How to Give Your Dog a Pill at Home

At some point in our dog's life, we're surely going to have to give it one or several pills, whether to treat some illness or as part of its routine deworming.

It doesn't seem very hard, but the truth is dogs don't usually understand they have to swallow it... To manage it, we can turn to a series of tricks and foods that will make the task much easier. We explain them below.

How to Give Your Dog a Pill Without It Spitting It Out

If you handle your dog perfectly well, you can go ahead and give it the pill directly in its mouth. Nothing more. You just need to open its mouth with one hand, which you can do by holding its muzzle and slipping a finger on each side behind its fangs. With the other hand, push the pill toward the back of the mouth. Right behind the tongue there's a point of no return.

This means the pill will be swallowed almost immediately, although some dogs still manage to spit it out. Afterward, pull your hand out and keep its mouth closed for a few seconds. Gently massage its throat, since that triggers the swallowing reflex. Watch it for a few minutes to make sure it has swallowed the pill.

Of course, none of these moves should be done roughly. Look for a calm moment. It's good to get your dog used to being handled from puppyhood or as soon as it arrives home, and of course to give it good training. This way it will be easier for you to give it pills and any other medication.

Crushing or Splitting Your Dog's Pills

Careful — before handling the pill, you need to have gotten the vet's approval. Some need to be given whole for them to have the desired effect. If it's possible to split it, one option is to break it into small pieces or even crush it so it can be given well mixed with food.

Some dogs swallow it as is just by dropping it in their bowl. But for that, it needs to be eating normally, which doesn't happen in every case where pills are needed by sick dogs. Also, some dogs spit out the pill if they detect it, or, if it's crushed, leave the food it came into contact with.

To improve their tolerance, we can give it to them in wet or homemade food they don't normally eat and are especially interested in. The crushed pill can also be mixed with water to give with a syringe. This is done by inserting it through the side of the mouth, behind the fang, and always giving the liquid little by little.

Hiding Pills From Your Dog

Cans of wet food usually work very well for disguising pills. But foods from our own table also do the trick. There are many dogs can eat, such as meats, fish, fruits, or vegetables. For giving pills, the most advisable are their favorites or ones you can fully hide or cover the pill with.

For example, a slice of cooked ham or a small piece of soft cheese. A trick that usually works is showing it a piece of the chosen food and giving it a few portions without the pill. Once it's gotten into the routine, offer it the piece with the pill and, right after, another one with no trick. The precaution is to avoid ingredients that are forbidden for it.

These are salt, sauces, fats, sugars, caffeine, alcohol, or chocolate. Also, if your dog has some illness, check with the vet before choosing a food in case it could be harmful. Never leave a disguised pill unsupervised if you live with more animals at home. A healthy one could eat it.

Special Snacks for Pills

If you've tried everything and still can't get your dog to swallow the pill, but instead it ends up crumbled in your hands, on the floor, or in its bowl, so there's no way to guarantee it has taken the dose it needs, you still have options.

You can find treats for sale with a hollow spot designed for you to insert the pill in question and close it up, shaping it. They come in different sizes so they fit each dog's traits better.

What to Do If My Dog Won't Swallow the Pill

But if absolutely nothing works, the last option is to let your vet know and ask for a change in the medication's format. Sometimes pill-based deworming can be perfectly replaced with spot-on pipettes. There are also flavored pills that dogs usually accept as if they were a treat.

Other times there's a version of the same active ingredient in syrup form, which some dogs tolerate better or, at least, don't spit out. And there's also the injectable option the vet can administer at the clinic.

If we're up for it and it's necessary, the vet can teach us to give the injection ourselves so we can medicate our dog without having to leave home. Skipping the prescribed treatment is never an option. You need to follow the vet's instructions for it to be successful.