Your furry four-legged friend is suffering from diarrhea, and the vet has suggested a course of metronidazole. As a responsible pet parent, you will need all the information related to this drug. Many owners also enquire about how soon does metronidazole work in dogs.
New research from NLB has stated that metronidazole helps treat acute diarrhea in dogs. So if the medicine course gets completed correctly, your dog will get back to its usual self soon.
How long does metronidazole take to work in dogs?
Metronidazole is a fast-working medicine. And relief comes when it gets absorbed inside the body. Your pet will feel better within one to two hours. In addition, the medicine is an antibacterial medicine. It can eliminate protozoa and gram-positive and harmful bacteria. In short, the drug kills the bacteria causing diarrhea and improves your dog’s condition.
If your dog has severe diarrhea, you may need to wait to see the visible effects. Your pet may require two or more doses to show visible improvements. For example, if the dog has severe loose motion and vomiting, it will need multiple portions of a drug to get relief.
You may see the pet becoming active and feeling a little better after three to four hours of a dose. However, some owners have reported that their pet’s condition improved ten to twelve hours after the course started.
If you give your dog the medicine correctly, it will take two to three days to cure diarrhea completely. Some dogs even need a course of metronidazole for five days to completely cure diarrhea.
But its effectiveness also lies in the cause of diarrhea. This medicine works best if your dog suffers from amoebic dysentery or Giardia dysentery. For other types of diarrheas, it may work slowly or may even not work at all.
What can you do to ensure metronidazole works faster for your dog?
Well, there are a few things that you can do to ensure the medicine works faster for your furry friend. First, you must provide the medicine per the vet’s instructions. Skipping a dose or giving an extra dose will cause additional complications. Doctors suggest 15-20 mg of the drug per one kg body weight, twice per day.
The second thing you need to do is offer the medicine in the correct method. You need to mix the drug with their food. If you are using a liquid, shake it well before use. Always ask for instruction from the vet.
Adding a few probiotics also increases the effectiveness of metronidazole. The probiotics increase the number of healthy bacteria in your dog’s gut and ensure better absorption of the medicine. Hence, your pet may get less intermittent vomiting and improved appetite within two to three hours of the dose.
On top of that, check out for any symptoms or side effects before enquiring how soon does metronidazole work in dogs. Side effects often slow down the effectiveness of the medication, even after a proper dose. The vet may offer extra remedies to curb the side effects and enhance the medicine’s positive effects. For example, suppose your dog has unusual eye movements, tremors, stiffness, drooling and gagging, vomiting, or lethargy. In that case, it is better to change the medicine dosage as per the vet’s instruction.
Many pets also do not want to take medicine as it is very bitter in taste. So, it is up to you to ensure your dog takes medicine to get relief from diarrhea.
How soon does metronidazole work in dogs-signs of improvement
You may need to check for signs showing the medicine is working correctly. This also helps you know how long metronidazole takes for your dog. In general, dogs start to display the following signs of improvement after ten hours of initial dose:
- Better appetite
- More energy
- Less or no vomiting
- Normal stool
Metronidazole takes time to show its effect after one to two hours of each dose. How soon does metronidazole work in dogs also depends on the type of diarrhea and the dog’s condition.
But, to get visible effects, you may need to give your pet two to three doses to improve their diarrhea condition.
Thanks for the blog graphics: Canva.com
Thanks for the blog graphics: Canva.com
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