4 Tips for Giving Your Dog Medication With Ease

BY | December 16 | COMMENTS PUBLISHED BY

Nobody likes taking medicine. While many people hate the taste or the uncomfortable swallowing motion, people at least understand that takingย medicine will help them feel better in the long term. However, for dogs it can be more difficult. Your pooch may hate the smell of their medicine, the taste of it, or how it's administered.No matter why your dog hates taking medication, it's not an uncommon problem. But, when it's important for them to be taking their

Rimadyl

,

Deramaxx

,

Previcox

or other dog medication, you need to ensure that they eat the whole thing. Use these simple tips to get your picky dog to take their medicine.

Look for flavoredย chewablesย dog-medication-blog-2

When your vet provides you with a prescription and you go online to find the lowest prices for dog medication, make sure you think about the type of medicine as well. Chewable medicine typically comes as beef-flavored or other treats dogs love. Many pooches will have no trouble chewing up this important medication without even knowing they're doing it.

Mask the pill with some fooddog-medication-blog-3

If there aren't flavored versions of your dog's medication,ย Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, from The Dog Trainer recommended you find a smelly food your dog will like. People often try to slip pills into their dog's food, but Benal explained that odor is key. Your dog may avoid the medicine in a bowl of dry food, but when buried in a dollop of cream cheese, it's essentially irresistible. You can even try a slice of regular cheese - many people have luck with a cube of cheddar.

Toss up a treat or twoย dog-medication-blog-4

If you and your pooch have a great toss-and-catch routine already, they may not notice when you add a bit of dog medication. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals explained that this is an easy and harmless way to trick your dog into taking their meds."Grab a handful of small treats and toss them to your dog, one right after the other. Somewhere in the midst of the treats, toss the pill or toss a soft treat with the pill hidden inside. With any luck, your dog will catch and swallow it before heย even notices it was different!" the ASPCA explained.

If all else fails, use your handsย dog-medication-blog-5

As Cesar's Way explained, sometimes there's no way for a dog to take their medication other than just dropping it intoย their throat. In this situation, you need to be safe, but it can work. Talk to your veterinarian about how to force-feed your pooch their pills.Use your

PetPlus

membership to save on flavored chewables, large pills, liquid medicine and everything in between.

Was this article helpful?