This 13-Year-Old Chihuahua's Epic Stink Eye After Mom Sneaks Meds in a Treat Has the Internet Howling

Most dogs aren't exactly fans of taking their medicine. That's why so many pet parents resort to the old reliable trick: tucking a pill into a tasty treat and hoping their pup won't catch on. Sometimes it goes off without a hitch. Other times, you get a stare that clearly says, "Seriously?" Even my own dog, who's basically a vacuum when it comes to food, turns her nose up the second she detects a hint of medication.

Take Charlie, a thirteen-year-old Chihuahua who wasn't about to fall for his mom's scheme. When she slipped his medication into small pieces of Pupperoni, he sniffed out the deception right away and refused to cooperate. The look of betrayal he shot her afterward is so painfully relatable that the internet can't get enough of it.

In the caption, Charlie's mom wrote that he knew she had betrayed him, and his expression tells the whole story. As commenter @Sherry Rose put it, "He is not in the mood for 'roni roulette lol!"

@Okie_cop chimed in with a joke: "He remembers when you tried this in 1924," while @Debbie Gillman181 shared a similar experience: "My dog can smell a pill 7 days before I give it to her."

Hopefully Charlie's mom made things right by handing over some medication-free snacks.

Why Do Some Dogs Always Detect Hidden Pills?

One viewer, @jennielepalva, joked, "Dogs' sense of 'pill smell' needs to be studied!!"

As it happens, it already has been. A dog's olfactory abilities are extraordinary—estimated to be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than a human's—which explains why concealing medication from them is such a challenge. Some dogs will happily gulp down a pill wrapped in cheese or a favorite treat, but others become pros at detecting it, eating only the tasty outer layer, and spitting the medicine back out.

For dogs that have wised up to the classic "hide it in a treat" approach, Oakland Veterinary Referral Services suggests a technique they call the "Bait and Switch." First, give your dog a favorite treat with no medication. Then, offer an identical treat with the pill concealed inside. Right after that, present a third pill-free treat. Many dogs are so focused on getting to that last reward that they gulp down the medicated one without a second thought.

Another useful tip: let your dog see you holding a second, pill-free treat while you offer the medicated one first. If they're fixated on earning the next snack, they're often less likely to notice the hidden pill.