Research suggests dogs with uncomplicated diarrhoea do not need antibiotics.

Research has revealed that prescribing antibiotics to dogs with uncomplicated diarrhoea makes no difference to their likelihood of clinical resolution.

This means that many dogs could be being prescribed antibiotics to no benefits, which could increase the likelihood of them developing antibiotic resistance

Diarrhoea is the sixth most common condition among dogs in the UK, and causes great stress and discomfort for pets. It has often been treated with antibiotics upon first presentation.

However, while it can help cases where there is a known bacterial infection or septicaemia, there has been limited research that shows benefits to antibiotics when treating uncomplicated diarrhoea. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious health problems worldwide, so it is considered vital that antibiotics are used responsibly, and only where necessary.

New research, from the Royal Veterinary College, aimed to assess the effectiveness of antibiotics when treating dogs with cases of uncomplicated diarrhoea.

The study analysed a sample taken from veterinary records of 894 dogs aged between three months and 10 years old that had been diagnosed with uncomplicated diarrhoea in 2019. From the sample, 355 dogs (39.7 per cent) were prescribed antibiotics and 539 dogs (60.3 per cent) were not prescribed antibiotics.

During the analysis, the dogs were balanced for all other factors including age, body weight, breed, presence of two or more medical conditions. They were also balanced for many symptoms such as reduced appetite, blood in faeces and duration of diarrhoea. This meant that, effectively, the only difference was whether they were prescribed antibiotics.

The results showed that the likelihood of clinical resolution for dogs that were prescribed antibiotics was 88.3 per cent, compared to 87.9 per cent for dogs not prescribed antibiotics. They also revealed that almost nine in 10 dogs that suffered from uncomplicated diarrhoea recovered after a singular veterinary visit, regardless of whether they were prescribed antibiotics.

With the 0.4 per cent difference in the likelihood of clinical resolution considered statistically insignificant, the researchers concluded that antibiotics had no influence on the recovery of the dogs from uncomplicated diarrhoea.

Camilla Pegram, the lead author of the paper, said: “This study used an exciting new approach that allowed us to determine ‘cause’ rather than being limited to ‘association’.

“Diarrhoea is a common condition in dogs and is often treated with antibiotics. However, this study highlighted that antibiotic prescription at first presentation of diarrhoea caused no difference in clinical resolution.

“Therefore, this arms veterinarians with the evidence-base for restricting antibiotics for uncomplicated diarrhoea in dogs, and owners should be prepared to only have an antibiotic prescription if absolutely necessary."

The full study is published in the journal Plos One.

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