Willow has had an upset tummy and test have shown she has campylobacter. I am going to pick up some AB for her this afternoon. Can anyone tell me about this please? Thanks.

AB of choice for Campylobacter seems to be Erythromycin. Sometimes you need more than one course, though it's usually thought best to leave a gap between courses. You can help by feeding bland food like white fish/chicken and rice. A probiotic yogurt at the end of the course of ABs should help repopulate the gut with good bacteria. Or you could use Pro-Kolin for a few days.

It seems Campylobacter is quite common, I think it's carried by birds and can infect dogs quite easily. Many adult dogs don't even show symptoms, though it can be a nuisance with puppies.

My pup had this when she was about 3 months old and it was a struggle getting her back to health.  She had a course of antibiotics and then had a sample retested which came back clear but she still struggled for quite a few months.  I would advise giving her a really long course of probiotics (pro-kolin seemed to work the best for us as it has kaolin in it as well which helps to protect the stomach and soak up the nasty bacteria) - these aren't cheap but if she is covered on pet insurance and you get them from the vets the insurance should pay for them.  Also be careful what you feed her and make sure it is really bland (homecooked would probably be best) nothing with corn, maize, wheat, soya etc etc for a good while after she is off the meds.

I hope all goes well this is a really horrible thing for any dog and owner to go through but the antibiotics kicked in quite quickly so she should start feeling better soon.

Roxy had it along with a ton of other stuff as a puppy.  We used erithrimycin to treat it and it cleared up pretty quickly with no ill effects.  However it is zoonotic so be scrupulous with hygiene and keep an eye if you have kids or whatever!

> However it is zoonotic so be scrupulous with hygiene

I picked this up visiting a kennel, and was extremely poorly, and ended up in hospital.  Where they put me in isolation.    The choice of antibiotic is the same in humans and dogs.

Thanks
Should I give her the pro kolin while she's on the AB as well or just after she's finished the course?
She was a bit sick this morning, but I'm going to carry on with these ABs for a bit longer and see if she settles before asking for something different as they are supposed to be the best.

>However it is zoonotic so be scrupulous with hygiene and keep an eye if you have kids or whatever!

100% agree. My other half got this after handling 'game bird poults' and was seriously ill for some months afterwards. As you will be in close contact with your dog, please take the greatest of care. If Campylobacter can floor a fully grown, perfectly healthy human, I dread to think what it would do to a child or the effect it will have on a dog. It sounds like you are doing all you can for your dog, so I hope she feels better soon.

I would start the pro-kolin towards the end of the course of antibiotics (on the last couple of days) and personally would keep her on them for a good couple of weeks once you feel she is 100% better as you don't want her going downhill again.

I have 3 children my youngest at the time was only 4 and we all managed to escape without any problems but as everyone else has said please be careful.  Fingers crossed she will be feeling better soon.

I read in the paper the other day that in order to wash your hands properly you should take as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice through, so we have all been doing that recently anyway. We don t have any children living  in the house anymore , but have 3 grandchildren coming to stay for 6 weeks in the summer, so hopefully it will have been cleared by then.

Willow had 9 days of AB - no ill effects. Has been re tested and is now clear.

One of my dogs had campy when she was about 11 months of age. Can't remember the ABs she was on, but it sorted it out quickly - there was another faeces sample tested after the course was complete to check she was free.

Just be aware with the pro kolin, can cause stomach upsets - has soya oil as a base. Ok if your dog is fine with soya. Personally I think natural live yoghurt is just as good and cheaper :-D

As someone else has said, be really careful with hygeine. My girly was ill in the back of my car when I was on a training course. I had no rubber gloves with me and no ability to wash hands as thoroughly as I'd like - I managed to get it too :-O That bout of campy with my girl and myself cost me a vast amount of money ... vet and lab fees plus lost income (was self-employed). It is very easy to cross contaminate.

Hope she recovers very quickly. :D