Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My dog on doxycycline for cough won't eat. Should I stop the meds?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 46 lbs

My 10-month-old lab mix has been on doxycycline for 3 days. He has been having frequent bowel movements but not watery but tonight he won't eat his supper. Should I stop the med until I can see his vet? Taking it for a cough, probably kennel cough, as he was recently adopted from a shelter.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 21st, 2020

Poor Jake. Try feeding him some boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice. If he won't eat that, have him seen by the vet. I don't want to recommend stopping the medication without seeing him in person.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is on doxycycline for Lyme disease. And he is also on anti-nausea medication because he keeps throwing up the medicine. He refuses to eat his meals so I have to feed him chicken and rice so that I can give him the medicine not on an empty stom
It's most important right now to get Shep to eat so he can take his medication, so the chicken and rice is fine. Once he's feeling better, you can worry abou transitioning him back to his dog food. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
My 6 years Yorkie don't wanna eat any dog food, we already tried 2 brands and still won't eat, he eats bread or rice, He is on medication cause of his cough what should i do?
You might consider trying canned food if you aren't doing so already. If you have, I would continue to keep trying other brands. You can also consider taking any brand of dog food and mixing in some chicken or scrambled eggs to spice things up. Just realize that if you do that you will be doing it forever since Jake will never want to go back. Also you will need to monitor Jake's caloric intake carefully since he is a small breed dog. Calories from chicken and eggs will add up quickly and can result in an overweight dog. As far as medication, obviously whatever you need to do to get the medication down is fine. I tell my clients that are having trouble to use sticky things like peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, cream cheese, so on and so forth. Given that Jake is a dog prone to coughing (I don't know anything about his medical history) it will be especially important to find something that he doesn't fuss about too much in order to avoid getting him into a fit of coughing or po
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
How can i help my dog eating? She was diagnosed with Erlichia yesterday. This morning she woke up vomiting all of her food plus bloody stools (tar stools). I took her to a veterinary who said that this was normal because of the Doxycycline, but duri
Thank you for contacting Boop by Petco with your question about Luna. I'm sorry she has Erlichia! The doxycycline can cause stomach upset, and to help with that, try giving her the medication with food. Give it with some boiled white meat chicken (no bones or skin) and white rice. You can mix in some low sodium chicken broth as well to keep her hydrated. It is very concerning she can't keep down water, and keep a close eye on her. Take her back into the vet first thing in the morning if she is still like this. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Ziggy is currently on chloramphenicol for kennel cough (day 6 of 14). He had torbutrol cough suppressant for 3 days. So far, the coughing has stopped. He suddenly developed diarrhea and is pickier than usual about eating. Could this be a side effect
This very well maybe a side effect is the antibiotic. If he is still eating and drinking and there is no blood in the stool, you can add a canine pro biotic to his food to see if that helps. You can also try boiled chicken and rice as a diet. If it get worse and he stops eating I would stop the medication until you can get him seen.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My Dog was not eating anything for the past 15-20 days. We had to force her in eating atleast something. We went to the vet and the doctor thought to be digestive problem. Later on, she was diagnosed and the results came out. She is having anaplasma
Poor girl. Yes this tick infection can definitely cause anorexia (decreased appetite) amongst other problems such as fever, lameness, vomiting, etc. Terramycin IV is not commonly used in veterinary medicine and so I cannot say that I would use this as my first line of treatment.I would simply put Ghontu on Doxycycline oral for this type of infection, steroids and perhaps a recovery food such as Hill's Recovery, Hill's A/D, or liquid Rebound. The Rantac can also help with nausea so that is fine to continue. Please forgive me but you will have to describe what DNS stands for, since this is not a common abbreviation or known drug that we use here in the U.S. Feel free to repost with the definition of medicine spelled out. Also the Conciplex is Vit B which should be continued as long as she is not eating well. I do hope that your fur baby feels better soon! I would possibly consider having her hospitalized in the next day or two if she does not improve with at home care. I wish you al
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I'm fostering a kitten (3 to 4 weeks old). She is sick and has been on doxycycline for 5 days now. Doesn't seem to be getting better so I had the vet look at her again. She gave small dose of clindamycin SQ twice daily on top of doxy. Is it possible
Doxycycline can cause nausea and affect appetite. You may want to ask whether you can stop the Doxy and either not replace it or replace it with another antibiotic if needed. It is really important that your kitty drinks her kitten milk otherwise she will not survive due to dehydration. The other problem is if she is so congested that she cannot smell her food that will not eat. I can only suggest that you keep her warm and massaged, speak cat to her if you can (no this is no joke, try purring like a cat mama does) and often try to offer warm kitten milk. I hope she will start eating for you again.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has a really bad cough. We took medication and he has given a new medication doxycycline 500mg. Now he is coughing more. I have given some honey as well. He doesn’t like it
Cough can be caused by an infection, heart problem or lung condition, it is important to first know the cause before treating it as treatment is different from condition to another. The most common disease causing cough is a viral/bacterial infection called Kennel cough, this disease usually resolves without treatment within a couple weeks but if the cough is too severe it is recommended to go to the vet in order to get cough medicine and antibiotics.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My female Dachshund has been nauseous for one day That was 3 days ago. Loose stools and in a limited amount----not like usual for her. Eating very little and only a few bites ever 3 or 4 hours. She is 22 lbs and about 4 lbs overweight. 11 yrs old M
Poor Hildegarde! I would start by not feeding her for 12 hours and then reintroduce small amounts of plain boiled boneless, skinless chicken and white rice to see if this settles her tummy. You can also get her some probiotics to help firm her stool. I would not give her any doxycycline. This is not a typical antibiotic used for GI upset and it usually will cause more GI upset. If she continues to have diarrhea, I would have you vet look at her. I worry she is going to become dehydrated since she is so small. Your vet will be able to determine the cause and get her on the proper antibiotics. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 14 yr old black lab is undergoing heart worm treatment. He has been taking doxycycline and prednisone for 5 days. Early this morning he started vomitting and had diarrhea. He will drink water and has not vomitted for about 2 hours now. We hav
Both doxycycline and prednisone can cause vomiting and diarrhea. I am not sure of the dose that your dog is on but maybe your vet could adjust the dose so he has less gastrointestinal problems. Feeding the medication with a meal can sometimes help with the gastrointestinal side effects so make sure to give with food. Your vet could also prescribe an anti-vomiting medication, probiotic, and GI protectant which may help, too. At this point, If he is just going to vomit the medication than it doesn't make sense to give it. You should wait and see if your vet can prescribe additional medications to help with the vomiting and diarrhea. If the vomiting and diarrhea has stopped, you could try to give one medication at a time with food and see how he does.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog won't eat. Had a cough the past few days and decreased appetite (would eat only a little); had her on medicine and now she doesn't seem to cough but won't eat at all. Still lethargic but does move/run around and drinks water normally.
Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. I recommend that she sees her veterinarian again. It is worrisome that she still will not eat. Based on her exam findings, she may need to have x-rays of her chest and laboratory work done. It is important to determine why she is not feeling well so that she can be helped. I hope that this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Dog Food Prescription Dog Digestive Medications Prescription Dog Antibiotics Dog Medicine and Prescriptions Dog Health & Wellness Cold & Kennel Cough Treatments Dog Asthma Medication Dog Thyroid Medication & Hormone Care Prescription Dewormer for Dogs Heartworm Medicine for Dogs Doxycycline Dog Medicine and Prescriptions Doxycycline Dog Asthma Medication Doxycycline Prescription Dog Antibiotics Doxycycline Cat Medicine Doxycycline Pet Pharmacy Doxycycline Cat Antibiotics Doxycycline Cat Asthma Medication Doxycycline Prescriptions for Small Animals & Other Pets Doxycycline Tylan Prescription Dog Digestive Medications
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored