How to Give Pills to Dogs Following Dental Surgery

Dogs must have medication after dental surgery to help them heal and to ease the pain of recovery. Although it is easier to give dogs liquid medication, it is also easy to give them pills if you know the proper technique. After surgery, you need to be gentle with the dog's mouth, so you do not cause him additional pain.

Things You'll Need

  • Wet dog food
  • Pills

Instructions

  1. Medication With Food

    • 1

      Pour wet dog food into a bowl. Your dog should be on a wet dog food diet for at least a couple days after dental surgery.

    • 2

      Form a small ball with the wet food and place the pill inside the ball. Do not make the ball too big, because a large portion will force the dog to chew the ball and possibly spit the pill out. If the pill is large, you can break the pill in half and put each half in a separate ball.

    • 3

      Give the ball to your dog and make sure he swallows the pill. You can hide the ball in the rest of the bowl of food if your dog is suspicious and tends to spit out the pill.

    Pill Without Food

    • 4

      Put one hand over the bridge of your dog's nose. Use your left hand if you are right handed.

    • 5

      Tilt your dog's head back and gently open his mouth by pulling on his lower jaw with your middle finger. Be very careful to avoid the area of his mouth where the surgery was performed.

    • 6

      Drop the pill as far back over the tongue as possible. You can place the pill behind his tongue with your hand, but you may accidentally hit the surgery area.

    • 7

      Immediately close your dog's mouth after dropping the pill. Blow on the dog's nose to make him swallow. Keep his mouth closed until you know he swallowed.