If you are a dog owner, you might understand the struggle of trying to get your furry companion to take a pill. Whether it’s flea protection, a medication they need temporarily, or any other circumstance, you’ve probably witnessed your stubborn pooch turn up their nose, refuse to open their mouth or even spit out the pill. This can be a challenge equal to getting kids to eat their vegetables.
But, at the end of the day, your dog taking this pill is usually a necessity and cannot be avoided – so, how do we actually get them to cooperate with us? We’ll give you a few helpful tips and tricks in this article, “How to Get Your Uncooperative Dog to Take a Pill.”
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Consult a Veterinarian
First things first, before you go into any “tricks” to get your uncooperative dog to oblige by taking a pill, the best thing you can do is communicate with your trusted vet. The exact type of medication will determine the methods you can and can’t use to get your dog to take his pill. For example, some methods rely on breaking the pill into smaller pieces or crushing it into a fine powder.
However, this can reduce the effectiveness of certain types of medication. Thus, it is best to let your vet know of your plans before proceeding. Additionally, you might be able to avoid these tricks altogether by letting your vet know your dog is not great with pills.
There might be an alternative medication that uses liquid drops, topical cream, etc. depending on the reason for the pill. However, these medications can be more expensive — depending on the drug — and your veterinarian may caution against compounding certain drugs because it could impact their effectiveness. Either way, your vet will know the best steps to move forward and give you the advice you need!
Put The Pill in a Meal
This may be the most obvious idea for getting your dog to take a pill, and probably the first step for most owners. Essentially, we are distracting our dog with other food in order to get this pill in their system. You can put the pill in loose kibble or a can of wet food, and they may not even notice it is there as they enjoy their meal. This works well if your dog eats their meals pretty quickly and is always excited for breakfast or dinner.
Pro Tips For This Method
- If you use a slow feeder bowl, you might want to use a traditional bowl for this method so that your dog won’t take that extra time to realize there is a pill in their meal and reject it.
- Be careful if you have multiple dogs. You’ll want to make sure that the right dog gets his medicine. Separate feeding will ensure your other pups don’t steal your dog’s medicated meal.
- You might want to ask your vet if it’s possible to crush the pills, like we mentioned before, this can decrease the effectiveness of some pills, but if your veterinarian gives you the go-ahead, this is a great option for hiding the pill. Simply crush it up, mix it with some wet food and your pup will never be able to tell the difference.
Of course, some dogs might be too smart for this method and simply eat around the pill, gobbling up every other morsel surrounding it. Leaving you with that one glaring pill in their bowl, giving you a glare that says “Nice try!” Luckily, we’ve got a bunch of other helpful tips to help!
Check out for more: How To Get Your Dog to Respect You! and How to Trick Your Dog Into Drinking Water?
Pill Pockets
This idea is similar to the idea of tricking your pup with the meal, but might work a little faster. Even if you are strict on your dog’s “no human food” diet, there are human foods that are perfectly fine for your pup to have, especially on special occasions such as taking medication. Use your dog’s favorite treat as a way to trick them into taking their pill. Simply wrap or cover the pill in their food so they can’t see.
Chances are they will wolf this down without thinking twice about the medication and you’ll be good to go! This could be cheese, peanut butter, raspberries, plain yogurt, etc. The possibilities are endless so you can even switch up your options so your dog stays unknowing. Additionally, “pill pocket” treats are also available for purchase if you are worried about giving your dog human food.
These are dog treats that are specifically shaped with a hole perfectly sized for putting a pill in the middle. Your dog thinks these are just a regular treat, but you can rest easy knowing they are on their way to health. How convenient is that!
Open the Pill Bottle Secretly
If you’ve heard of Pavlov’s Conditioning, this theory will make complete sense. If you haven’t, we’ll give you a little background info to catch you up to speed. Essentially, a physiologist named Pavlov conducted an experiment in which he conditioned dogs using a bell. Every time the dog was fed, he rang a bell. Eventually, the dog would begin to salivate upon hearing the bell, even with no food in sight.
The same idea can happen with anything – opening the fridge, your dog’s food container, grabbing their leash – any repeated action can lead your dog to anticipate what is coming next. Opening a pill bottle can be one of those actions. If your dog hears you open the bottle, they might know that a gross pill is coming next. This can lead them to run, hide and reject the pill.
To avoid this, try opening the bottle in another room and carrying out just the single pill. This hidden preparation may lead to success when administering the pill. You can even combine these methods by opening the bottle and preparing a pill pocket out of sight!
Wash Your Hands
This method seems silly, we know, but think about it! Your dog has a sense of smell that is around 10,000 times better than yours. That means, they can smell remnants of odors left on your hands. This could be the Cheetos you just ate which makes your dog want to lick your cheese-dusted fingers, or it could be their chemical-y, gross medication that you just touched.
Either way, your dog has the power to sniff out what you’ve been grabbing. Washing your hands before giving your pup the pill can get rid of that smell and throw them off to what they are being given. We’re sure you’re well versed on how to wash your hands – but just in case you need a refresher – use warm water, sudsy soap, and lather up for at least 20 seconds. You can sing “Happy Birthday” if you don’t feel like counting!
Work it into a Walk
Have you ever noticed how distracted, excited, and happy your dog is when they are on a walk? With all of the fresh air, sights, sounds, and other dogs to keep them occupied, their minds aren’t even thinking about that pill! They will be much less suspicious while they are distracted by their surroundings, this might just be the perfect time to slip in an undesirable pill.
It’s completely up to you just when you decide to give them the pill, whether it’s the beginning, middle, or end of your walk – whatever you think will work best. It entirely depends on your walking route and your individual dog. You want it to be at a time when your dog is most distracted, say at the dog park, maybe right when you step out the door and they are ready to go, or when they are worn out from all the fun they just had.
Pretend to Eat It
What is the tastiest thing in the world for dogs? No, it’s not cheese – it’s whatever YOU are eating! Time after time, whether you are at the dinner table eating a meal or on the couch snacking on chips. Those big puppy dog eyes fixated on the food and you, which usually makes it difficult to resist sharing with them. This method involves using your dog’s obsession with human food to your advantage.
First, you might want to use this in combination with the “Pill Pocket” method, that way your dog really thinks it’s food. Then, pretend to nibble on the treat with the hidden pill inside. Now, dogs are pretty smart, so you’ll have to amp up the theatrics. To convince your dog to take his pill, you will need to put on a performance.
So, raise that medicated treat to your mouth and pretend to take a big bite – and don’t forget to fake chew! This will surely get your dog’s attention. But, in order to make this trick really effective, you don’t want to give him the hidden pill just yet.
The trick is to not give in to your dog too early, or they may suspect you. Fortunately for a dog, a minute feels like an eternity. After this time, if you offer your dog his treat, your dog will think he has won the doggie lottery. They will excitedly gulp it down without a second thought. Who knew you were such a good actress/actor! Looks like you’re ready for your Broadway Debut.
Conclusion for “How to Get Your Uncooperative Dog to Take a Pill”
We understand that getting your uncooperative dog to take a pill can be frustrating, time-consuming, and might feel like you’re at a loss. As fellow pet owners, we sympathize with this struggle. You are unable to communicate to your dog that taking this one little pill will help whatever ailment they are facing.
Whether it’s flea protection, a medication, or another circumstance, we’re guessing that you’ve witnessed your stubborn pooch turn up its nose, refuse to open its mouth, or even spit out the pill. Our tips to avoid this include a variety of techniques such as mixing the pill in their meals or treats, opening the pill bottle in secrecy, or simply washing your hands before administering pills.
We also learned that these techniques can be used in combination to be more effective in tricking your pup into taking their medication. In any instance, it is important to consult with your veterinarian before moving forward with any of these tricks.
They can give you the best advice and maybe even be able to offer some alternative ideas or medications. We hope you have found this article helpful in your journey on getting your pup to cooperate when it comes to taking pills!
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