The struggle of giving a pill to a dog is real for the pet owners. As dogs have superpowers when it comes to smelling everything, administering medicines becomes a task. Unlike humans, these canine babies can’t take pills with sugar and hence we have to find other ways to give them pills. No one likes the bitter taste of medicine and the same is the case with dogs too. They are not fond of the smell or taste of the drugs and thus, they retrieve from taking such pills. But one has to do what they have to do, right? It is vital to give medicines when your dogs are not well or even for helping them to boost immunity. Here is a list of ways that you can use to give pills to your little ones.
Try giving the pill directly.
It is better to try the direct way first before trying other tricks to give pills to your dogs. Hold your dog and open his mouth. Place the medicine at the end of the tongue and ensure it is placed properly. Close the mouth and see if your pet swallows the pill. Be careful while doing this as dogs are not fond of the taste of the medicines and might result in accidental bites. If your pet is not ready to take pills this way, try one of the methods stated below.
The classic method of giving pills with food
The first method that any dog parent should try is this one. Make the meals that your dogs love or use a portion of canned dog food for this trick. Various ways can be used to give pills with food.
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Mask that smell of pills
You can cover the pill with cheese or also keep it hidden in the meatball. Feed this food with pills to your dogs at their regular meal times. People also use butter as it is bland and doesn’t have any smell. However, tablets with strong odor cannot be given like this as dogs can smell it. Use food that can mask the smell of medicine completely. The technique works great for the dogs that do not chew much and gulp the treats or pills down.
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Food or pill game
For this technique, play a little game with your dog. Mix the pills with the food and keep it aside. Take the dog food that doesn’t have any medicine and first feed that food to your canine. Treat him after he takes the first bite. Now, feed him with the food that doesn’t have any pill or medicine so that your dog starts having the meal. After giving him the food the second time, feed him with the food mixed with the tablet. Give them their favorite treats once he eats the food mixed with pills.
These two ways work great for a lot of breeds and dogs mostly take up the pill without any issues. Training your dog to take up pills along with food is beneficial as it will reduce your work the next time you have to give medicines to your dogs. However, avoid using this method if your dog is allergic to particular food or chemicals used in pills.
Treats at the rescue, buy them their favorite treats.
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Trick them with treats
Another great way to entice your dogs is to take up the pills along with treats. You can mix the pills along with treats and then give those treats to your little one. You can also keep their favorite toys around to distract them from the typical taste and smell of the pills. Choose your pet’s favorite flavor of the treats to trick them in taking medicine with ease.
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Play frisbee and treat them
This trick is not that popular, but trust me, it is worth giving a try. Take the pills along with treats for the next game session with your little one. Throw frisbee and let your dog get it for you. Give them treats for the first three times they come to you with the frisbee. This way, your dog will be tricked in believing that you treat them every time they come to you after catching the plate. Throw the frisbee and let them pick it and this time trick them by giving pills along with treats.
Make the most of empty medicine gels.
This method is for the dogs who do not take up pills mixed with food or treats. You can get clear medicine gels easily at any pharmacy store. Fill up the medicine gel with pills to distract the dogs. You can also use flavored medicines for administering it to your dogs. For this, you can consult the vet and find the alternative flavored medicine to make the process of administering the pills easy.
Use a Pill Device
The owners often have a problem with placing the pill at the end of their dog’s tongue. You can physically try it own for administering the medicines to your little one also ask for help from your friends or family. If nothing works out, then you can get a pill device that aids in placing the pills at the proper position in the dog’s mouth so that they can swallow it.
Concluding Remarks
All these above-stated techniques work well for giving pills to the dogs. You can also give liquid medicines by mixing it with food or treats. Be patient while giving pills to your little ones and let them learn to take the pills too. If none of the methods work, then you can ask your vets to help you in figuring out the way to administer the pills. Also, you can try giving the medicines when your dog is a little distracted or engrossed in other activities.