Greenies Pill Pockets
This week, my dogs started to show some signs of allergies again: red, raw ears, bumps above the eyes, lots of scratching. We have been giving them antihistamines, and they don’t take pills easily. In fact, it’s a big PITA. Beans is worse than Lulu — he spits it out no matter what. I wish we had some of these Greenies Pill Pockets on hand, it would make it a lot easier. They need to make these in veggie, white fish or duck. They make them in duck flavor! I’m going to grab some of these this weekend and let you know how they work out.
How do you give your dogs a pill? Do you smush it into a piece of cheese, put it in their food bowl, or force it down?
Smoosh it into a peice of cheese. But he’ll eat it raw too, so I figure I might as well give it some flavor.
I actually have met the guy who invented these and sold them to Greenies! He’s a smart dude.
We usually cover pills with peanut butter or cream cheese. Those are both sticky and usually stick to the roof of the mouth – and in the process of trying to un-stick the PB or CC, the pup swallows the pill. Voila!
These things are the greatest invention ever!!!! Two of my dogs aren’t hard to dose, but my MoJo could find the pill inside anything – cheese, bread, peanut butter, wet dog food…he’d always spit it right out! But with these Pill Pockets he doesn’t even know it’s in there.
I don’t usually like to give my dogs too much cheese, maybe once a week, but I’m giving them these pills every day. I like the PB idea, Katherine – thanks. I will try that!
They do make them in duck flavor! I work at a vet’s office, and we have them in stock. They may be more difficult to find, but they exist.
HOORAY! I will have to find them. Thank you, Leahanne!
Depending on size of pill – for Ruby my BT they are small – I slit open a blueberry and tuck it in. My own version of a pill pocket – LOL. She just loves blueberries!!!
I’ve never fed blueberries to my dog, but they’re like nature’s pill pockets! I will have to try this, too. Thanks, Michele.
my basset hound can sniff the pill in cheese & pill pockets… his nose is just that good. we finally got him to take pills (heartworm & antihistamine) by soaking them in tuna juice and adding them to his food… spoiled I know.
Wow that sounds like a lot of work!
My dog now knows that Pill Pockets = pill, so she won’t go near them. (This from the dog that tries to eat birdseed and lettuce.) For some reason, she doesn’t associate bread w/ pills, so I put her allergy pill in a little wad of low-cal bread. I think it helps that she sees her brother and sister get a little bit of crust, too!
My dogs get suspicious of pills buried in soft treats too and will eat the treat but filter out, then spit out, the pill. My tricks: 1) Feed them a few treats (cheese, liverwurst, a pill pocket, whatever) that DON’T have the pill. They eat the empty first one. I say “more?” then give an empty second. I say “more?” again and by this time they’re just excited for more and I can slip the pill in the 3rd one and there’s no suspicion or scrutiny at this point. The pill gets eaten with the treat b/c they’re hardly chewing at this point just swallowing yummy treats. 2) My other trick is to mix the pill among hard and soft things in an “hors d’oeuvre” made of a mini doggie biscuit, pnut butter on top and pill tucked in the peanut butter. In crunching that treat, a pill is hard to distinguish among the crunchy biscuit and gooey peanut butter. 3) Placebos. When I got my puppy, my older dog was already on daily meds that I gave her using trick 2 above. And when I give them to the dog, I actually call them “pills”. My puppy would sit and wait for a “pill” too. So I’d give her puppy a pnut butter topped biscuit called a “pill” too. Now that she’s older herself and sometimes does need pills, “pills” are no problem because she grew up eating “pill” hors d’oeuvres. The word “pill”alone gets her excited enough to come over and salivate and never to get suspicious.
Thanks for sharing your tricks & tips!
We use the peanut butter trick, but I will admit we are very lucky with our dog, Hadley. She is willing to eat just about anything, especially if you hold it up and make a big deal about “I’m going to give you a TREAT now!”
These pill pockets can really be a life saver when it comes to giving your pet both dogs and cats their medicine.
These are a life saver if you have to give medications daily! One of my pups has thyroid and skin problems so has his own pill pox set up for his AM & PM meds. I honestly tried everything else and these are worth every penny and make it so easy. I have to give my other dog a piece of pill pocket because she loves them too!