Pilling a Dog

1) Gently take hold of the head from above, placing your thumb and fingers on either side of the muzzle. Squeeze firmly in and up just behind the canine teeth ("fangs"). The dog's mouth should open.

 2) Use your free hand to hold on to the pill while lowering the animal's jaw. With the mouth open wide, place the pill as far back on the tongue as possible, pushing it even farther with your index finger.

 3) Gently close and hold the muzzle while your dog swallows. You can encourage this by stroking the underside of the throat downward.

 4) Finally, give your dog lots of praise and reinforcement each time he swallows a pill.

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Pilling a Cat

1) Have someone hold your cat's front legs and chest from behind so you're free to do the rest, or vice versa. If you have trouble, wrap a blanket or towel around your cat.

2) Put your hand on top of the cat's head, avoiding the lower jaw. Raise the head until your cat's nose points to the ceiling. As the mouth opens, use your other hand to hold the pill and press down on the lower jaw, pushing the pill as far back on the tongue as possible.

3) Close your cat's mouth, making sure you and your partner keep a firm hold. Rub the nose. This will force your cat to lick its own nose, which makes swallowing easier. Remember to give plenty of praise each time your cat swallows a pill.

Here are additional helpful tips for pilling either dogs or cats:

The quicker you perform the above steps, the better.

If you can't get the pill down, try disguising it in something your pet loves (example: peanut butter or cream cheese for dogs, tuna or cream cheese for cats). Check with your veterinarian, because some medication should not be given with food.

Avoid "human" medication. Some, like ibuprofen, aspirin or acetaminophen, can be harmful or fatal.

Always comply fully with your veterinarian's dosing instructions, no matter how quickly your pet seems to be getting better. Stopping medication early risks a reoccurrence of the problem and can reduce the effectiveness of the medication.

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