Pet Pill Pockets

For about the last 3 years I've spent at least one day a week at Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary. This rescue helps 200-300 golden retrievers, flat coat retrievers and their bonded friends find medical care and furever homes every year. We adopted Loki from Homeward Bound when she was just three months old. Isn't she cute?

Anyway, I'm on the evening feeding crew where we dole out food, water and medicine to 20-45 dogs every day, twice a day. We're kind of like lunch ladies for dogs. As you can imagine we go through a lot of pill pockets. Cases and cases in fact! So when I read an email newsletter article from Dr. Jon from Pet Place about homemade pill pockets, I knew I had to try them.

Homemade Liverwurst Pill Pockets
Ingredients:

3/4 cup plain shredded wheat cereal

3 ounces Liverwurst (room temperature)

2 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

Instructions:

Place shredded wheat in a bag and crush by using a rolling pin

Mix liverwurst and cream cheese together until smooth

Mix with shredded wheat

Roll into small balls (the size of gum drops)

Store in the refrigerator in a re-sealable plastic bag or container

Treats will last about 7 to 10 days

When it's time for your dog to take his medicine, simply take a "dough" ball and hide the pill in the center. Then offer it to your dog like a treat.

I emailed the owners/operators of the rescue and got the OK to use the dogs as pill pocket guinea pigs. So the night before my scheduled volunteer shift, I made up a triple batch of homemade pill pockets. Loki was already in bed for the night but the aroma of liverwurst lured our lazy cat all the way from an upstairs bedroom. I have a feeling these puppies will work for kitties, too. They were super easy to make as I wore gloves to keep my hands clean. I rolled them out onto a parchment-paper covered cookie sheet then stored them in the fridge for the night.

One of the sad realities of dog rescue is that more often than not, we take in dogs that have been used for breeding and not used to being around people. Golden retrievers are often called "velcro dogs" because of their close bonds with people. But dogs used by irresponsible breeders come to us shy, scared, and often hungry. They stay at the ranch long enough to get some TLC, a clean bill of health and enough social skills to find their furever home. Consider Rescue, it's the compassionate choice.

Anyway, one of these breeder rescue dogs was one of our first customers of the night. When my volunteer partner Bev (whom we refer to as OUR Dog Whisperer) called out for a stinky, yummy treat to lure out our beautiful but scared breeder dog, I grabbed a homemade pill pocket and handed it to her. The dog instantly picked up the scent and started to peek her nose out of her kennel. Three homemade pill pockets later and Pearl, our breeder dog, was happily walking on a leash. SUCCESS!

We used the pill pockets throughout the rest of the feeding and left the rest for the other feeding crews. When I went back the next week, there was a note waiting for me requesting more homemade pill pockets. Not only did they work great for pills, the other feeders found they worked miracles in helping teach shy and scared dogs that these people were worth trusting, if just to get another tasty liverwurst treat.

Sounds to me like a keeper. Just like Loki...my own golden retriever who's now grown up. She's looking forward to helping me make my next batch of pill pockets. She gives them four paws up.