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My dog has parasites and won't eat. How do I give her medication?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 47 lbs

My dog was on antibiotics for heartworms. She kept vomiting, having diarrhea, and won't eat. So after the 2nd day I took her to the vet. They did a fecal and found that she has 3 different parasites. They told me to stop the antibiotics for a 3 days and they gave me 2 types of oral syringes that says take with food. But, she will not eat ANYTHING. I've tried the rice and chicken, peanut butter, turkey, and wet dog food. She keeps turning her head up to everything.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Ann Dion, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 17th, 2018

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Peggy has a large worm burden (lots of worms) then she likely feels sick and doesn't want to eat, and likely won't want to eat until the worms are gone. If the medication that your vet gave is a dewormer (typically a liquid called Panacur/Fenbendazole), then you can give it without food. This might clear out the worms and get Peggy eating again. If the medication is an antibiotic (Metronidazole, Amoxyclav), then this needs to be given with food. You can also talk to your vet about trying an anti-nausea medication to see if this helps with the appetite. If Peggy has abdominal pain, or is vomiting, please have her seen right away as high worm burdens can lead to a very life-threatening condition called intussusception. Best of luck with Peggy, I hope she feels better soon!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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