller pieces, crushing them into a fine powder, or adding them with some flavored ingredients. Before implementing any one of those methods, ensure to consult the vet for dogs. To avoid any sour or bitter taste of a capsule, prefer any flavored alternative. This will make pills tastier and irresistible to your pooches. Read ahead for a detailed explanation on ways to give dogs pills.
Hiding the Pill Inside Snacks
The most obvious and easiest way to give a dog pills is to hide or wrap them inside their favorite meal, snack, or treat. However, these creatures will probably lick up the last bite of food left in their bowls, leaving capsules behind. Super annoying, right? Well, this will happen due to improper wrapping or covering of medicine in the food. Thus, ensure to push a caplet deeper into the meal. Additionally, it’s best to use those food items that have a better flavoring and strong odor. In this way, all whelps will be less likely to notice what’s inside their snacks.
Apart from that, before mixing or hiding medicine in any human food, consult your vet. It is because some foods may hamper a particular medicine’s essence when mixed together. Additionally, when following this method, try to give a few pieces of that food item before actually giving the whole medicine-infused treat. This will surely trick your dog, and he will eat without leaving behind any crumbs.
Fake-out Eating the Pill
Ever noticed how a puppy comes running to you, wagging its tail while you eat something? That ‘something’ is the tastiest thing in the world for them. Whatever you eat becomes a new delicious thing for your loyal friends even if they do not like to eat that before. And this becomes a plus point for pawrents to feed them pills by just pretending to eat that. But this fake pretense requires a performance too. So, start by taking the food with a pill inside your mouth and pretend to take a bite and fake chew it. This will make your canine more attentive to what you are chewing. This is the best method to give your pet medicine in the form of chewy dog food. And he will become more excited to gulp the whole bite in one go.
Prepare the Medicine With the Time of Walks
What kind of pooch doesn’t like walks in parks?! Every breed of this species dreads going for long strolls. And due to their intense excitement, they can’t decide where to focus on. While walking in the garden, these creatures will be surrounded by several things. Other pups, children, birds, and their chirping sounds are some that keep them preoccupied. Furthermore, this will make them distracted, and that is exactly what we might need to feed our pets with medicine. So, the next time you go for a walk, bring your dog’s favorite treats. This is the best way to give a dog a pill. And when it’s distracted or excited about something, just take the opportunity and feed him that tablet-infused food.
Make Them Feel Like They are Missing Out on Something
Pooches tend to want what others are having. Those who are parents of several puppies can find this one as a perfect and working idea to make them consume pills. Unfortunately, those who own only a single pup should bring in some of their friend’s dogs to help them during pill time. All that one needs to do is start giving treats to every buddy of your dog except to him. This will make him feel a bit jealous and sad. When he gets most excited to eat snacks, replace those normal ones with those having a pill inside. He will eat the given treat without a second thought, as all the dogs ate their treats without any problem. This trick will surely help in feeding pills to your pup.
Conclusion
We human beings sometimes, too, don’t like to swallow our medicines. It’s the same with dogs. They don’t like medicine’s bitter taste and thus, deny eating. Make the medication of your dog fun and interesting by following all those above tips and tricks. Also, ensure that they like their pill time by avoiding forcing your whelp, which will harm him and you also. Every time you are done with medication, reward your dog with his favorite treats. This will make him happy and encourage him to take pills next time. Hope our tips and tricks on how to give a dog a pill help you with the issue at hand.