We now have our first spat. Ramsey has to take some pills to cure poop problems. The meds are working, but if he misses a pill in his food, I have to "pill" him.

He doesn't like pnut butter and now if I try to put it in a piece of meat and give it to him, he runs away. He is getting too smart for that.

Since I "pilled" him this morning, he won't come near me. Sheesh what a grouch!

I tried to praise him and play with him after that but no deal. What now?

Doesn't like PB but what about cream cheese or velveeta?

I got a taste of Duke's Trifexis once by accident :puke: it's really no wonder he doesn't like it. That stuff is supposed to be given with a meal, so I put something taste on the pill to cut the bitterness and pill him first, while he's disgruntled I hand him dinner. It seems to make a difference. The longer the taste is hanging out, the longer they'll remember who it was that put it there, I suppose.

I love the Greenies Pill Pockets. You can get them at just about any pet store or Amazon. They are soft treats that smell really good. You stuff the pill in there and squish the treat closed around the pill. Most dogs will gladly take the whole thing just like that.

However, for the smart or picky ones, I have a method that has never let me down!

Use the pill pockets (or if you don't have those, use velveeta, cheese, raw hamburger, etc.) and stuff the pill inside.

Get a VERY high value food item ready... like a piece of turkey lunch meat or chunk of steak, etc.

Put the pill pocket in one hand and the high value food treat in the other. Give the pill pocket and immediately put the lunch meat right in front of the dogs nose/eyes. Wave it around. One whiff of the high value food item and they will swallow whatever is in their mouth to get at the other piece of food 99% of the time.

With my GSD, I can just use the pill pockets. I just squish it in half and use the above method with the 2nd half of the pill pocket as the reward. He gulps down the first one so he can get to the 2nd.

Can you just put them directly in his food. Crush them with a pill crusher or open caps & mix in food. So he can't eat around it. (Great if on a raw diet. Kibble not so much.) If so you can help disguise it in the food with maybe a pump of extra salmon oil or some other bit of fish like tuna(although you don't want to use that too often...but for this purpose it would be acceptable to use more then normal) or sardines.

Or maybe make some treat balls with some tuna or salmon & maybe some cooked rice or oatmeal & salmon oil mixed together & crush or open the cap & put it in one of these balls.

Kristin, it is more the act of opening his mouth and putting the pill down than the taste.

Anne, I can't guarantee he will "clean his bowl" so crushing them is iffy.

Lee, I will definitely try your suggestion. He is soooo suspicious of new treats now. But I got some pill pockets.

I also have a raw meatball here to see if he will eat it.

He is lethargic. I think the meds are affecting him. We'll see.

Thanks to all.

Velveeta has always been a winner for me, you can really squish it around the pill.

I guess I should try Velveeta. But he has never liked cheese. However, Velveeta is different..LOL.

He wouldn't touch the pill pockets even empty.

So, I had the butcher grind up a top round steak, and I made some raw meatballs(just rolled up meat). He never touched it. So I cooked it lightly. He LOVED it! So I made some more and put all the meds in it. He ate everything.

Expensive dog, spoiled brat!

I put meds in a gelatin capsule if they aren't coated. It makes them tasteless.

I dog sit and have had up to four containers of stuff left for me to try tricking the dog with. I'll try baiting them once but after that the pill gun comes out. I'm not putting the dog through a 15 minute ordeal when I can pill them in a few seconds with the gun. They get whatever bait food was left for them after I've got the pill down them.

When I have to give pills, I don't usually bother trying to disguise them. I just open the dog's mouth, place the pill back far enough so they can't spit it out, and that's that. I'm quick, gentle, and careful not to make a big deal out of it. I do it as I'm preparing a meal, just before I set the bowls down, so they're thinking about that and not the pill. If I have to give a pill in between meals, I make sure to follow it with a snack of some favorite food. Eating afterwards helps ensure the pill goes all the way down.

I've never actually set out to train my dog to let me do this, per se, but from the get-go, they all get used to having their mouths handled. (Vets really appreciate that, too.) I open the mouth, touch their lips, teeth, gums, tongue, and follow with a tasty reward. As with anything, I start slow, just a touch of a second or two. Might be something to work on with Ramsey for the future.

I put Tuckers meds on a forkful of Tripet. That stuff is so smelly he has no idea there's a pill in it.
I also make sure to have another forkful at the ready just in case he feels the pill in his mouth.
So i guess i do the same as Lee...pil in treat then another treat right away so he is distracted from what he already has in his mouth and wants what I have in my hand.