The “In a Pinch” Pill Treat

IThanks for being here again with me today. I want to share with you 10 food items that you probably have already in your refrigerator that could be used in a pinch as a pill treat for your dog. I have many times forgotten to make a new batch of pill treats or found myself at somebody else's house and suddenly realized I had forgotten to bring along Ruby’s homemade pill treats to give her medication. I have come up with easy alternatives you can use if you find yourself in a similar situation.  At least one of these 10 items can be easily found in most kitchens.  

The first is lunch meat. I buy lunch meat that doesn't have any seasonings in it and there is nothing extra that has been added to it. With lunch meat you can just roll the pill up like a tortilla (come to think of it a tortilla would also be a great option to use).

The second option is a nice chunk of banana.  Bananas can work perfect as a quick (and healthy) pill treat for your pup.  Ruby loves bananas and will eat a piece whenever I offer it to her so bananas also work well as an option to help her take her pills.  You can use a knife to cut a slit in the piece of banana, push the pill in, and then pinch the banana around the pill so it can’t be detected.  

The third option is cream cheese.  Cream cheese can camouflage a pill because it’s sticky and forms a nice ball of cheese around the pill.  It’s also a great option when your dog needs to take different size pills like tablets and capsules.  You can easily adjust the amount of cream cheese based on the size of pill your dog takes.  

To continue with the cheese theme, the fourth option to use if you find it in the fridge would be cheese slices. The individually wrapped American cheese slices are really easy to work with and conform nicely around the pill.  I only pull off what I need to cover the pill.  One piece of cheese is often enough to individually cover multiple pills.  

The fifth one may not be as common in everyone’s refrigerator.  I discovered it as an option at a friend’s house when I needed something to use quickly.  It’s liver sausage (a brand name is Braunschweiger).  Apparently people eat it sliced up in a sandwich.  I’ve never tried it but Ruby seems to think it is quite delicious!  I keep this in my refrigerator as a backup option if Ruby gets picky about what I’m using to give her pills which only happens if she isn’t feeling well.  She never refuses liver sausage. 

Bread is the sixth option because it is typically available in every house.  You can grab off a piece of the soft part of the bread (not the crust) and create a bread ball with the pill hidden inside of it.  White bread works the best.

Green beans are my seventh pick. Ruby loves green beans. I love green beans. Green beans are a pretty common vegetable that a lot of people have at home. I only use plain cooked green beans. Green beans often have a hole or tunnel that you can slip the pill into.  Plain cooked penne pasta also works.  

My eighth pick for a quick pill treat you can easily find in the refrigerator is a hotdog.  Hotdogs can be easily cut into the appropriate size piece for your dog and the pill inserted inside.  Word of caution is to make sure to not cut the hotdog piece too big.  If you have a concern that your dog could choke on a piece of hotdog it’s best to select one of the many other options listed.  I always cut a small piece just big enough to cover Ruby’s pill and I cut away any extra if I accidentally cut the original piece too big.  

Cottage cheese is the ninth last minute option you can use.  Put the pill in the bottom of their bowl and put a nice spoonful of cottage cheese over the top of the pill to cover it up.  

The tenth option is coconut oil.  Rather than always using peanut butter, coconut oil has less sugar and can add some healthy fats to your dog’s diet.  If you do use peanut butter and your dog has gotten good at eating all of the peanut butter and leaving the pill, try using chunky peanut butter.  Remember to always select a peanut butter that has no xylitol in it (check the ingredient list on the package to make sure).  Xylitol can be toxic for dogs.  

So that's it!  Here are 10 common foods that you probably already have a few in your refrigerator right now.  They are also easily found items in a friend or family member’s kitchen.  If you're in a pinch and you need to give your dog meds and you forgot to bring their pill treats along you can give one of these options a try.  Only pick what you know will work with your dog based on any sensitivities or allergies they might have.  I hope this was helpful.  My passion is to support epi dog owners teaching what I have learned over the last four years with my epi dog.  I have a lot more to learn so thank you for learning today with me as I continue to learn with Ruby.