Antibiotic Treatment Courses

If antibiotics are deemed necessary:

  • Support your vet to take samples for diagnosis
  • Topical (ointments, lotions or drops for external use) antibiotics may be appropriate, rather than injections or tablets
  • Only ever use antibiotics prescribed by your vet
  • Follow your vet’s instructions carefully for antibiotic therapy – dosage, frequency and duration of administration
  • Know the weight of your animal(s) for dosage (under-dosing can lead to ineffective treatment and development of AMR)
  • Always finish the prescribed course to ensure that infection is eliminated
  • Never share antibiotics with others
  • Only use antibiotics on animals for which they were prescribed
  • Never keep antibiotics past their ‘use by’ date, as their effectiveness will be reduced, which may lead to development of AMR
  • Inform your vet immediately if giving prescribed antibiotics is problematic
  • Summary video