How do you give a small dog a pill?

You can try crushing the pill and mixing it with a smaller amount of food than the dog normally eats. Dogs are smart, so if you have one of those dogs that eats around the crushed medication ask the vet if it comes in liquid. The way I give my dogs pills (even my cat) is by gently holding their head back, putting my finger on each side of their jaw (so they can close) throw in the pill, hold my hand around their closed muzzle (while the head is still tilted back) and gently rub downward on their throat. It works for me every time and I know for sure that they have gotten the medication. This is a good method, but when the dog seems to have swallowed, open his or her mouth while his/her head is still tilted back to see if he/she has really swallowed (my dog is smart enough to try and hide the pill). Another method (if your dog likes peanut butter) is to completely coat the pill in a substantial amount of peanut butter and let the dog eat it from your hand: it worked on my puppy and she hates taking pills.