Pill Pocket Recipe

[Busderpuddle]

I am now giving Ruby a pain medication and one for her anxiety (at least thru the 6th of July) and of course she is great at eating the pill pocket, and spitting out the meds. I looked online for a recipe, and the only ones I can find have peanut butter in them, something she won't eat. Does anyone have a recipe that will make good pockets and keep well in the fridge ? I had this crazy idea of cheez whiz, but figured she would just lick off the cheez.

[FiveRoooooers]

See posts #24 and #26 here

[Remolacha]

I can't give Val pills in any kind of disguise because she will chew anything I give her, but she has been very good about letting me use a pill popper. It shoots the pill down their throat, no way for them to spit it out (or taste it)

 

Conner got tired of the Pill Pockets, so now I use Velveeta cheese, it mooshes nicely around the pills

Edited July 2, 2017 by Remolacha

[juliemac]

for small pills, I just open their mouths (little pressure at the corner of their jaw ... preceded with a kissy on the tip of their nose) and slip them in. Since Peanut Butter works in my house, that's my first choice for larger pills or multiples. But I keep Liverwurst, Cheese slices (or spray), or mini-meatballs. In a pinch, if your pup has a kibble that she likes, grind it up and add some water to make a paste, which you can use to make a mini-meatball.

 

If this is a long-term/permanent event, make sure you keep the right attitude ... if you dread "pilling your dog", they'll catch on and figure out that there's something bad coming their way.

 

good luck!

[RedHead]

I use goat's cheese. Dogs go nuts for it and it is firm enough to easily mould around a pill.

[LaFlaca]

Your Ruby must be related to my Wendy! Hiding her pills in anything only works the first time. You might try cream cheese. Boiled chicken hearts have a nice little ready made hole in the center for pill hiding, but if Ruby is a chewer they probably won't work. Pinterest has lots of pill pocket recipes. Although Wendy is a love about letting me shove her meds down her throat, I'm seriously considering a pill pusher; it might be a gentler way of doing it. Good luck with your girl. Ruby, be good for Momma and stay healthy.

[greysmom]

You can adapt the online pill pocket recipes to something that's OK for her to eat.

 

Normal recipe:

4 parts flour

2 parts peanut butter

2 parts milk

 

But you can substitute any kind of flour (wheat, rice, chick pea, etc), and any kind of wet ingredient (her canned dog food, brauschweiger, pureed liver, etc), and any kind of liquid (water, broth, maybe ensure, etc). You will have to play a bit with exact proportions to get a nice malleable dough, but it can work with anything.

 

Canned spray cheese is something people use, too, if she really likes it. The trick to getting them to swallow it down without chewing is to set them up. Give them a few small pieces of the treat you're using (without the pill) fairly quickly, one after the other. On the third or fourth treat, slip in the one with the pill, followed immediately by another pill-less one. You want them to not pay any attention to the one with the pill because you've got another one waiting for them to take right away.

 

Though I have to say, it's much easier and much faster for me to just pill them. Open mouth, pop the pill in the back, let go and blow up their nose. If you're giving multiple pills, having them bundled together in a pill pocket or treat helps it go down easier.

[Fruitycake]

The one we used didn't recommend refrigeration.

 

4 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons flour

3/4 teaspoon oil (we used olive oil)

2 Tablespoons molasses

 

Mix well and place in an airtight container. It seems a bit dry at first, but as you mix it by kneading with your fingers it comes together pretty nicely.

 

The flour amount can be tweaked a bit depending on type and humidity in your area, but this recipe worked well for us for years. Cost was probably pennies per batch!

[philospher77]

I make mine out 8 oz cream cheese (I use the less-fat kind), 8 oz liverwurst, and 2 C shredded wheat, ground into fine crumbs in the food processor. Shape into balls and freeze. Take what you need and keep it in the fridge.

 

And yes, attitude is important. Thee are "super special puppy treats for super special puppies!" Mine will do tricks (sit, down, touch, spin, shake, etc) in order to get their super special treats! So it can be done.

[XTRAWLD]

"super special puppy treats for super special puppies!"

I do this now, I have since you first posted it. It's amazing. It helps that he loves food, but this makes chewables like Bravecto and Heartguard easier around here!

[Busderpuddle]

Great ideas everyone...thank you. I am trying the goat cheese right now, and she likes it. I also bought some string cheese to push the pills into. Appreciate all the help

[greysmom]

The one we used didn't recommend refrigeration.

 

4 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons flour

3/4 teaspoon oil (we used olive oil)

2 Tablespoons molasses

 

Mix well and place in an airtight container. It seems a bit dry at first, but as you mix it by kneading with your fingers it comes together pretty nicely.

 

The flour amount can be tweaked a bit depending on type and humidity in your area, but this recipe worked well for us for years. Cost was probably pennies per batch!

 

This is brilliant! Plus no refrigeration!

[Busderpuddle]

I love the no refrigeration recipe.....making it today

[a_daerr]

I make mine out 8 oz cream cheese (I use the less-fat kind), 8 oz liverwurst, and 2 C shredded wheat, ground into fine crumbs in the food processor. Shape into balls and freeze. Take what you need and keep it in the fridge.

 

And yes, attitude is important. Thee are "super special puppy treats for super special puppies!" Mine will do tricks (sit, down, touch, spin, shake, etc) in order to get their super special treats! So it can be done.

Thanks for posting this. I just tried this recipe, and it's working pretty well. Truman has achieved expert level in taking out the pills. I will usually give him the one with the pill first, and quickly show/feed him the next one, to get his interest and not give any more time to think about or pick apart the first one. The one he will not go near is Tramadol. It must taste very bitter- he gags on it. Anyone ever have luck crushing pills up and putting them in plain, empty gelatin tablets?

[sobesmom]

Pizza crust. Sobe LOVED pizza crust his whole life with us. So, when he needed meds, pizza crust. Point is - whatever "thing" your dog loves. Put it in that.

[GeorgeofNE]

You could just learn how to pill a dog the good old fashioned way!

[Fruitycake]

You could just learn how to pill a dog the good old fashioned way!

 

For something that is as vile as some medicines are, we've done the back-of-throat-toss after wrapping the pill in 'pill goop' - just in case it gets tasted or the dog moves at the wrong time and my aim sucks. Then a piece of pill goop of about the same size and pill-free given as a treat, with accompanying party/celebration.

 

Luckily Monty isn't a chewer, but our first dog was. And there it was lucky she rarely needed pills anyway so our pilling dance was infrequent. I feel for all who have suspicious, hard-to-pill dogs that take regular medication!

[Sundrop]

We use 2 parts peanut butter and 1 part pumpkin puree.

 

We had one hound that hated peanut butter and we used cream cheese mixed with pumpkin and she loved that. We've also used string cheese - just cut off a piece and make a little hole, put the pill and smoosh the piece you drilled out with the hole back in.