Giving your dog medication can be a difficult task especially on an empty stomach. The trick is to appeal to the sense of smell. A dog's sense of smell is 1,000 to 10,000 times greater then that of humans so it only makes sense to use foods with a powerful odor. Another important trick is to be creative with hiding the pill. If your dog sees the pill most times they will avoid you or what the pill is in, so being a little sneaky will make the process go smoother for both you and your dog.
Things You'll Need
- Medication
- Spoon
- Food
- Pill crusher
- Eye dropper
Instructions
Put the pill in a little peanut butter or cream cheese. This works well because the food sticks to the pill and to your dog's mouth so it is impossible for them to spit it out. If the dog will not take it directly from the spoon then put it on your finger and open the dogs mouth and put it in.
Ask the vet if there is a flavored version of the pill that is chewable. Give it like a treat and make a big deal about it.
Crush the pills or get in capsule form and mix with a little chicken broth (enough to just cover the bottom of a bowl). The smell of the broth is very strong and the dog should lap it right up.
Mix the pills in some wet dog food and add a little something special to it like chicken or bacon. The dog should be so excited about the fun snack that the food will get gulped down without even noticing the pills are in the food.
Get the medications in liquid form. You can use an eye dropper and put it directly in your dog's mouth or add it to food.
Open your dog's mouth and put the pill as far back on the dog's tongue as you can. If it is in the right place the dog will have no choice but to swallow it as it is too far back to bring forward and spit out.