The Best Ways to Get a Dog to Take Powdered Medicine

Any dog owner who has ever tried to give his or her pet medicine may have suffered through a resistant, or even downright angry, pet. Although pets may not voluntarily take medicine of any type, powdered medicine (such as crushed pills) may be far easier to give to a dog than medicine in pill form because you can more easily disguise it.

  1. Using Favorite Foods

    • You can often disguise powdered medicine within your dog's favorite foods. Select one of your dog's favorite foods, such as leftover crumbs from dog treats, peanut butter, wet (canned) dog food, cottage cheese or yogurt. Portion the powder into the proper dosage. If you are creating the powder from pills, carefully crush the pills between two spoons or use a pill-crushing device. Mix the food and the powdered medicine well and give the mixture to the dog.

    Using Odorous Foods

    • Dogs may prefer particularly odorous foods. Some dogs are picky eaters but will still do nearly anything for a taste of a smelly food such as sardines or green tripe. If your dog falls into this category, you might need to use his or her favorite smelly food in which to hide the medicine. Dogs who love these type of foods will smell the overpowering scent and are not likely to detect any medicine odor, so they will eat it quickly.

    Using Pill Pockets

    • You can use a pill pocket, a hollow treat in which you can insert a pill, to deliver powdered medicine. Although pill pockets (available at pet stores) are normally used with capsule medications, you can use them to hold powdered medicine as well. The pill pockets are flexible so that you can pinch the ends together to disguise the medication. Pill pockets are typically flavored with chicken, beef or liver, so the dog will not be able to smell the medicine and will take it as a treat.