Antibiotics for Dogs: Use, Dosage & Side Effects

Your dog has become infected with a bacterium that is causing him a lot of trouble and is affecting his health?

Then usually only an antibiotic for dogs helps here. And antibiotics for dogs, on the other hand, are like the proverbial sand by the sea.

Our guide Antibiotics for Dogs tells you everything you need to know about this.

What antibiotics are there for dogs?

There are many antibiotics for dogs – because unfortunately there are just as many different bacteria against which an antibiotic can help should.

Some of the most common bacteria that can create a bad mood for dogs include the following:

• Escherichia coli/E. coli
• Lyme disease bacteria
• staphylococci
• pneumococci
• streptococci
• toxoplasma
• salmonella
• anaplasma
• leptospires
• clostridia

A distinction is also made between so-called gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

While there are some antibiotics that can act as broad spectrum antibiotics against a number of the bacteria mentioned here.

However, bacteria are not just bacteria – and that in turn unfortunately makes a wide range of different antibiotics necessary for dogs.

Antibiotic for dogs: list

So that you know which antibiotics are available for dogs and for which diseases they are used, here now a clear table of the most common antibiotics:

antibioticincluded in:used for, among others:AmoxicillinAmoxival
amoxicillin
Clamoxyl Gastrointestinal disorders
· Respiratory diseases
· Urinary tract diseases
· Skin diseasesAmoxicillin + clavulanic acidKesium
Synulox
clavudals
Amoxiclav· Gastrointestinal diseases
· Respiratory diseases
· Urinary tract diseases
· Skin diseasesAmpicillinAmpitabAlbipen· Clostridia
· Diseases of the lower respiratory tract
· Leptospirosis
· Salmonella diseaseBacitracinBaneocin· Conjunctivitis
· Keratitis
· Otitis externaChlortetracyclineOphtocycline· Respiratory diseases
· Skin diseases
· Urinary tract diseases
· Gastrointestinal disordersCloxacillin & DicloxacillinVetoscon· Musculoskeletal disorders
· Skin diseases
· Urinary tract diseases
· Clostridia
· Lung infection
· EndocarditisDoxycyclineDoxybactin· Anaplasmosis
· Toxoplasmosis
· Gastrointestinal disorders
· EhrlichiosisFenbendazolPanacur· Giardia
· Gastrointestinal disorders
· Respiratory diseasesMetronidazolMetrobactin
Metrovis
Metrobactin Clostridia
· Urinary tract diseases
· Diarrheal diseases
· Inflammation of the pharynxNafcillinNafpenzal· MastitisOxacillink.A.· Musculoskeletal disorders
· Soft tissue diseases
· Skin infections
· Eye diseases
· Respiratory diseasesOxytetracycline.A.· Ehrlichiosis

Please note that this list only gives a first overview of the possible antibiotics for dogs, but there are also other active ingredients.

It is also important that your dog does not have any penicillin intolerance to many of these antibiotics, as many of the antibiotics listed are among them.

When does a dog need antibiotics?

A dog needs an antibiotic when he from an infection caused by bacteria suffers.

This can affect the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract or the throat and the respiratory tract, among other things.

So that the infection is over as quickly as possible, a dog is given the right antibiotic for the infection.

How do antibiotics work in dogs?

In itself, an antibiotic in the dog has only one purpose: To render bacteria harmless, i.e. to kill them.

Please note that antibiotics only help against bacteria, never against viruses or fungi.

If your dog still gets an antibiotic for a viral infection, he also has a secondary bacterial infection.

Antibiotics are always formulated in such a way that they can effectively combat both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Please note that frequent administration of antibiotics in dogs can lead to resistance.

This means: If an antibiotic is really needed again, it may no longer help.

It is therefore all the more important that these medicines are only given to the dog in exceptional cases and emergencies!

How are antibiotics given to dogs?

If a first treatment with an antibiotic takes place at the vet’s, this is intravenous, i.e. through a syringe.

The following day you then have the pleasure of getting the corresponding tablet into your dog, because this is administered orally.

The dose is always given twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Here, a gap of 12 hours should be observed fairly precisely, otherwise the antibiotic will not work.

The question that always arises is whether antibiotics should be given to a dog before or after a meal.

This question decides the nature of the tablet. In most cases it is possible to give the antibiotic with or after the food.

However, the reason is not that mixing with the food would be easier or that the drug ends up in the food pulp after eating.

In fact, the food can affect the effect of the antibiotic, which of course is then no longer as optimal.

By the way, there’s another quirk with some antibiotics that means you can’t grind them up and give them to the dog with a syringe.

Some antibiotics or the tablets are provided with a coating that is resistant to gastric acid.

These antibiotics are designed to first dissolve in the dog’s small intestine, but not in the stomach. If you crush these tablets, the effect is done here as well.

What side effects can antibiotics have?

Whether amoxicillin, or doxycycline: Actually, the first side effects occur always gastrointestinal problems on.

Diarrhea is the most common here, as the dog’s intestinal flora is thrown off balance by the antibiotic.

Vomiting is also often the result of antibiotic therapy and usually occurs in the first few days of treatment.

Is your dog on antibiotics and not eating? This is also a side effect, because the antibiotic unfortunately has a negative effect on your furry friend’s hunger.

Is your dog on antibiotics and not eating? Nausea and flatulence can also be the reason for this as side effects of antibiotics.

How to properly protect a dog when given antibiotics?

If your dog gets antibiotics, he has to be properly protected – and this one Rest affects, among other things, the intestines out of.

As much as an antibiotic can help, the damage it can do to the dog’s gut is unfortunately not to be taken lightly.

An intestinal cleansing after these antibiotics is therefore the first thing to do – and thus probably the most important aspect when it comes to protecting a dog after antibiotics.

Oh what – why an intestinal cleansing after antibiotics? This should already be done during antibiotic therapy.

That’s why the treating veterinarian will probably give you a suitable probiotic right away before you are allowed to drive home with your furry friend.

Generally, your dog will be given this probiotic a few hours after the first dose of the medication, once a day.

Your dog should also not be overstrained during antibiotic therapy.

After all, his body is not only busy with an infection, but also with the associated antidote.

Rest and relaxation are also part of resting a dog because of antibiotics.

Has your dog already had to be treated with an antibiotic? Then we would be happy if you share your experiences and tips in our comments.