How We Get Our Dog To Take Medicine
We finally found the best way to get our dog to take medicine.
If you have ever had to suffer though giving pills to a dog who has no intention of swallowing them, no doubt you have tried a few different methods.
Meet Orbit our sweet fur baby. We picked him out of a box at a shopping center about fifteen years ago. He was the runt of the liter which is why we chose him. When we saw the little boy and his Dad with that box of puppies, we didn’t even talk about should we get one, we just picked one out.
Our daughter named him Orbit because he ran circles around the Lab we already had.
When Orbit was a younger fella, he would dig out from under the fence and roam around. It was a nightmare trying to keep him home. Even though we live rural, the road still poses a danger to dogs.
Orbit was hit by a car and survived.
It took us three days to find him and he was very sick by then with infection in an ugly wound to his left shoulder. The Vet was fabulous and not only saved his life but she saved his leg too. The healing process from that experience took about three months back in 2010. He had to take a lot of medicine at that time and we just fought that process with him daily. We tried all the usual tricks. We put the pills in bread, those store bought pill pockets, buried it in his food, you name it, we did it.
Fast forward 7 years and here we are giving Orbit pills again. As an older dog now, Orbit seems to be more prone to become sick. He was diagnosed with a tumor not too long. So far the tumor has only been superficial and caused no real problems. We lost our Beagle Basset mix to breast cancer several years ago so we were shocked to learn Orbit had a tumor.
He recently developed a skin infection which is fairly common in dogs apparently. His blood work showed an elevated white count, sign of infection so here come the meds. Orbit is no more excited to take pills than he ever was. If anything, he is worse to try to medicate.
Because he has lost some weight while being sick, I had the bright idea to cook chicken for him. We have never fed our dogs ‘people food’ except for pizza crust on occasion. They know what a pizza box is, lol. A very dear friend of mine used to boil chicken for his little Yorkies when they wouldn’t eat. It worked like a charm. Orbit has never eaten chicken before so for all he knows it tastes like crushed up pills!
Boiling leg quarters is easier than a whole hen because the skin is easier to remove and there are less bones to deal with. I do not add any seasoning and I do save the broth. We crush up his pills and sprinkle them over the shredded chicken in his dish. I always add about a cup full of broth too and he just loves it. He is always standing by his dish in the kitchen at mealtime and I’m looking forward to his return visit to the Vet to see how much weight he has gained back!
I usually boil a lot at one time. Then debone, shred and freeze it in portions. The chicken is specifically for him to take the meds so he doesn’t get large portions. He gets his regular food after he eats the chicken.
Are you at your wits end trying to get your dog to take medicine? Try boiling and shredding chicken then crush up the pills and sprinkle them them over the chicken.
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Awesome method to make him take the meds. I hope Orbit have recovered and now is very well! <3
He looks like a sweet old boy! My dog knows that when I give her pills she better eat them out of her food or I will just shove them down her throat (I was a vet tech for 8 years so I don’t fool around lol) But when my husband gives her the medicine, she will purposely leave it because then he puts it in something yummy. Usually peanut butter or a banana. Lol. Dogs are funny!
Orbit used to be happy to take his pills with peanut butter on a spoon but he got tired of it and just quit. We’re just big pushovers about him and hated that process of shoving it down his throat. We did it for a while though. He looks forward to eating the chicken and has no idea he is taking his meds. 🙂
What a life Orbit has led! WOW! We give our Taffy pills wrapped in a bit of lunch meat. She gobbles that down so fast I don’t think she even knows there’s a pill inside it LOL
Yes, that car accident was a turning point for him. He was a big 70 pound puppy when that happened but he never left the yard again. Orbit seems to have an extra sense when we try to hide full size pills in food.
My dog spits pills out unless it’s slathered in peanut butter and wrapped in bread. haha They’re worse than kids sometimes.
We were using peanut butter to give the pills to Orbit but he decided enough was enough of that. It was a good trick for a little while though. He started holding the pill in his mouth and spitting it out. LoL
Orbit used to take pills in peanut butter but I guess he just got tired of the peanut butter. I know he quit eating it and trust me, we had a few laughs about smearing peanut butter all over his face and watching him lick it off. 😉
Pretty puppy!! Sounds like how I have to get with my kids! A moms gotta do what a moms gotta do!
So true!
Getting pets to take medicine is very difficult sometimes. We never had a dog but had trouble getting our cats to take medicine. Great ideas.
We have two cats also. Neither has ever had to take meds, thankfully! I can only imagine.
Bless his little heart! I’m so glad you found a way to give him his meds that really works. I’ll have to remember this if Max ever has to take a lot of meds. Orbit is so adorable! You can look at him and tell he’s well loved. So sweet!
Thanks Alli. Orbit is the best fur baby ever. He loves everyone except strangers and lives for loving. He is the best when at the Vet, never puts up a fuss no matter what they do to him. They love him there too.
There is nothing worse than a sick dog. We had a brother/sister shih tzu team for 14 years!! One took medicine..the other was a big trickster and would hold it under his tongue or roof of his-mouth- then spit it out and the sister would eat it!!!! It was nuts.
That’s what Orbit was doing. We were giving it to him with peanut butter for a while but he finally caught on and started holding it in his mouth to spit our later. So frustrating. So far the boiled chicken with crushed meds is working great.
Awh look at your beautiful dog! This past summer, my dog needed medication for Lymes disease and it was impossible to get him to take the medicine!
It does tend to create a memorable experience when nurturing a dog back to health.
We have to get creative with medicine tactics for out pug too. We hide it in peanut butter!
So sorry to hear that your beautiful doggy was hit by a car. Awww! God bless him. Hope he heals up soon.
That was in 2010 as I mentioned in the post. We did a fast forward 7 years to his current ailment. He is much better from that as well now.
That is a brilliant way to get him to take his meds. I must remember this.
I hate having to give meds to our cat. We have our little tricks too and that helps!
We always hid our dog’s pills in cheese. He would practically swallow it whole!
Orbit caught on to the pills wrapped in food trick a long time ago. We had to be more creative. The boiled chicken with broth has helped him to regain the weight also.
Good idea. Getting our pets to take their meds is always a challenge. We will have to try the chicken. Right now I am making a no bake snack that they enjoy eat but this could be a good way to also get more protein in their diet.
Oh I love that idea of making the no bake snack. Thanks for sharing that. I’m off to find a recipe.
Oh poor puppy! Hope the meds get his back to his ol’ lovable self in short order!
He already has a spring in his step and that tail is wagging again. Thanks!
So sorry to hear that your dog has been through so much. It is so wonderful that you care for him so well and give him the care and love that he needs. I will be thinking of him.
Thank you for such kind words Kerri. Orbit is better now that we’ve got him taking his meds. He is well on his way to recovery.