Easy Way to Give Powder or Liquid Medicine to Your Dog

We can hide pills in peanut butter. That’s easy. But when your vet prescribes an icky tasting powder or liquid medicine for your dog, then you might run into some trouble. Fortunately, I have some tips to help you give powder or liquid medicine to dogs. I’ve recently had to hide Tylan Powder, a foul tasting antibiotic prescribed for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Now, imagine trying to hide an entire teaspoon of that from a 120-pound Rottweiler. Yes, loads of fun.

Giving Powder Medication to Dogs

Powder medicine is probably the toughest medication to give dogs, especially bitter tasting formulas. If your dog is able to eat regular food and has no known allergies or digestive issues, then cottage cheese is the best food to hide powder medicine! Cottage cheese is strong smelling with a great consistency for mixing in powders. Depending on the amount of powdered medication, I add a bit of cottage cheese first, then mix in the meds. Add additional cottage cheese until the powder is no longer visible. For example, I mix one teaspoon of powdered medicine with one tablespoon of cottage cheese.

If your dog has allergies or digestive issues, mix the powder with a canned version of prescription dog food. Some canned food lack moisture, so mix in a tiny amount of water until the mixture is the consistency of porridge.

I highly recommend giving powder medications separate from meals, meaning medication isn’t mixed in with their regular meals. I usually give my dogs their medicine porridge and then feed their meals, as most medications should be given with food.

Bitter Tasting Medications

If your dog refuses to eat her med porridge, drizzle a bit of honey all over the top just enough to provide a sweet taste. Most dogs will gobble it right up. Plus, honey is healthy for dogs. For diabetic, allergic and digestive issue-prone dogs, add more canned dog food to the medicine mixture. This will cancel out the bitter taste.

Giving Liquid Medication to Dogs

An easy way to give liquid medicine to your dog is by hiding it. Again, I recommend my favorite, good old cottage cheese to hide liquid medicine. 🙂 Yogurt is also good, but it’s a bit runny. For dogs with allergies or digestive issues, mash canned prescription food in a bowl. Then, whisk in liquid medication. Most dogs will lap it right up.

WATCH: Tips on Giving Dogs Medicine: Powder or Liquid