Pill pockets for dogs: the best way to get your dog to swallow tablets
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down - as do pill pockets
Dogs are vulnerable to theft even on shoot days
If you’ve ever struggled to get your dog to take a pill (and let’s be honest, which dog owner hasn’t) then it’s time you knew about pill pockets for dogs.
Basically they are small edible pouches in which you can hide a tablet. They come in different sizes to suit every breed from a dachshund to a Great Dane.
We know that you can camouflage medication inside a piece of cheese or chicken, but sometimes you don’t have something like that to hand, so it’s always useful to have some pill pockets for dogs stashed away in the cupboard. Particularly as some dogs are expert at just eating the meat or cheese casing and then spitting out the tablet. They’ll find it much harder to do this with a pill pocket which is moulded around the medication. Plus which, pill pockets are designed to be so delicious they are just woofed down, tablet and all. So no more wasted expensive medicine.
Shooting Times contributor David Tomlinson comments: “Like all great ideas, pills pockets are simple but clever, and work every time. If you’ve got a dog that requires persuasion to eat its medication, this is the secret to successful consumption.”
What a vet says
Vet and Sporting Gun contributor Tony Buckwell adds: “… Really useful. Owner compliance in administering medication has, for instance, been shown to be a significant factor in the successful control of chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis, and anything that helps in this respect can represent a welfare benefit by improving dogs’ quality of life.”
We’ve done some research to come up with this list of the best pill pockets for dogs. Giving your dog its monthly worming treatment need never be a struggle again. (If your dog has been under the weather you’ll want it to have the comfiest bed going – so here is our choice of best beds for gun dogs.)
Rosewood Pill Dog Treat £2
Best for value
- Quantity: 80g
- Composition: Beef (50%), Chicken (20%), Vegetable Protein, Sorbitol.
- Storage: Cool dry place
+ Suitable for both large and small dogs
+ Grain and gluten free
As a user has said: “My dog is 13 and can smell a worming tablet a mile off. I’ve tried hiding them in so many different foods over the years but he always managed to find them, it has cost me a fortune as so many times the tablet was unusable for a second attempt. Even though he found the tablet on my first attempt it didn’t, as usually happens, put him off accepting the next treat (with half the tablet) and then the next one with the other half. I am so impressed, giving a worming tablet has never been this easy.”
Royal Canin Veterinary Health Nutrition Pill Assist Small Dog £8.49
Best for small dogs under 10kg
- Quantity: 90g
- Composition: Glycerine, wheat flour, dehydrated chicken protein, palm oil, wheat gluten, glucose syrup, hydrolysed chicken protein, fructo-oligo-saccharides.
- Storage: Cool dry place
+ Vitamins and prebiotics
+ Highly palatable
These pill pockets can be easily shaped around most sizes and types of tablets and pills to disguise them.
Royal Canin Veterinary Health Nutrition Pill Assist Medium / Large Dog 224g
Best for dogs weighing more than 10kg
- Quantity: 224g
- Composition: Glycerine, wheat flour, dehydrated chicken protein, palm oil, wheat gluten, glucose syrup, hydrolysed chicken protein, fructo-oligo-saccharides
- Storage: Cool dry place
- Feeding guidelines
+ Vitamins and prebiotics
+ Highly palatable
It can be even more of a struggle to give a large dog a necessary pill. These delicious pill pockets created by Royal Canin have been specifically developed to help with this, so that the dog regards them as a treat, rather than an ordeal.
GREENIES PILL POCKETS Soft Dog Treats, Chicken, from £17.17
Best for flavour
- Quantity: Pack of 30 or 60
- Composition: Rehydrated chicken, glycerin, wheat flour, vegetable oil, wheat gluten, dried corn syrup, dried cultured skim milk, natural flavors, sodium bisulfate, natural chicken bouillon flavor, hickory smoke flavor, xanthan gum, preserved with mixed tocopherols
- Storage: Cool dry place
- Feeding guidelines: Two treats for every 10lb of your dog’s body weight
+ Low fat and made with natural ingredients plus trace nutrients
+ Recommended by vets
If your dog loves chicken then these pill pockets will be a favourite and the flavour helps to disguise the smell of the medicine inside.
Greenies PILL POCKETS Capsule Size Dog Treats Cheese Flavour from £13.03
Best for cheese loving dogs
- Quantity: Pack of 30 or 60
- Composition: Rehydrated chicken, glycerin, wheat flour, dried corn syrup, dried cheese, vegetable oil, wheat gluten, dried cultured skim milk, natural cheddar cheese flavor, sodium bisulfate, water, natural flavors, preserved with mixed tocopherols.
- Storage: Cool dry place
- Feeding guidelines: Two treats for every 10lb of your dog’s body weight
+ Low fat and made with natural ingredients plus trace nutrients
+ Recommended by vets
+ Healthier for dogs than actual cheese
If your dog appears every time you make a cheese sandwich and loves the smell of cheese, then these cheese flavoured pill pockets for dogs would be your top choice.
GREENIES PILL POCKETS Soft Dog Treats, Peanut Butter £14.96
Best for smell
- Quantity: Pack of 30
- Composition: Rehydrated chicken, glycerin, wheat flour, wheat gluten, peanut butter, dried corn syrup, dried cultured skim milk, peanut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), vegetable oil, natural flavors, sodium bisulfate, xanthan gum, preserved with mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract
- Storage: Cool dry place
- Feeding guidelines: Two treats for every 10lb of your dog’s body weight
+ Low fat and made with natural ingredients plus trace nutrients
+ Recommended by vets
If your dog has a slightly jaded palate, then it’s worth trying something new with these peanut butter flavoured pill pockets.
Why pill pockets for dogs are the best way to get your dog to take medicine
- They’re designed to smell delicious to hide any whiff of medicine
- They are easy to use: Just place the capsule or tablet inside the pill pocket, pinch it closed and then give to the dog
- You can choose different flavours
- They are healthier than offering human foods such as cheese and peanut butter
- Medication much less likely to be wasted or not taken
You might also like to read our tips on dog first aid
