I love to make creative treats for my dogs. My latest obsession is a no bake gelatin gummy dog treat! I started making homemade dog pill pockets to help give my dog his daily medication. In addition to working great as a pill pocket, it turns out that gelatin is an amazing supplement to your dog’s diet!
Homemade gelatin dog treats support your dog’s digestion, brain function and joint health thanks to amino acids, collagen, and protein. And the jello consistency makes them THE perfect no bake treats to hide your dog’s pills!
Homemade pill pockets are so easy to make. They only need a few hours to set in the fridge and you can experiment with tons of different flavors and add-ins. I hope you enjoy learning about the benefits of gelatin for your dog and have fun making this easy recipe!
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The Best Way To Hide your Dog’s Pills: Homemade Gelatin Pill Pocket Treats
Do you remember making Jell-o as a kid? I loved mixing the hot with the cold liquid and waiting for it to set in the fridge. These homemade dog treats are so similar but the key is to use dog-safe gelatin (unflavored and unsweetened). Jell-o brand mix is not safe for dogs because of sweeteners like xylitol or aspartame. So steer clear of crazy flavors like lime or cherry!
Choosing the right ingredients for your gelatin pill pockets is VERY important. For these homemade dog treats, you should use unflavored natural gelatin powder. My favorite is by Great Lakes Gelatin which you can order from Amazon or Walmart. You can also find Knox brand gelatin at some local grocery stores. But get the Great Lakes one if you can because it’s a really high-quality product!
Gelatin treats make great “pill pockets” because you can press a pill in without the treat falling apart. Store-bought pill pocket treats never worked for me. And since my dog takes daily medication for his epilepsy we would go through them so fast! Homemade is the way to go.
Since gelatin treats are slippery they can be great for dogs who like to eat around their pills! Your dog might swallow these without even noticing the pills!
Does Gelatin Help Dogs Who Take Medication for Epilepsy?
I started making these gelatin treats to help give my dog Burt his epilepsy pills twice a day. One of the immediate benefits I noticed the first time I made these pill pocket gelatin treats was that my dog had firmer poops! It turns out gelatin can help with gut health and digestion.
I was intrigued about the other benefits and when I did more research about gelatin, I learned about a ton of health benefits for dogs with seizures. Joanne Carson, Ph.D., Founder of Canine Epilepsy Guardian Angels has a great article about the benefits of gelatin for dogs with seizures.
In this article, she shares that gelatin, “has anti-inflammatory and brain-protective actions that are especially important during aging and under stress. Glycine, the main amino acid in gelatin, protects against seizures and brain damage.”
So not only do these gelatin low fat dog treats make great pill pockets, but they also support brain function, perfect for my epileptic dog!
Gelatin Treats Are Healthy for Dog’s Joints
In addition to supporting healthy brain function, gelatin has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. That makes it a great added supplement for dogs prone to joint issues. With my labradors, I’m always looking for ways to support healthy joints and prevent the painful arthritis my last dog suffered with.
The collagen in gelatin can help with joint pain by strengthening your dog’s ligaments, tendons and muscles which may have become worn out or weak due to age, stress and activity. It can also help with your dog’s skin, hair and nails.
If you’ve been keeping track so far, I’ve shared why gelatin is beneficial for your dog’s digestion, brain and joint health! Now let’s get to the fun part… the treat recipe!
Easy Gelatin Dog Treat Recipe
This no-bake dog treat recipe is for the basic pumpkin gelatin treats. I’ve made these many times! Recently, I started experimenting with other ingredients like bone broth, fresh beet juice, spinach and banana. That’s the great thing about this recipe, you can mix the gelatin with almost anything to create a treat your dog can’t resist! And no need for a food processor, an oven or flour. Easy, safe, tasty, and one of the best fat free dog treats recipes I have tried yet.
Ingredients and Supplies for Homemade Dog Pill Pockets:
– Great Lakes Gelatin Co. Unflavored Beef Gelatin (available on Amazon)
– Plain Canned Pumpkin Puree
– Water
– Silicone mold (I like these, but a collapsible dog water bowl works, too)
Step-by-Step Gelatin Homemade Dog Pill Pockets Recipe
- Follow the instructions on the gelatin container and mix 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder with cold water. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to “bloom”
- Warm-up 1 1/2 cups of plain pumpkin puree on the stove until it is very hot. Stir continuously to prevent it from bubbling
- Next, add the cold solidified gelatin mixture to the hot pumpkin puree and stir to combine well
- Pour the combined liquid into your silicone mold
- Move the mold over to the refrigerator to set for about 3 hours
DIY Pill Pockets For Dogs Tips
For firmer treats, use less liquid or more gelatin powder. I find that firmer treats are better at holding pills and come out of the molds easier.
If you want to experiment with other flavors for your own pill pocket recipe, use dog-safe ingredients like banana, natural peanut butter, bone broth, sweet potato, apple, kale or yogurt. Depending on the ingredients you want to use, you can use them as the cold liquid or the hot liquid. There’s really no wrong way to make these low fat treats for dogs!
You can vary the size of your treats based on your dog’s size and what types of pills they take. There so many cute silicone treat molds (my favorites are from Michael’s). You can also make these homemade dog pill pockets in a collapsible silicone dog water bowl or even a regular dog food shallow bowl from your kitchen and spoon it out.
If you’re using floppy silicone molds, your life will be easier if you place the molds on a silicone baking sheet before you fill them. It will make moving the molds into the refrigerator so much easier.
After you make a batch of these treats, they will stay good in the fridge for about 5 days. For me, they stay fresher if I leave them in the mold and take out as needed.
Do gelatin pill pockets not work for your dog?
Some dogs don’t like the texture. If that’s the case, here are some more suggestions from Real Dog Moms on how they get their dogs to take pills:
- I use fish oil! Get a good fish oil and just cover the pill with it…
- I use DIY dog pill pockets but like a treat. I throw my dog one empty one, ty, then the one with a pill, then throw another empty one right after so he doesn’t have time to discover the pill.
- I give my dog pills hidden in a spoonful of cottage cheese or plain yogurt. I give one normal spoonful and then drop the pills on the spoon and scoop the yogurt or cottage cheese on top. It can be easier with that since my dog doesn’t even have to chew it.
- If your dog’s medication is a tablet that can be crushed, you can hide it between a spoonful of pumpkin and wet dog food. Check with your vet or pharmacist to make sure it’s safe to crush that medication first.
- Spray some spray cheese on your finger, put your dog’s pills on top, then spray more cheese on top of them. It doesn’t take a lot of cheese and they love it!
Just a reminder to check anything you are giving your dog for Xylitol which is very poisonous to dogs (it’s most often found in peanut butter but I always check everything)!
Some of my dog mom blogger friends have great posts about their favorite gelatin dog treat recipes, too! Check out Proud Dog Mom’s Chicken Jello Treats and the Peanut Butter Jello Treats from Kol’s Notes! They both have fabulous blogs!
Did you love this post? Find more healthy dog treat recipes:
Canine Enrichment Doggy Açaí Bow Recipe
Healthy Kong Stuffing Recipes
Kong Stuffing Ideas to Mix Up Your Dog’s Routine
Healthy Goat Milk Pupsicle Recipe
3 Pumpkin Dog Treat Recipes
Easy Kale and Apple Frozen Dog Treats
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This post contains affiliate links. I only link to products I truly believe in. If you purchase from my links it could help me earn a small commission to invest back in my blog.
Great idea. But I don’t understand how you end up with individual treats if you use a bowl (rather than the little molds). Do you just cut the big treat into squares?
Yes, exactly! If you make them in a bowl or pan of some kind you can just cut them up or scoop them out with a spoon. 🙂
This is really interesting!!!!
Thanks Jane! I’ve tried a lot of different flavors now! I did a banana and peanut butter one that the dogs loved!
Can you freeze these? I’m definitely going to try them. My older dog has to take a big pill every day for her hip dysplasia & sometimes it’s hard to trick her! She’s getting pickier in her old age too, but she would love these! My lab mix is 18 months old & he takes his allergy pill plain. He doesn’t even care what he’s eating! But I like that he’ll be getting the gelatin.
You CAN freeze them, but then they’ll be hard and you won’t be able to put a pill in there. I’ve put them on top of a Toppl or Kong and frozen them before. For your picky dog, try giving her on treat first, then the one with the treat, followed really quickly by another plain one! That’s a good trick 🙂
How long do these last in the fridge ?
About 5 – 7 days. They tend to get condensation that makes them go bad faster, so I put them in a plastic container that’s raised in the middle so they don’t get as wet. If that makes sense!
How much water goes with the gelatin? I don’t see that anywhere
Follow the instructions on the gelatin packaging. I usually do a little less liquid than it calls for because i like a more firm jello treat for my dogs.
My gelatin says mix one tablespoon with your favorite juice.
I wouldn’t mix it with juice for your dog though. Too much sugar. Try no salt added broth or pumpkin puree, my dogs love it!
Mine says the same. I want to use water, but can’t find an amount on the package. What is the usual? A Tbps? A cup?
I would start with 1 tablespoon of gelatin in ½ cup of cold water. Let it sit for approximately 5 minutes. Then add about 1 cup of hot liquid. I like a firm gummy treat. Add more water to make them more giggly 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. My dog is diabetic, with a past bout of pancreatitis, so I have to be very careful what I give him. The purchased ‘pill pockets’ have way too many ingredients that would raise blood glucose. I made a batch of this with the T of gelatin, 1/2 cup cold filtered water to bloom the gelatin, used 3/4 c of pumpkin puree, and 1 c of bone broth from Chewy.com. Will see how well that comes out and if too jiggly, will reduce the water I used to reconstitute the bone broth (powdered form). My dog is extremely picky as well, and will eat around anything and spit out the pill. He cannot have anything with high fat or high sugar content. So again, thank you for creating and posting this recipe/solution to the problem.
I’m so happy to hear that you found this recipe and you’re making it! That makes my day. Please let me know if your dog will eat the treats. The great thing about these is that you can add almost any flavor to them. But it comes down to them liking the texture. I think the slipperyness makes it easy to give pills. If you add more gelatin and make them firmer, then they’re less slippery. Good luck!!