The Best Ways to Give Your Dog Exactly What They Need
You need to give your dog a pill, but it’s just not working. As soon as they see you go for the bottle, they run out of the room. You try to sneak it by them, but they keep spitting it out. And when you try to force it… well, that doesn’t work either and ends up causing even more stress.
If it feels impossible to get your dog to take their medicine, you’re not alone. Many dog parents struggle with this problem.
Luckily, there are ways to make this easier, so you can give your dog everything they need to stay healthy.
Why Do Dogs Hate Pills So Much?
If it feels like your dog has a sixth sense when it comes to taking pills, they do. It’s just their natural instincts for self-preservation kicking in. Dogs avoid pills for a few key reasons…
1. The Super Sniffer Effect
Dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell, far beyond what we humans can smell. That’s because dogs have between 100 and 300 million scent receptors compared to our puny 6 million. They’re incredibly skilled at sniffing out unusual scents. Especially ones that smell bitter, like many medicines and supplements do.[1] And even when you try to cover up the smell with high-value foods, your dog can still catch that medicinal scent.[2]
2. Texture and Taste Aversion
So many pills are bitter or chalky, making them unpleasant to any dog’s (or person’s) palate. The odd taste and crumbly, dusty texture can ruin even the tastiest treat. So it’s no surprise that would make a pooch spit out a pill.
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3. Negative Associations
Just like people, dogs have long memories, especially for negative events. So if any pill you’ve given your dog has caused an upset stomach in the past, their instincts may tell them to avoid or reject it before it gets anywhere near their mouth. Your dog may also connect the pill with a stressful event, like a vet visit or a previous unpleasant pill experience. And that can make them even more resistant to taking medications or supplements over time.
4. Survival Instincts
In nature, many bitter tastes are toxic, and animals (including dogs) know to avoid them based on both innate aversion and learned experience. And since even flavored pills can have bitter components for dogs to sniff out and taste, your pet’s drive to survive will make him steer clear.
No matter how important a medication or supplement is, it’s hard to overcome your dog’s superior senses. That’s why so many pill tricks fail, leaving dogs unmedicated and pet parents worried and frustrated.
Why Common Pill-Giving Methods Fail
If you’ve ever had to give your dog a pill, you’ve probably tried all the standard moves. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.[3] Here are the most common methods… and why they don’t always turn out the way you hope.
Wrapping Pills in Food
Seems like a no-brainer: Wrap your dog’s pill in some yummy food, and they’ll take it like a treat. This may work sometimes, if your dog gulps down the food so quickly that he doesn’t notice the bitter pill inside. But smart or experienced dogs will either eat around the pill or simply spit it out. This leaves you with a soggy pill that’s even harder to get your dog to take.
Crushing Pills Into Food
A common next step is to try mashing up the pill and mixing it into your dog’s food. This can spread out any off taste and make it less noticeable. If your dog is a fast eater they might just scarf it all down before they notice the funny taste. But with their super sniffers on the alert, many dogs will sense the change in their food. And if the pill is bitter, it can throw off the taste of their meal, making it unappealing. This can lead to food avoidance, exactly what you don’t want for your dog.
The "Direct Method" (Putting the Pill in Their Mouth)
Trying to stick a pill in your dog’s mouth is a hit-or-miss method that very much depends on your dog’s personality and your relationship with them. If you have an easy-going dog who’s used to you touching their face and mouth, this method can work, and you can ensure that your dog has actually swallowed the pill. But most dogs resist this method by:
- Running away from you or hiding
- Clamping their jaws so you can’t open their mouths
- Growling or acting aggressively to scare you away
Some dogs can even become fearful of this process. And that can lead to even more resistance when it comes to medications and supplements that they need.
If you’ve struggled to get your dogs to take pills and keep them down, you know which methods haven’t worked for you. So you might want to try some of these hacks to increase your odds of pill success.
Vet-Approved Hacks to Get Dogs to Take Pills
When you need to know something about your dog, his vet is the go-to advisor. And who has more experience giving pills to reluctant dogs than your vet and their staff? That’s why they know the best ways to get your dog to comply without stress.
Hack 1: Use “chaser” treats. Give your dog a tasty treat like cheese or chicken before and after the pill. That way, the unpleasant taste of the pill gets sandwiched between rewards.
Hack 2: Use specially designed pill treats. Pill pockets offer a simple way to enclose a pill inside a tasty treat, making it easier to disguise the medication’s smell and taste. Other pill-friendly treats have sticky, pliable textures that mold around the pill. That makes it harder for the dog to snag the treat but spit out the pill.
Hack 3: Use a syringe or a pill popper. These pill dispensers are specifically designed to put the pill far back on your dog’s tongue. That action triggers your dog’s natural swallow reflex, making sure the pill goes down.
Hack 4: When it comes to supplements for your dog, you can choose an option that your dog actually enjoys.[4] And that includes the most important supplement you can give your pet: probiotics.
The Life-Changing Pill Your Dog Will Love
Just like for people, probiotics are foundational for your dog’s health. Probiotic supplements help balance your pet’s gut microbiome, the trillions of bacteria contained in their gut.
When your dog’s gut microbiome is healthy and well-balanced, beneficial probiotic bacteria greatly outnumber pathogens. And those probiotic bacteria contribute more than you’d expect to your dog’s overall health.
Research shows that a healthy gut microbiome supports:
- Proper immune system function[5]
- Healthy inflammatory responses[6]
- Gastrointestinal comfort and regular stool[7]
- Cardiovascular health[8]
- Comfortable joints[9]
- Happy, calm, well-behaved dogs[10]
But like with humans, there are many things that can knock your pup’s microbiome off balance, like eating things they shouldn’t, stress, environmental toxins, and definitely antibiotics.
While antibiotics are in some cases, totally necessary and even life-saving, they do not discriminate between good bacteria and bad. They kill everything, leaving your dog vulnerable to the first opportunistic bacteria that come along. This makes probiotics all the more crucial, as the right ones help to re-populate your dog’s microbiome with the good bacteria they need to thrive. Probiotics also support optimal immune function, helping your furry friend stay strong and vital in the face of future pathogens and even aging.
Choose Strains Proven to Work for Dogs
The best way to keep your dog’s microbiome in healthy balance (after antibiotic use or otherwise) is with dog-appropriate probiotic strains proven to survive the journey to the gut. The most effective probiotic strains for dogs include Pediococcus acidilactici, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus licheniformis, which are known as universal animal microbiome colonizers.[11] These pet-specific probiotics can transform your dog’s gut and overall health for the better.
A clinical study that included both healthy dogs and dogs with serious digestive issues showed that animal-friendly spore probiotics made a remarkable difference.[12] The dogs were given a probiotic formula containing Bacillus subtilis HU58™, Bacillus licheniformis, and Pediococcus acidilactici. All of the dogs in the study got that probiotic formula for 30 days. By the end of the month, the digestive issues were dramatically reduced or disappeared entirely.
If you want to keep your dog healthy and happy, dog-friendly probiotics are a great place to start.
Just Pets Probiotic: The No-Fuss Supplement Your Dog Will Love
You love your dog, and you want him to stay healthy and comfortable. A well-balanced gut microbiome is key to lifelong wellness. And Just Pets Probiotic, specially formulated for dogs, is a great way to achieve that.
Luckily, your best friend will take Just Pets Probiotic without any fuss. You won’t need any tricks or hacks to get your dog’s gut microbiome into healthy balance with Just Pets. That’s because Just Pets Probiotic is mixed with delicious defatted grass-fed beef liver for a flavor and aroma your dog will be drawn to, so you never have to worry about pill resistance.
Just Pets contains three strains of probiotics known to support your dog’s gut microbiome:
-
Bacillus subtilis HU58™
-
Bacillus licheniformis SL-307
- Pediococcus acidilactici
Simply adding one capsule to your pet’s food daily can help maintain healthy balance in the gut microbiome and support healthy immune responses. And thanks to its mouthwatering flavor (at least to dogs!), some dog parents can feed the capsule directly to their pet like a special treat.
Unsure it will work for your dog? We’re confident that you’ll notice a positive difference in your darling dog with Just Pets. But if you’re not 100% happy, we can help.
If you’re not completely satisfied with your Just Thrive purchase for ANY reason, you can take advantage of our “Bottom of the Bottle” money back guarantee.
Love your Just Thrive purchase, or request a full product refund at any time… Whether it’s 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months later… Even if the bottle is empty!
Sources
- Gibbs M, et al. Bitter taste sensitivity in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and its relevance to bitter deterrents of ingestion. PLoS One. 2022 Nov 30;17(11):e0277607.
- Kokocińska-Kusiak A, Woszczyło M, Zybala M, Maciocha J, Barłowska K, Dzięcioł M. Canine Olfaction: Physiology, Behavior, and Possibilities for Practical Applications. Animals (Basel). 2021 Aug 21;11(8):2463.
- Odom TF, Riley CB, Benschop J, Hill KE. Factors Associated with Medication Noncompliance in Dogs in New Zealand. Animals (Basel). 2024 Sep 3;14(17):2557.
- Thombre AG. Oral delivery of medications to companion animals: palatability considerations. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2004 Jun 23;56(10):1399-413.
- Pilla R, Suchodolski JS. The Role of the Canine Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Health and Gastrointestinal Disease. Front Vet Sci. 2020 Jan 14;6:498. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00498. PMID: 31993446; PMCID: PMC6971114.
- Breczko WJ, Bubak J, Miszczak M. The Importance of Intestinal Microbiota and Dysbiosis in the Context of the Development of Intestinal Lymphoma in Dogs and Cats. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Jun 18;16(12):2255. doi: 10.3390/cancers16122255. PMID: 38927960; PMCID: PMC11202240.
- Suchodolski JS. Analysis of the gut microbiome in dogs and cats. Vet Clin Pathol. 2022 Feb;50 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):6-17. doi: 10.1111/vcp.13031. Epub 2021 Sep 12. PMID: 34514619; PMCID: PMC9292158.
- Seo, J., Matthewman, L., Xia, D. et al. The gut microbiome in dogs with congestive heart failure: a pilot study. Sci Rep 10, 13777 (2020).
- Cintio M, Scarsella E, Sgorlon S, Sandri M, Stefanon B. Gut Microbiome of Healthy and Arthritic Dogs. Vet Sci. 2020 Jul 14;7(3):92.
- Kiełbik P, Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O. The Relationship between Canine Behavioral Disorders and Gut Microbiome and Future Therapeutic Perspectives. Animals (Basel). 2024 Jul 12;14(14):2048.
- Melara EG, Avellaneda MC, Valdivié M, García-Hernández Y, Aroche R, Martínez Y. Probiotics: Symbiotic Relationship with the Animal Host. Animals (Basel). 2022 Mar 12;12(6):719.
- Matei MC, Andrei SM, Buza V, Cernea MS, Dumitras DA, Neagu D, Rafa H, Popovici CP, Szakacs AR, Catinean A, Stefanut E, Stefanut LC. Natural Endotoxemia in Dogs-A Hidden Condition That Can Be Treated with a Potential Probiotic Containing Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Pediococcus acidilactici: A Study Model. Animals (Basel). 2021 May 11;11(5):1367.
