How do you trick your pet into taking his medication?

[Romeyrider]

As a dog or cat owner I am sure you have had to give your pet a pill of some sort at one time or another. Which method works best for you into tricking your pet into taking medication?

I personally use Pill Pockets... Smoked Hickory Flavored. They love them so much some sometimes they get them just as a treat!

[Karen]

With our bunny, it was impossible, as the medicine was always in liquid form. Thankfully sometimes she liked the taste and would lap it from the end of the eyedropper.

Our family dogs, cheese, or peanut butter usually did the trick, but after a while it was the "open do's moth, throw the pill down as far back into the throat as you could, then hold the muzzle shut and stroke the throughout. Otherwise our dogs all be came quite adept at eating the bribe and spitting out the pill when she thought we weren't looking!

[Freedom]

You really should NOT 'trick' your dog (or cat) into anything. This just breaks the trust bond between the 2 of you.

My dogs are taught to swallow and to chew. So when it comes time for medicine, they are told to 'swallow' and it goes down. I put it in something slickery.

The cats are a bit more difficult to train, but it can be done, and I've succeeded with several.

[Catty1]

With Oscar I usually have to just hold him and get pills down his throat. Thankfully I don't have to do this often. Pill pockets fool him for about a day.

Cole is on liquid Metacam, as was Oscar for a while. Thankfully, they happily take it in their food.

[Cataholic]

Four out of ten cats are on meds right now. Two of them are twice a day! I can easily pill three of them with a pill popper.

[pomtzu]

Wolfy is easy - peanut butter. Myndi was horrible - I risked bodily harm trying to get meds in her if they were pills of a substantial size, and she managed to spit/dribble out liquids too. If pills had no real taste, then I could pulverize and put in her food, but her Tramadol was bitter and if I put it in her food, then she wouldn't eat it. Ended up getting it compounded to a cream to rub in her ear....expensive, but at least I knew she was getting it. Sparky wasn't too bad - I'd hide them in his canned food that I rolled into little meatballs. They both got wise to hiding them in cheese, and a pill popper was a big failure.

[lolli94]

Lolli is so easy, she'll eat anything if I tell her to. When I used Trifexis I had a horrible time getting them to take it, so I used peanut butter. Lolli loves anything involving peanut butter

[kaycountrygal]

If the pill for dog can be crushed, I put it in their food. If it has to be swallowed whole, I wrap it in cheese. For the kitten, I haven't had to do that yet.

I just noticed that I voted the wrong selection. I did not see CHEESE when I voted on Other.

[Sammm025]

There isnt really a way to trick my ferret into taking her medicine because its a liquid type. She has to take the medicine every 24 hours. The first few weeks were a pain, she hated it]. However after awhile she actually started to like the medicine.

[Jessika]

All of the above... but most commonly I just stick 'em down the back of their throat, hold their mouth closed, and rub their throat to initiate them to swallow.

For cats I just use a piller followed by a syringe with some water.

I'm lucky... for the most part, most of my pets will take their meds by just tossing it in their bowl with their food. Sometimes my older girl will be a little more stubborn and will eat around them, in which case I just pop em down the back of her throat. She has learned to try to use her "jaws of life" on me to clench her mouth closed, but I get my way eventually

[ChrisH]

Lolli is so easy, she'll eat anything if I tell her to. When I used Trifexis I had a horrible time getting them to take it, so I used peanut butter. Lolli loves anything involving peanut butter

That's a Springer for you, my Bob was exactly the same. Other dogs I've been owned by, Dobies, Shepherds, Mutts I used the pill in mouth stroke throat method but now my Alfie has me beat. Once or twice the crushed in food method has been the one that worked but as he is so fussy in eating said food anyway it is totally hit and miss.