Did anyone give his medicine? How to share pet care as a family

Keep one list that everyone in the house can see, and have whoever feeds, walks or gives a medicine tick it straight away, with their initials and the time. Write the food and each medicine down exactly as the vet or the food pack says, so anyone can follow it. If nobody is sure whether a dose was given, don't give another 'just in case': check the vet's instructions or call your vet ²³.

Medicines not given as prescribed: 47% of 151 dog owners in a New Zealand vet-school study (2019–20)¹
Missed a dose given by mouth: About 30% of owners who answered, in the same study¹
Not sure a dose was given?: Don't give an extra one. Check the vet's instructions, or call your vet²³
Given twice?: Call your vet right away²
Treats from everyone together: No more than about 10% of the day's calories¹⁰¹¹
Measuring with a cup or scoop: Owners in one study were off by up to 48% too little or 152% too much⁷

From our familyWith Auggie, our Labrador: some days he was fed twice, some days his medicine was missed, because each of us thought someone else had done it. Our story

Give every task one name

Write down every daily task: each meal, each walk, each medicine dose, and fresh water.
Give each task one person and one back-up. When a task belongs to 'whoever is free', each person can think someone else did it.
Tick the task the moment it's done, with initials and the time, on one list that everyone sees. A printable weekly chart for the fridge works, or a shared list on your phones.
Before you feed or give a medicine, look at the list. If it's ticked, don't give it again.
Show the same list to the didi, the driver or the walker on their first day, so they tick it too. Going away? See what to hand over to a sitter.
In Mumbai, BMC's guidelines say children under 18 should not walk or handle a pet in public without an adult ¹³. If a child does the evening walk, send an adult along.

Write the vet's instructions where everyone can see them

Before you leave the clinic, ask: what the medicine is for and for how long; how much and how often; with or without food; how to store it; what to do if your pet spits it out or vomits; and what to do if a dose is missed or given twice ².
Write one line for each medicine: what the vet wrote, the times, the date to stop, and who gives it. Copy the vet's words as they are. Don't round or shorten them.
Ask the vet or nurse to show you how to give it. In the New Zealand study, 47% of owners said nobody had shown them ¹.
Ask before you hide a tablet in roti or food, or crush it. Some tablets don't work properly when crushed, and some work better with food while others need an empty stomach ³².
Finish the course the vet prescribed, even if your pet seems better, unless the vet tells you to stop ³⁴.
Keep the vet's prescription with the medicine, so the next person can check it.

If a dose may have been missed, or given twice

Checked against vet sources. Not yet reviewed by a vet.

Missed, or nobody is sure? Don't give an extra dose to make up for it. Check the instructions your vet gave you or the leaflet in the pack, or call your vet, who will tell you when to give the next one ²³.
Given twice? Call your vet right away ².
Vomited soon after, or spat it out? Don't repeat the dose on your own; ask your vet. If it was vomited, some medicine may already be absorbed, and another dose could be too much ².
Your pet seems unwell after a medicine? Call your vet right away, before the next dose ².
Write down what happened and the time. It helps the vet give you a clear answer.
Never give a human medicine unless your vet says so. Some are poisonous to pets ⁶.

Measure food the same way every time

Keep one katori, cup or scoop just for your pet's food, next to the food, and fill it the same way every time: level, not heaped.
A katori isn't a fixed size. ICMR-NIN's dietary guidelines use katoris from 115 ml to 360 ml, and note how much home measures vary ⁹.
Cups and scoops are less exact than they look. When 100 dog owners measured dry food with a cup or scoop, they were off by as much as 48% too little or 152% too much, and small amounts were the hardest to get right ⁷.
A small kitchen scale is more exact. Vets often ask families to weigh the food when a pet needs to lose weight ⁸.
Write the amount in words anyone can follow, the way you would tell a sitter: 'one level steel katori', not 'some rice' ⁸. Vets ask what size of cup or scoop you use, too ¹².
How much and how often depends on your pet and the food. Ask your vet, because the feeding guide on a pack doesn't suit every pet ⁸.

Every relative's treat counts

Treats, biscuits, bits of roti and table food from everyone together should stay within about 10% of the day's calories. The rest should come from your pet's complete food ¹⁰¹¹.
'Just a little bit' from each person adds up faster than it looks ¹⁰.
Food used to hide a tablet counts too. Vets ask about it, along with treats and snacks, when they take a diet history ¹¹¹².
Agree on one person who hands out the day's treats, or tick treats on the list as well.
Chocolate, and grapes or raisins (kishmish), are never treats. They can poison dogs ¹⁴.

Keep medicines out of reach

Checked against vet sources. Not yet reviewed by a vet.

Keep pet medicines in their original box or strip with the label, so anyone can read the instructions and your pet's name ⁵.
Use a closed cupboard. Counters and shelves are often not out of reach, and many pet medicines are flavoured, which makes them tempting ⁵.
Keep pet medicines apart from the family's, so nobody gives the wrong one ⁵.
Keep them away from children too. A chewable pet tablet can look like a sweet ⁵.
If your pet eats any medicine, yours or its own, call your vet straight away ²⁵. At night, find a 24-hour pet hospital in your city.

Not fully clear yet

Official sources disagree or leave gaps on these. Confirm before you rely on them.

We found no Indian study of how often pet medicines are missed or doubled at home. The figures above come from one New Zealand teaching hospital, and its authors say their clients, many with animal training, may have done better than most ¹.
There is no single rule for a missed dose. It depends on the medicine, which is why the vet sources say to ask your vet ²³.
This page doesn't say how much or how often to feed. That depends on your pet and its food, and needs your vet.

More in this guide

Weekly dog care chart for the fridge (printable)A free one-page weekly chart for the fridge. Everyone ticks meals, walks, medicine and water with initials and time, and the vet's number is on it too.

Last checked 5 Oct 2026. Facts checked against the official and veterinary sources below by Thapki. Not yet reviewed by a vet. Written with AI help from the sources below and checked against them line by line; the Thapki team reads and approves each page before it goes live.

Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.

Sources

Factors associated with medication noncompliance in dogs in New Zealand (Odom et al., Animals, Sep 2024) · Massey University School of Veterinary Science (peer-reviewed paper, PubMed Central) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Medications for your pet: questions for your vet (content current as of 20 Feb 2024) · US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine · seen 5 Oct 2026
How to give your dog a pill (May 2023) · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
Giving your dog oral medications · Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, hospital pharmacy · seen 5 Oct 2026
Properly store medications to keep your pet safe (content current as of 14 Jun 2024) · US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine · seen 5 Oct 2026
Poisoning from human over-the-counter drugs (pet owner version) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026
Dog owner's accuracy measuring different volumes of dry dog food using three different measuring devices (Coe et al., Veterinary Record, 2019) · Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph (peer-reviewed paper, PubMed Central) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Should you be weighing your pet's food? (16 Aug 2021) · Petfoodology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University · seen 5 Oct 2026
Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024, Annexure I: suggested measuring katori, cups and spoons (PDF) · ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition · seen 5 Oct 2026
Treat options for dogs and cats without unbalancing their diet (21 Oct 2021) · Petfoodology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University · seen 5 Oct 2026
2021 AAHA nutrition and weight management guidelines for dogs and cats (PDF) · American Animal Hospital Association · seen 5 Oct 2026
Short diet history form (PDF, Global Nutrition Toolkit) · World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Guidelines with respect to pet and street dogs, community animal feeders, RWAs and AOAs, and public institutions (signed 13 Dec 2024 to 20 Mar 2025) · Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Veterinary Health Department · seen 5 Oct 2026
Food hazards (pet owner version) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026