Justine Lee

As a veterinarian, I’ve dispensed a lot of medications for both dogs and cats…that is, until I had to start medicating my own pets.  I’ve became a lot more empathetic now that I’ve realized that I can barely pill my own cat (who runs away from me), and that my dog will not take pills in cheese or peanut butter. In fact, pilling my own pets has smartened me up on what meds pets really need. As a result, I’ve started prioritizing pills – in other words, I rank the order of importance of each prescription for pet owners, so they know which pills are an absolute MUST give, and which ones they can skip if they are getting desperately fed up with pilling.

Since then, my life has changed… thanks to Pill Pockets. I regret not inventing these, as it was one of those “duh” products that came out, making you wish you had the money-making patent.  Whoever owns a dog that needs to be pilled chronically, pay heed. The Greenies Pill Pockets are awesome… that is, for dogs, at least.

My dog recently got put on a bunch of medications, and he’s super picky (although less so, since getting put on steroids!). Being that he needs a total of 5 medications a day, I found Pill Pockets to be a true life saver, as they improve both my dog’s and my quality of life. These little tasty, greasy, soft, malleable pockets are designed so that you can stick the pill (or multiple pills) in the center, and seal them into a hidden ball of “treat.”  It’s like playing with palatable play-dough. Drop it in the food, and voila, it “makes pills a treat to give!”

The pros: Pill Pockets are easy, convenient, tasty, and come in multiple flavors (Dog: beef and chicken; Cat: salmon and chicken. It also comes in a hypoallergenic flavor - duck and pea - for both species with food allergies). More importantly, they are palatable - dogs seem to love them. Another pro is that they come in multiple sizes, and I’m able to stuff 5 pills – yes all 5 pills – into the larger “capsule” dog Pill Pockets.

The cons:  One of my two cats won’t touch Pill Pockets. This is, of course, the cat who actually needs to take medication. He also won’t touch Feline Heartgard monthly chewable pills either, so I suspect he doesn’t like moist treats. So, try at your own risk, particularly if you have a finicky cat. The other con is that Pill Pockets are a bit greasy – they have a high vegetable oil content. As ingredients are listed in order of use, vegetable oil is #4 for the dog pill pockets. While this doesn’t affect the health of your pet, a hand-washing is a MUST after playing with Pill Pockets (which you should always do when handling your pet’s meds, anyway). That said, I know that the vegetable oil is needed to keep the Pill Pockets malleable (easy to fold and maneuver). The other con – cost. They’re not cheap, and if your pet is on loads of meds, it can certainly add up. Try jamming 5 pills in one capsule to help. But anything for Fido, right?!

For dogs, 5 stars. For cats, I'm only giving 3 stars, as only one of my two cats will eat them!

Pillingly yours,

Dr. Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC