PET-CAPS Flavored Capsules: The Ideal Capsules for Pets
Pet owners and veterinarians all agree: Getting cats and dogs to take medications can be a real challenge. This is also a major problem for makers of pet medications and supplements. After all, you can have the best formulation in the world—a product with proven life-changing benefits—but if pet owners cannot get their dogs and cats to swallow it, your product’s outstanding efficacy will be irrelevant.
It’s no wonder veterinary formulation development usually includes a focus on palatability!
Why do pets reject medications?
You might think that pets reject medications because they don’t like the way they taste. This is true…when the pill actually makes it into the pet’s mouth. However, because cats and dogs have a very sophisticated sense of smell, quite often the pill is rejected before it is tasted. Even if your product’s empty capsules have done a good job of masking the scent of the encapsulated medication or supplement, the capsule still will not smell like “food.” Because it is not “food,” the pet will essentially say, “no thanks.”
To get around this issue, pet owners will often try to hide the capsule in something that is food, such as a piece of cheese. Sometimes this works. But often the pet will eat the treat and then spit out the pill. Even when hiding in food that the pet likes, the medicine still won’t smell or taste like “food.”
The solution is to turn medications into “treats”
Many veterinary products are encapsulated in standard gelatin empty capsules. To increase compliance, a better option is to encapsulate in PET-CAPS flavor capsules.
PET-CAPS are unique gelatin two-piece hard capsules that both smell and taste like foods that dogs and cats love: beef, bacon or chicken. PET-CAPS go beyond masking the strong taste and smell of veterinary medications and supplements (including notoriously strong-smelling CBD products) to also trick pets into thinking that these products are delicious little food treats.
They smell like treats. They taste like treats. So, in the pet’s mind, they must be treats.
PET-CAPS flavored capsules eliminate the struggle
When you encapsulate your formulations in PET-CAPS you eliminate the need for all of the “tricks” that pet owners use to try to get their cats and dogs to take pills. You eliminate the need to hide the pill in food, stuff it into a specially-made “pill pocket” or “wrapper,” or shoot it into the back of the pet’s throat with a “pill gun.” And you eliminate the scratches and bites that can occur when pet owners attempt to force feed medications to cats and dogs.
PET-CAPS have even passed a third-party palatability study, which showed what is considered to be very high acceptance levels. When offered, approximately 75% of dogs in the study voluntarily consumed a beef or bacon flavored capsule, while over 72% of cats in the study voluntarily consumed a beef or chicken flavored capsule. No coercion required!
These flavor capsules are premium-quality empty capsules
PET-CAPS are essentially the well-regarded G-CAPS® gelatin capsules, but with beef, bacon or chicken scent and flavoring added to the gelatin. This means that PET-CAPS are premium-quality empty capsules made from 100% bovine hide pharmaceutical-grade gelatin in a cGMP and FDA-approved facility. They’re BSE-free, starch-free, preservative-free, certified non-GMO, and both Kosher and Halal certified. In fact, PET-CAPS are made to such a high standard that they are safe for human consumption as well.
A range of sizes and branding options are available
For maximum formulation flexibility, PET-CAPS flavor capsules are available in large and small sizes. The seven available sizes are 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. For branding purposes, a wide variety of customization options are available to differentiate your product, including colors and printing. This is in addition to the flavor itself, which is a very strong product differentiator on its own.
Give pet owners a less stressful medicating process
Imagine the relief your customers (and their veterinarians) will feel when they find out that their pet’s medicine or supplement comes in a capsule that smells and tastes like a flavor that dogs and cats love! By encapsulating your veterinary product in empty capsules that taste and smell like beef, bacon or chicken, you can improve compliance and customer satisfaction. A win/win!