Getting a dog to take a pill?

[beemk]

how do you get a dog to take a pill? i got him to eat it with cheese the first time but now he just seperates it and eats the cheese. i tried tilting his head back and he wouldnt open his mouth?

is there anything else to try?

[420]

put your hand over his snout and pry his mouth open, tilt his head back slightly

put the pill in the very back of his throat and hold his mouth shut until he swallows it

make sure his has access to water afterwards

this is what my vet told me to do for my cats. I'm sure it will be just as easy for your dog.

[Tala]

Two ways that I know work great.

One is to get a piece of steak, slice a small pocket in the side of the bite, insert pill deeply, then let the steak go back to it form with the slit/pocket closing behind it and toss it to him as a treat. One swallow, rarely a chomp, pill is in the doggie.

If nothing else works, (you may have toget help with this one), open dog's mouth yourself by placing your hand over his muzzle and prying the jaw itself open, pop the pill in as far back as possible, quickly close the mouth and firmly hold the jaw shut while stroking his throat. this will give him the urge to swallow, and don't let go until he does. Afterward, give him a treat.

Good luck.

[KMR Stitch]

Depends how big the dog is...

The bigger he is the easier.

I would just get a Hushpuppy/Breadball

And put the pill insde and throw it so he catches and eats in..

[PersianKitty]

Crush the pill between two spoons (or open if it's a capsule). Then mix it in a small amount of peanut butter. Dogs usually love peanut butter and will like it right off the spoon.

[sickkittens]

What kind of dog is it?

Try peanut butter?

[nosey]

Originally posted by PersianKitty
Crush the pill between two spoons (or open if it's a capsule). Then mix it in a small amount of peanut butter. Dogs usually love peanut butter and will like it right off the spoon.

[TiGrrPrr]

hot dog pieces. no cooking required and feed em two dummy ones before giving them the loaded one. of course the pit bull i gave em to wasn't picky on treats.

[beemk]

its a pitbull/lab mix. hes is pretty big and all muscle. i just held his mouth open and dropped it in. the spit it up the first time but got it the second time. i think im going to try the peanut butter one the second time, thanks a ton for the advice everyone.

[Jarmusch]

Mix it with some caviar. The dog won't notice a thing.

[TurboTrucker]

Put it in something cheese hotdog whatever, feed it the piece with the pill and then immediately follow that with another piece - he'll swallow the first one and concentrate on the second one.

[DirtyDanza]

Originally posted by beemk
its a pitbull/lab mix. hes is pretty big and all muscle. i just held his mouth open and dropped it in. the spit it up the first time but got it the second time. i think im going to try the peanut butter one the second time, thanks a ton for the advice everyone.

you clamp his mouth shut with your hands... and dog can't open it's mouth with your hands there... I have a pit as well... they have strong jaws when biting down... and you will know when they swallow .... how do you think vets do it? they don't have penut butter at the vet.LOLOL

[Shagpipe]

Originally posted by 420
put your hand over his snout and pry his mouth open, tilt his head back slightly

put the pill in the very back of his throat and hold his mouth shut until he swallows it

That's how I get my dog to take his. Works great.

[GiantGnome]

Step 1: Pry dogs mouth open

Step 2: Put pill in dogs mouth then close mouth shut

Step 3: Rub dogs throat till he swallows.

Step 4: Go back to watching tv till commercial.

Step 5: Go to kitchen to get a beer.

Step 6: Pick up pill off kitchen floor and repete steps 1 through 3 till he actually swallows pill

[PenisFace]

Get a hotdog weiner... Stick the pill into the weiner. crush the wiener into a ball, then give it to the dog. Dog will eat the whole thing and not realize the pil was ever there.

[beemk]

Originally posted by GiantGnome

Step 6: Pick up pill off kitchen floor and repete steps 1 through 3 till he actually swallows pill

hahahahhahahaha

[cyberpunk]

I've got a pair of rotts always put the pill in a enough penut butter to cover it, they eat it quick easy and done.

[sickkittens]

cream cheese works too

[mastamindz]

[jhauser]

Cheese works for me. My dogs love a little chedder cheese.

[playa]

try getting a dog to pee in a cup,

i got alittle yorkie and it wasn't any fun

[B40]

Originally posted by sickkittens
What kind of dog is it?

Try peanut butter?

That's what I was going to say, or try just putting it in with his food, he won't even notice it's there.

[digifan]

I have no problem with the big dogs but have a yorkie too and she is very tricky.. she won't swallow it.. well sometimes cream cheease does work but she is giving me a hard time always...

[BV]

I use the hold snout stick it throat and hold mouth shut method too.
Alot easier to do with a dog than a cat from my experience.

Cat bites are much worse than a dog bite. (as far as germs and infections)

Last meds I gave my cats was that pink Amoxil liguid. Geez what a chore. As a few days past they sorta get used to it.

I also have to squirt this ear cleaner solution in one cats ear every so often. He really loves that. not.....

[laura99]

Originally posted by Tala

If nothing else works, (you may have toget help with this one), open dog's mouth yourself by placing your hand over his muzzle and prying the jaw itself open, pop the pill in as far back as possible, quickly close the mouth and firmly hold the jaw shut while stroking his throat. this will give him the urge to swallow, and don't let go until he does. Afterward, give him a treat.

Good luck.

That's what I do.

[Nasty]

Originally posted by PersianKitty
Crush the pill between two spoons (or open if it's a capsule). Then mix it in a small amount of peanut butter. Dogs usually love peanut butter and will like it right off the spoon.

Yup, my sister works at an animal hospital, they use peanut butter to give dogs pills

[Trixie Racer]

Put pill into 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter. Fold the peanut butter over the pill. Hold the spoon upside down while feeding the dog to ensure he eats the pill instead of just licking off the peanut butter.

Originally posted by playa
try getting a dog to pee in a cup,

i got alittle yorkie and it wasn't any fun

I just sharted from laughing so hard! Why were you trying to get your dog to pee in a cup? Was your water shut off?

[axelcat]

Smash the pill up and mix it with the food

[Trixie Racer]

Originally posted by axelcat
Smash the pill up and mix it with the food

When I would mash up the pill, my dogs were much less likely to finish the peanut butter.

[Hardcore J]

easiest solution .. peanut butter + cheese -- stick the pill to the peanut butter, he'll try to down the cheese and take the peanut butter with it.

[CDSmith]

Here's what I do......


put the pill in an empty breadbag
put it on the counter, and then crush it by tapping the pill with a hammer.
once it's crushed good, dissolve it in some warm water
add a few small cut-up table scraps if you have any handy
pour it over his food and mix it all up


He'll eat his food and the pill and won't know the difference. I've had to give my dog meds from time to time and this method always works 100% of the time.

[valley hina]

put the pill in a bread that's what i do

[venturi]

Aside from all the other advice you've gotten, here's mine and it's been backed up by 30+ years of dealing with vets...

Given that it's a Pit mix these might be difficult, they have exteremely strong jaws...

1) Scissor the jaws open using your thumb and fore-finger to open the mouth and tilt its head back then literally shove the pill down its throat. Close the jaws and massage the throat to facilitate swallowing.

2) Place your grip at the back of its jaw and squeeze sharply, this should force the jaw to open (though in rotties and pits this can be a serious chore). Once the jaw is opened keep pressure on it to keep it open and again shove the pill to the back of their throat and then clamp the jaw closed and massage the throat to ensure them swallowing.

3) Grind up the pills and add it to either wet food or gravy type dry food.

#3 is probably the safest bet, but 1 & 2 will work if you're not afraid of losing a finger.