If you’ve ever tried to give a dog a pill, you know how it usually goes. You hide it in a bite of food, they eat the food, and a few seconds later the pill is sitting on the floor, perfectly clean. Or worse, they start sniffing every treat suspiciously for the rest of the week.
Over the years, giving medicine to Jake, Simba, and Terry has been part of caring for them. Greenies Pill Pockets made that part so much easier for us, and we still use them for Simba and Terry.
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What they are
Pill Pockets are small, soft treats with a hole in the middle. You drop the pill inside, pinch the top closed, and give it to your dog like a regular treat.
According to Greenies, they come in two sizes: tablet size for small pills and capsule size for larger ones. The ones in our photo are the tablet size. The brand lists four flavors: chicken, peanut butter, hickory smoke, and cheese. We’ve used both the peanut butter and chicken flavors.
Why they worked for us
The pill slides right in. The treat is soft, so I can drop the pill in and close it up with my fingers in a second. There’s no fighting with it or breaking it apart.
They actually hold the pill. This is the biggest difference I noticed. We’ve tried a lot of other brands over the years. Some were hard and difficult to wrap around a pill, and some just didn’t stick to the pill well, so the treat would get eaten and the pill would fall right out. With Pill Pockets, the pill stays put, so our dogs take their medicine without a struggle.
It feels like a treat, not medicine. I just pop one in and hand it over, and they eat it happily like any other snack. No chasing, no pushing pills down anyone’s throat.
💡 Good to know: if you give the same flavor every single time, some dogs can get bored of it. We buy a few different flavors and switch between them, and that keeps our dogs excited about their “treat.” If your veterinarian says the ingredients suit your dog, trying another flavor may help.
Jake’s heart medicine
Jake took heart medication for a long time. After so many months of pills, he didn’t like taking medicine anymore. But when I hid his pill in a Pill Pocket, he took it without any fuss.
For Jake, Pill Pockets were something we truly couldn’t do without. When a dog needs medicine every day for months or years, how easy it is to give really matters, for the dog and for you.
Simba and Terry today
Simba is still taking medicine, so Pill Pockets are still part of our routine.
Terry sometimes gets diarrhea and needs medicine for it. When I wrap the pill in a Pill Pocket, Terry eats it happily, with no trouble at all.
Little tricks that make pill time easier
Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine shares a few tips for giving pills that I found really helpful:
- Use only enough treat to cover the pill. A big chunk gives your dog more room to chew around the medicine.
- Make it a game. Give a couple of plain treats before and after the one with the pill. Your dog gets excited, and the medicated one goes down just as fast as the others.
- Always finish with praise. A happy “good boy” or “good girl” helps pill time feel like a good thing.
💡 Did you know? Cornell notes that this “treats before and after” game works especially well for dogs who need medicine for a long time, like Jake did. The more pill time feels like a fun routine, the less likely your dog is to get suspicious.
What I’d keep in mind
- Check the ingredients. Every dog’s diet is different. If your veterinarian says the ingredients suit your dog, trying another flavor may help keep things interesting.
- Pick the right size. Tablet size works well for small pills. Larger capsules need the bigger capsule size.
- Count them as treats. They’re still treats, so if your dog is watching their weight, it’s worth keeping that in mind.
⚠️ Please check first. Before hiding any medicine in food or a treat, check with your vet. Some medicines need to be given on an empty stomach, and some pills shouldn’t be split or crushed. Your vet can tell you what’s safe for your dog’s specific medication.
Would I recommend them?
Yes. After giving pills to three dogs, including long-term heart medicine for Jake, we’ve relied on Pill Pockets. They’re easy to use, they hold the pill, and most importantly, our dogs take their medicine happily.
If you’d like to try them, you can find Greenies Pill Pockets on Amazon AD. The link goes to the capsule size, and you can choose your flavor on the page. There’s even a chicken and peanut butter variety pack. If your dog’s pills are small, look for the tablet size instead.
Angel Jake Note 🐾
It’s funny how something as small as a soft little treat can make such a big difference. But when you love a dog who needs medicine every day, anything that makes that moment easier, for them and for you, is a gift.
For us, Pill Pockets turned medicine time into treat time. And for Jake, who needed his medicine for so long, that mattered so much.
This review is based on our own experience with Jake, Simba, and Terry. It isn’t veterinary advice, and every dog is different.
Medical Disclaimer
I’m not a vet, and nothing here replaces a real exam. If something about your dog feels off, please trust that feeling and call your veterinarian.
Sources
- Greenies: Pill Pockets for Dogs, Tablet Size, Peanut Butter
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: How to medicate your dog