# My dog is the easiest dog in the world to give pills to **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112 "2009-07-06T19:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/1 "2009-07-06T19:04:53Z")
We recently took [Zoe](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8Z1CmlheLSY4ft1MjgwLsQ?feat=directlink) to get her rabies shots updated, and per the vet’s recommendation got some heartworm prevention pills to start her on. This was the first time we’d ever tried to give her a pill, and I remembered how much trouble it was for my parents to get the family dog to take her pills when I was a kid. When we got home I wondered out loud if we should try the peanut butter trick, or roll it in cheese. My husband says “Let me try”. Husband: _holds pill up like it’s a treat_ You want this? Zoe: _wags tail_ Husband: You want it? Do ya? Do ya? Zoe: _wags tail harder_ Husband: Here you go! _gives her the pill_ Zoe: _eats pill_ Me: … huh. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/2 "2009-07-06T19:10:36Z")
How long is the course of treatment? A dog might fall for that once. Our cat needs antibiotics for ten days, and we’re on day six. He definitely needs to be swaddled in a towel and have the pill shoved in two or three times before he swallows. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/3 "2009-07-06T19:22:48Z")
Are you giving her the pills that look and taste like treats? My dog takes such heartworm pills, and they’re no problem for her either. You’re cheating! Now, if they are not tasty treat-tasting nibbles, then I’m impressed. I think Dolly’s pretty awesome at taking pills. I’ve never had a problem with her. For non-heartworm pills, peanut butter or cheese and it’s gone in one gulp. One of her cousin dogs won’t even eat peanut butter, for fear that there may be a pill inside. The other cousin dog I have to trap in a corner and stick a ball of PB&Pills to the roof of her mouth, which is a very messy operation especially if Dolly is around and figured out that mommy has a hand full of peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/4 "2009-07-06T19:23:02Z")
My dog will gladly chomp down the flavored heartworm preventative as well. He takes one sniff and takes it. Anything else he has no interest in and we either encase it in cheese (effective) and cram his down his throat (not so effective or fun). ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/5 "2009-07-06T19:34:04Z")
My Luna begs for pills and purrs when she gets them, as long as they are wrapped in [Greenies Pill Pockets](http://www.greenies.com/en_us/Products/FelinePillPockets.aspx). Luna recommends the chicken flavor. When I was putting the pills inside them, she meowed at me to hurry up with her treat. They also make them [for dogs](http://www.greenies.com/en_US/products/dogpillpockets.aspx?Product_ID=). ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/6 "2009-07-06T19:37:54Z")
Two of my dogs will take the heartworm pills. The other one I have to get creative. The other day I used a ball of rolled up cheesy casserole. 😃 Peanut butter, hot dogs, and velveeta are all out. Antibiotics are the problem - once he chomps down on one, it’s so bitter he won’t ever trust that particular food again. The other two are easy. Brushing their teeth, though… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/7 "2009-07-06T19:48:18Z")
My sweet, dumb kitty needed a week’s worth of antibotics delivered in pill form, twice a day. It took him at least 4 days to figure it out and get resistant. The first few days were sure easy! Open mouth, pop pill way back there. Got trickier after he finally figured out he didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/8 "2009-07-06T19:50:00Z")
Yeah - Tilly will take the heartworm pills eagerly. Other pills - not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/9 "2009-07-07T01:10:51Z")
Good story! Here’s hoping it continues to work!! The last pill-able pets we had were the cats, 20+ years ago. Our senior fellow was the easiest cat in the world to pill, really - we’d rattle the container of treats, he’d come running, we’d pick him up, pry his mouth open, and drop that pill in. He _never_ spat it out. And he always got a treat afterward. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/10 "2009-07-07T05:12:35Z")
My [Willow](http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1117/img0475c.jpg) is on daily prednisone but she’s super easy to dose. I tuck the pill into a soft Whiskas treat - any flavor - and she gulps it right down. Fortunate since she’s on it for life. She even comes and reminds me when it’s pill time then runs ahead of me to the bathroom. Quite a contrast to my old gray tabby. He never fell for any trick more than once and I swear he could tell if I was even _thinking_ about giving him a pill. ---
**Author:** ![Neeps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@Neeps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neeps)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/11 "2009-07-07T08:37:23Z")
My sweet collie, Isla, is fantastic about taking her pills. She’s had epilepsy since she was about 3 (she’s 12 now), and has to take pills twice a day, every day. That’s a lot of pills. Initially we tried different kinds of treats to hide them in, but it soon became apparent that they weren’t needed at all. Now, as soon as you asked her to come and take her pill, she comes straight over to you, sits down, looks up and opens her mouth. You simply pop it in and you’re good to go. And they are not even nice pills - scratchy, chalky things. Can’t taste nice. The other dog, though, is the devil dog when it comes to pill popping. It’s a whole other story, complete with wrestling, chasing, and wild, pleading eyes (both us and the dog!). ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/12 "2009-07-07T12:30:57Z")
I haven’t had a dog yet (currently on #5) that didn’t fall for the old ‘Pill in a glob of cream cheese’ trick. We give them globs of cream cheese without the pills on occasion just to keep them interested. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/13 "2009-07-07T12:45:32Z")
Are you absoultely sure he’s eating it? I had me a dog and he was a genius at holding the pill in his mouth then he’d spit it out. Once we crammed an entire pack of hot dogs down his throat and when he was done eating them, \ out came the pill. We thought he was taking them finally then we’d find the pills under the table. He was obviously getting smarter, don’t spit the pill out. We finally just gave up opened the pill and mixed with with grape jelly and put it on his paw. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/14 "2009-07-07T13:35:19Z")
The pills are disk-shaped, and a bit bigger than I expected them to be. I don’t know if they’re flavored. The box doesn’t say, and they don’t smell like anything to me, but then I don’t have a dog’s nose. She didn’t seem too bothered by the taste, but she’ll eat just about anything, including lemon rinds and banana peels (stolen from the trash) and once a whole habanero pepper (accidentally dropped on the floor when making salsa), without batting an eyelash. Which is why my husband thought to try just feeding her the pill. She only has to take these once a month, so even if she didn’t like it, hopefully by the time she’s due for the next one she’ll have forgotten about the last one. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/15 "2009-07-07T13:56:32Z")
My coworker tells me she feeds pills to her two dogs and two cats with cream cheese, which causes trouble when one is getting a pill and the others aren’t. Her cat is so enamored of cream cheese that at one point when she gave a pill to her Yellow Lab wrapped in some, the cat clapped both of its paws on the Lab’s face, as if to say, “Give it to ME!” ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-is-the-easiest-dog-in-the-world-to-give-pills-to/502112/16 "2009-07-07T17:44:51Z")
I used to also shove my old cats pills into treats and stuff. Apparently, it was effective enough that even when she ate the treat and the pill fell out, the pill still smelled good enough that she’d gobble it up off the floor.