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8 year old lab mix disagnosed with osteosarcoma
Hi Dr. Pam!
I don't know if you saw, but Honorary Tripawd Nellie has joined us as a foster dog.
She came to us with a severe case of vaginitis, and some serious irritation in her lady parts. Ouch! We are following a daily routine of warm compress, cleaning with Chlorhexidine wipes and a silver sulfadiazine topical. She finished a week of Clavamox.
During our 8 day recheck Saturday the vet noticed the area has signs of infection, so he gave her Amoxicillin with Clavulanate (500mg). We are to continue with the wound cleaning.
My question is, what do you consider excessive antibiotic use? Is 2 weeks on another round going putting her at risk of a resistant infection?
I was just reading here that the movement to minimize antibiotics use in vet med is now extending into amputation surgery (i.e., no post-op abx in most situations). So now I'm paranoid about using them.
I don't intend to stop giving them to her at this point, and will talk to the vet if I am leaning that way, but I would love to hear your thoughts if you have a sec. Thanks!
Normally vaginitis can be treated topically and the SSD cream is great for this. Did they check her urine for a UTI? If so then antibiotics are indicated and sometimes for up to 3 weeks. Clavamox is fine if using the proper dose and amoxicillin/clavulonate is the generic version. What does she weigh? I know you said she is overweight but I was just curious. It is true that we see more antibiotic resistance and often that is due to using either the wrong antibiotic (getting a culture is ideal) or the wrong dose or not using the medication long enough.
It is true that antibiotics are not needed for most clean orthopedic surgeries; often we will use 2 or 3 doses of an IV antibiotic during surgery but not send any home. Most soft tissue surgeries such as spays or tumor removals do not need any antibiotics at all.
Congrats on your new rescue! I had not seen that notification.
Pam
You always give such peace of mind, thank you so much. I'm glad the treatment is considered routine. Yes, he did run a lab on her urine and it came back negative for a UTI.
She weighed in at 78 pounds last week. She's not a petite female GSD as far as bone structure, but she is pretty short and barrel-shaped right now. What would you consider a good weight for a dog who fits this description? I'm learning so much, we've never dealt with weight challenges in a dog.
The movement to use antibiotics more carefully is awesome. So nice that your clinic uses care with them 
Thanks again!
I saw her photo on the other post and I usually have to feel them over the ribcage to see how much extra padding is there but I agree a good goal weight for her is about 70#.
Pam
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