How to make a dog swallow a pill

Understanding how to get a dog to eat a pill is not always easy. However, for any owner, this is an important skill that needs to be mastered. Fortunately, in most cases it is not so difficult.

Most pets are reluctant to take medication in pill form simply because they don’t like the taste of it. With that in mind, what can an owner do to make it easier for a dog to take medication?

How to Give Your Dog a Pill: The Meatball Method

Although in the case of a dog, a spoonful of sugar in which a pill is hidden will not help, the principle is the same. If your veterinarian allows you to take the medicine with food, you can hide the capsule or tablet in homerefreshments. You can use canned food, lean meats, cheese, peanut butter, or any of your pet’s favorite foods to form into a ball. Lean meats or canned dog food are ideal for low-calorie diets, as the medication should not lead to weight gain.

There are also special treats for dogs that can hide medicines and are often found at the pet store or veterinary clinic. When giving an animal a pill, it is not recommended to use raw meat – it can create new problems, such as infection with bacteria such as salmonella.

Many dogs will gladly and gratefully accept the first meatball, and in most cases this will be the easiest way to give a pet a pill. However, if the dog is already very suspicious, you will first have to give him a meatball without a pill in order to earn trust. Then the pill should be put in the next ball.

If the tablet should not be taken with food

If the pill is not meant to be taken with food, or if it has a super-sharp scent, you may need to take matters into your own hands – literally. How to give a dog a pill if it spits out:

1. Stand next to the dog so that you look with him in the same direction. Then you need to take a treat in your dominant hand.
2. Putting your non-dominant hand on the dog’s upper jaw so that the thumb is on one side and the remaining fingers on the other, the dominant hand should lower the dog’s lower jaw. In the same hand, the owner should have a treat. It is important to remember that the dog’s mouth opens by lowering the lower jaw. It is important to try not to open the dog’s mouth, pulling the upper jaw up.



3. In order to adjust the dog to this new experience, you need to put the treat closer to the base of the tongue. To do this, you will have to temporarily remove your hand from the lower jaw, so you need to act as quickly as possible. At this point, the owner’s hand will momentarily be in the dog’s mouth, so this maneuver must be carried out with extreme caution due to the natural risk of being bitten by a dog. It is necessary to start with a treat to help the dog relax and understand that nothing terrible is happening and that a little help from him will do him good. Depending on how difficult it was the first time, you can repeat the trick with treats—or even regular dog food—to teach your pet to take pills without a fight.
4. Once the owner and dog have mastered the “open mouth and get a treat” maneuver, it’s time to move on to the main action, replacing the treat with a pill. If possible, place the tablet closer to the back of the tongue, but better – to the base.
5. You should always praise your pet and reward him with treats after he successfully swallows the medicine. In case especially anxious dogs Repeated tricks with treats instead of pills at the very beginning and praise each time she takes a treat will help to desensitize the dog to medication in general.

Because this method requires a bit more skill, it’s worth asking your veterinarian for a “master class” before attempting it yourself.

After successfully placing the tablet in the dog’s mouth, keep the dog’s mouth closed by quickly placing the dominant hand on the lower jaw. This will help provide soft control. You can also blow on your dog’s nose and gently stroke his throat to encourage swallowing. Most dogs lick their nose after swallowing a pill. After that, you need to watch the pet for a few seconds so that he does not spit out the pill.

How to give your dog liquid medicine

If the dog does not want to eat the pills, other forms of medication may need to be considered. For example, a veterinarian may prescribe liquid medications that can be injected through the syringe or dropper that comes with the medication into the back of the dog’s mouth. To do this, you need to insert the tip of the syringe in the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe back teeth on one side. The cheek pouch is another great place to target medicine.

В Merck Veterinary Guide explains how to give your dog medication by syringe. To do this, keep the dog’s head pointing slightly up, this can help prevent spillage.

If it is difficult for the owner to give the dog medication, it is important to openly and honestly discuss this with the veterinarian. He will help tailor your pet’s treatment plan so everyone feels calm and safe. Even if a doctor cannot prescribe a drug in a different form, he may have his own tips and tricks that he has learned over many years of work.

If the owner is not good at giving medication to the dog, it is worth using the instructions to learn this important skill and not ignore the recommendations of specialists.

See also:

• How to give pills to your dog
• What do dogs like and how to pamper them?
• How to keep your dog healthy: 7 tips from Hill’s