Medicating Your Dog

Administering pills:

Hold your dog gently and reassuringly on your lap or on the floor in front of you.

Talk to your dog soothingly.

Place your left hand (if you’re right-handed) over and around your dog’s head with your thumb and index fingers squeezing his jaws at the corners of his mouth.

Tip the head back until the nose points towards the ceiling.

When your dog opens his/her mouth, drop the pill onto the back of his tongue. (Make sure to get the pill on the back part of your dog’s tongue so that he/she cannot spit it out. This may involve using your finger to push the pill far back on the tongue once you have dropped it in your dog's mouth.)

Lower the head and gently hold the mouth closed while stroking the throat until your dog swallows.

Administering liquid medication:

Use a plastic (not glass) eye dropper or dosing syringe to squirt the medication into the pouch inside your dog’s cheek while your dog has his/her mouth open. (Follow the technique above to get your dog to open the mouth.)

Be careful not to tip your dog's head up so much that he/she will choke.

Also, don’t give more medication than your dog can swallow at one time.

Close the mouth and let your dog swallow before releasing him/her.

**Please note: there are some medications which are flavored and can be given to your dog as you would a treat. Another possible alternative is the use of pill pockets. These are flavored morsels which allows the insertion of the pill inside the pill pocket. Many dogs will take medication readily in this fashion.