Regardless of their age or temperament, dogs and medicine don't get along.
Dogs are notoriously worse than cats when it comes to tricking them into taking their medication; hide one small pill in a piece of your dog's food, and you'll find a completely empty bowl with an untouched pill in the center of it.
Though it may take some time and persistence, the more you successfully convince your dog to take his medication, the easier it becomes.
It's simply a matter of using a little creativity to convince your pooch that a little pill won't hurt him.
Dogs Won't Eat "Anything" That may seem like the case, until it comes time to give your dog a pill.
Suddenly, the creature that can inhale a bowl of food in less than 3 minutes isn't interested in what you're offering.
The best solution to this problem is to ask your vet if the medication your dog needs comes in a chewable form.
Much like chewable vitamins and aspirin designed for children, chewable doggie medication will have an appearance, smell, and taste designed to make your dog believe he's eating a piece of candy.
Of course, this won't always work.
A picky dog can decide that he doesn't care for the taste of the chewable pill.
In this case, you'll have to try one of the alternate methods of giving your dog his medicine.
However, many dogs are sufficiently convinced by the tasty smell of the chewable medicine.
Playing Games In some cases, redirecting your dog's attention toward a game is a good way to get him to take the medicine.
From across the room, throw pieces of dog food, small chewable treats, or items like bread or meat in the air, allowing your dog to catch them.
Repeat this process numerous times so that your dog is able to see you're playing a fun game (he's also able to get some of the extra treats he loves in the process).
After you've tossed your dog a handful of food or treats, throw him one with the pill stuck inside.
Chances are, he'll be so focused on the game and the pattern of chasing and receiving treats, he won't even notice the pill until he's already swallowed it.
To keep your dog from getting annoyed that you've tricked him or refusing to play anymore, continue the game with a few more treats.
Outright Trickery As a last resort, a pill-resistant dog can be trained to take his medication through a little bit of assertive trickery on your part.
Start by sitting with your dog and opening his mouth with your hand.
Your dog is likely to be unhappy about this at the beginning, so it may take you a few tries before your pet is willing to let you open his mouth.
If he responds aggressively, or attempts to bite your hand, do not continue using this method.
Once you've gotten to the point where your dog will allow you to open his mouth, pop a tasty treat in there.
It should be small enough that it will not hurt your dog if he just swallows the treat.
Repeat this a few times so that your dog looks forward to you opening his mouth and placing a treat inside.
Once your dog seems eager for this to happen, you should place a pill in his mouth rather than a treat.
You can also use a small piece of cheese, bread, or meat to hide the pill.
After your dog successfully swallows the pill, resume playing the game with the real treats.
As long as your dog thinks positively of the process, he'll be less resistant the next time you have to give him his medication.
Tasty Treats In some cases, you might be able to trick your dog into swallowing the pill without too much trouble, especially if he's one of those enthusiastic eaters that gobbles down his food.
Try hiding your dog's pill in something soft and delicious, like a cube of cheese or a piece of meat.
Just make sure the treat and pill combo is not too large since you don't want your pooch to choke on the unexpected object.