Last Updated on November 22, 2021 by Marco
Wondering how to give medicine to a dog that won’t eat? We’ve got you covered. This article will tell you how to look after your sick canine.
Pet parents dread the thought of their furbabies falling ill. And, there’s a good reason for that. Canines usually are pretty self-sufficient, but they appear super-helpless when sick.
Then there’s the fact that some doggos go off their food when coming down with something – making it a struggle to give them their medication. If your pet canine is the same, this article can help you out!
We’ve compiled four straightforward tips to help you feed your pet food and medication – without too much hassle. That way, you can be sure your pet has all the energy it needs to bounce back from its ailment in no time.
How To Give Medicine To A Dog – Four Easy Tricks
All the doggy owners out there who’re anxiously thinking up answers to how to get a dog to take a pill when he won’t eat are about to have their worries swept away. Before listing down the tips to help your pet eat its pills, let’s take a moment to highlight what’s absolutely necessary when your pet’s ill. That’s right – a quick visit to the veterinarian.
Self-medicating your pet, even with drugs your vet has prescribed previously, isn’t a good idea. For one thing, how quickly your pet recovers from an illness doesn’t just depend on drugs; it also requires an accurate diagnosis. That’s something only a qualified veterinarian can help you with.
Additionally, your pet canine’s system isn’t built quite like yours. Giving your doggo the wrong dosage of medication can result in side effects that make your pet feel worse. To avoid all such problems, it’s best to have your pet checked out by the veterinarian to ensure its health recovers the way it should.
Now that we have those disclaimers out of the way let’s jump to those doggy medicating tricks we promised. Here goes –
Give Your Dog Its Medicine Hidden In Wet Food
Readers asking how to get a dog to take a pill are going to love this tip.
Here’s the thing. Most of the time, cats and dogs tend to lose their appetite when they’re ill because they can’t smell their food properly. Think about it, how appetizing would your favorite dish feel if you couldn’t enjoy its aroma? Similarly, doggos tend to experience diminished enjoyment of their food when their noses behave a little wonky.
Thankfully, you can easily overcome this problem by tempting your pet with a good-quality brand of wet dog food. And, what’s even better, is that you can hide your pet’s pills within the bowl of wet food quite easily. Some experts also recommend slightly heating up the food to ensure your dog can smell the food to some extent. Doing so will increase the chances of your pet chowing down the meal without being picky.
Learn more about: How Many Treats Per Day For A Puppy? Watch Those Calories!
Trick Your Pet Into Eating Its Medicine By Playing Games
Canines, no matter their breed, are extremely fond of their owners and family. That means there will be times your doggo will want to indulge in its regular playtime routine, even when it’s not feeling too brilliant. You can use these times to get your furbaby to eat its medicine. How? That’s pretty simple, and dog owners searching for terms like – dog won’t take a pill – should listen up.
Start by grabbing two or three of your canine’s favorite treats (make sure they’re bite-sized for this trick). Hide your dog’s medication in one of the treats, and you’re ready to play catch! Start by tossing your pet a treat that doesn’t contain the medicine and let it enjoy chowing down on it. Once the first treat is devoured, launch the second treat (the one with the pill).
Make sure you big a deal of the second treat before throwing it to your pet. That’ll help increase your canine’s excitement and push it to gobble down the treat faster. Finally, toss the last treat (this one also being medication-free) to ensure any lingering taste of the medication is washed away by the yumminess of the treat.
Use Distraction To Get Your Dog To Eat Its Pills
Your dog may not look very smart when it’s chasing its own tail, but canines are pretty perceptive to their humans and surroundings. Once your pet figures out, there’s a particular time associated with the medications you feed it – be sure your doggo won’t make the task easy.
But, for every smart doggy out there, there’s a smarter human owner. That’s why using the distraction technique to feed your canine its medication can work like a charm. You can do this easily by introducing something new every time you give your pet its medicine. For instance, take your pet on a walk, play catch, break out the treats, etc.
Keep your pet guessing when about medication time, and soon enough, your canine won’t realize when to get all stubborn about not eating its pills.
Utilize Gel Capsules To Give Your Dog Its Medicines
Another brilliant solution for those asking how to give medicine to a dog that won’t eat is gel capsules. Let’s face it, some medications taste less than ideal, and dogs have a much more nuanced sense of taste compared to humans. That means your pet may be avoiding eating its medicine, even hidden in food or treats because it tastes truly horrific.
That’s where gel capsules can help you out. All you need to do is grind the proper pill dose to a power (hygienically, of course) and fill an empty gel capsule with the powder. Voila, you’ve just discovered a way to mask the initial taste of your dog’s medicine. After that, you can hide the gel capsule in your dog’s food and treats – without it being any wiser.
Conclusion
We’re hoping we’ve given dog parents asking how to give medicine to a dog that won’t eat enough ideas to get their pets to swallow their medication. And that too without too much stress for both parties. However, if the tricks mentioned here don’t bear any fruits, you can ask the vet for flavored medication. Another solution is to learn how to utilize a pill gun safely. As always, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts or stories about tricking canines into eating medicines – we’d love to hear from you!
