Sneaky Ways To Give Dogs Liquid Medicine

No one, human or canine, enjoys swallowing liquid medicine. Since you can't explain to your dog that it's just a momentary icky taste, it will be over super quickly, and it will make them feel better, giving your pup a dose of medication is often a struggle. Not to mention, it's hard enough trying to convince yourself of this.

While you may be able to hide a pill in a soft treat or pill pocket, successfully administering a dose of liquid medicine to your reluctant, scared pup can seem an impossible task. But we are here with some sneaky tips and tricks to hopefully help make the medicine go down easier.

You can mix their dose of liquid medicine with a bit of wet food or their go-to lickable snack, like peanut butter or puréed pumpkin. There is one catch with this hack, though: You have to be certain that they will eat all of it. If they don't, they won't get the full dose of medicine, and that could throw off their recovery. Depending on the taste of the medicine, you may be setting yourself up for a messy and tough time trying to get your pup the whole dose.

When mixing liquid medicine with something like peanut butter, veterinarian Dr. Shannon Barrett suggests using a small amount, per Rover. If your dog isn't fooled by the flavor, and they spit it out, resist the urge to give them more of the medicine. "You have no idea how much of it they actually ingested vs. how much they spit out," Dr. Barrett says. "Therefore giving them more may result in an overdose."

As long as there's no time of day your dog's specific medication needs to be administered and no directions about giving the medication on an empty stomach, try giving your pup their medicine right before a meal. If they're hungry, they're more likely to gobble up some pumpkin, even if it's mixed with their medication.

Refrain from mixing the medicine with their whole meal — again, you need to make sure they ingest all of it, so it's best to add the medicine to a small treat or portion of wet food and then serve them their regular meal afterward.

Maybe treats aren't working for you, and you have to resort to giving the medicine via a syringe. This will likely be provided with the medication, but what won't be provided are tips to make sure the medicine in the syringe actually gets into your dog's mouth and that they swallow it. It can be physically difficult to achieve and emotionally taxing, too, if you have a pup who cries and flails.

In order to successfully administer a syringe, Dr. Malcolm Weir and Dr. Ernest Ward suggest putting the tip of the syringe in your pup's mouth right behind their canine teeth, angling it to deposit the medicine on their tongue, and squeezing the syringe slowly to make sure they have time to swallow the liquid, per VCA Animal Hospitals. Dr. Barrett calls this corner of their mouth the "pocket." "Liquid medication should ideally hit the back of your dog's tongue towards the throat to be swallowed properly," she says. "It allows your dog to swallow naturally and minimizes the chances of them spitting out the medication."

As long as the medication can be taken with food, Dr. Barrett suggests that you have a treat at the ready, which may encourage them to swallow what's in their mouth. You don't want to tilt their head back to get them to swallow, as that can cause choking.

The syringe method is not easy, and if it's available to you, a second pair of hands could be a real help. Another person can distract and comfort your pup while you hold their muzzle and insert the syringe into their mouth. This may have the convenient dual effect of making your pup calm and keeping them stabilized in one position.

It might be difficult, but anyone taking part in this process needs to stay calm. Dogs can sense your mood — if you and/or the person helping you are anxious and unsure, your pup will pick up on that, and their nervousness may escalate. It might be difficult, but it's important to approach the giving of medication with confidence and as much positivity and encouragement as possible, which brings us to our next tip.

Taking medicine is no fun, and your dog deserves to be praised and rewarded throughout the entire process. If you start by getting super excited and giving them a treat or two, you may be able to sneak the dose of medicine in by maintaining that positive attitude and behaving like it's another treat.

Whether that method works or not, give your pup treats, cuddles, and extra play time after they take their medicine to lower their stress and restore their comfort. Of course, only shower your pup with treats if their medication can be taken with food. If it can't, you can still try to distract them with playful pets and their favorite toy, and treat the medicine as if it's a special goodie.