Cheap and Easy Pill Pockets for Dogs

Intro: Cheap and Easy Pill Pockets for Dogs

I learned this trick as a pet sitter - it is cheap and easy and works for very finicky dogs who love to spit out pills.  If you need to give your dog pills on a daily basis it is great because it takes the hassle out of giving pills to your dog.

I decided to post this Instructable because lately I have noticed the Greenies Pill Pockets that are sold in pet stores.  I love Greenies, but I wanted people to know that there is a very inexpensive way to make your own pill pocket.

All you need to make your cheap and easy pill pockets is:

* hot dogs (vienna sausages are a great choice for smaller dogs)
* a pill
* chopsticks
* knife to cut hot dog

STEP 1: Cut a Piece of Hot Dog Off

This is pretty self explanatory.  Cut a piece of your hot dog off.  You are going to use this to put the pill in, so it should be large enough to hide the pill in, but small enough so your dog can eat it in one gulp.

STEP 2: Insert Chopstick Through the Hot Dog

Insert your chopstick through the hot dog length wise.  If you don't have a chopstick, you could use a ball point pen (leave the cap on) or something similar.  I highly recommend chopsticks though, because they are the perfect size for most pills and have a pointier end.

STEP 3: Hide Pill in the Hot Dog

Take your chopstick out and push your pill in the hole that the chopstick left.

STEP 4: Feed the Hot Dog to Your Dog

This is the fun part - feed the hot dog with pill inside to your dog, who will be so happy that you are feeding him/her a hot dog that they will gulp it down and not even realize there is a pill inside!

Comments

[SARK9]

Please consider taking this down and/or warning dog & cat owners.
Once you cut a piece off the hot dog it becomes the perfect size cork for most dogs esophaguses. If you have a dog that gulps you can be in trouble fast. And isn’t that your goal? Have them gulp it down since many capsules are not designed to be chewed & you want the dog to get the medicine before they taste it.

Once this is stuck in their throat they are likely to panic and suffocate before you can figure out how to get it out.

Peanut butter, soft cheese & even the expensive pill pockets are designed to slide down the throat and they will melt if they get stuck.

Even Children’s hospitals across the country slice hot dogs or don’t serve them at all. The minute a child bites off a hot dog piece it can become a cork in their esophagus.

I don’t have an issue using hot dogs as treats but they need to be cut or torn to small bites and not shaped like a cork.

[JayneG10]

If I make ahead the hot dog pill pockets with phenobarbital in center, will the pill dissolve in the hot dog? I store them in a pill box in refrigerator.

[debsonthesofa]

Stupid question, but do i cook the frankfurter first, or can i use it straight from the pack?

[ValerieF6]

This can be a good alternative for expensive pill pockets, BUT be careful if your dog has any kind of heart or blood pressure issues. I mentioned to my vet recently that I was giving my dog his meds by hiding the pills in a piece of hot dog, and he warned me that hot dogs are notorious for VERY HIGH SODIUM content (I hadn't thought of that...)! Since my dog has a heart murmur, he strongly advised me to go back to pill pockets.

There might be some low sodium dogs that would work, but I haven't found them yet.

[frozzy24]

Our 8 year old Belle has hurt her left hind paw/leg somehow (presumably jumping on and off of the bed or couch). Her vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory pill and a pain pill. She does not like peanut butter, cheese nor any of the usual likes that most dogs have. She also has a food allergy and HAS to taste test everything we put in her bowl or hand feed her. So we thought we were being sneaky the other night, she loves chicken and pork, so, I stuffed a pill inside of a piece of chicken....nope, out came the pill and down went the chicken, lol. The same thing happened when we tried it with pork the next night. She does not like hot dogs (except her chi-weenie brother Chucky), but I never thought of the chicken franks.

After discussing our dilemma with her vet, I was just going to text my hubby to pick up some pill pockets on his way home, maybe I'll ask him to bring chicken franks too. Chucky will eat anything after-all, and he can have what Belle won't. ;)

Thanks for the idea!

[AlanJ2]

i have a 15 yr old takes pills daily. have done this he smells the pill.we have used hot dogs vienna sausage peanut butter cheese hamburgers eggs these are all okay short term. im thinking on my next pill pocket[homemade] i may melt a tad of cheese on the open end

[nmacmoragh]

yay a hot dog!!

[slipperchair]

It would be great if someone would just make a less expensive Pill Pocket. Maybe I've just found my calling in life.

Greenies ARE expensive. Are they kidding?

[susanrm]

I wouldn't feed my dog or cat commercial hot dogs - almost as nasty as commercial pet food. I'm looking to find a good substitute for my cat's pill pockets. He devours the Greenies ones now, and he's very finicky.

[fraugefahr]

To each his own. Our dog is pretty finicky, so I use whatever works, and figure, in small amounts, the greater good of getting her meds outweighs the bad.

If you find a good solution for your cat, I'd love to know. One idea might be to get some fresh chicken or meat from a butcher and use that.

[susanrm]

I've tried meat. The only pill I need to "pocket" is a little round black one that is impossible to crush in the mortar and pestle (which I do with his other supplements) and tastes terrible if I let it dissolve in his food. If I try to wrap food around it, he eats the food and spits out the pill. The pocket is the only thing he will inhale straight down without chewing... oh well!

[fraugefahr]

Yeah, I think cats would be a little bit harder to pill than dogs. A lot of dogs will gulp down anything, whereas cats, well, not so much! :) How big is the pill? Maybe wrapping the pill in a little piece of cheese would work, that way he wouldn't be able to separate it from the pill and spit it out.

-Kristen

[susanrm]

Dairy isn't good for cats, unfortunately. I found a recipe online that I will try. It's a lot of work. Oh well!

[cherishcherub]

 heres a good tip:

get c0cktail sausages and cut in half, then insert the chopstick down half the length of the pill, do the same for the other sidethen stick the pill half in one side and the other in the other side

[baudeagle]

We just baste the pills in peanut butter.  The dogs love peanut butter!

[fraugefahr]

Yes, peanut butter is great for most dogs - but unfortunately for us, our dog doesn't like peanut butter :(  Thus the hot dog pill pocket :)

[sr1sws]

Nice, Greenies are expensive (IMHO).  My dog likes whole wheat bread, which works for *some* meds ;-)

[fraugefahr]

Thanks!  Never thought about the bread - that's a good one!