Probiotics may protect dogs' gut during cefovecin antibiotic treatment

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether supplementation with probiotics over a 2-week period stabilizes the gut microbiota in dogs following prolonged cefovecin treatment. A significant number of clinical veterinarians prescribe oral probiotics to dogs in conjunction with systemic antibiotics with the intention of protecting against gut dysbiosis. The effects of antibiotics and probiotics in dogs have not been extensively studied, however, and the optimal treatment for gut dysbiosis remains uncertain. To investigate the impact of cefovecin and probiotics on the gut microbiota, 12 healthy companion dogs that underwent surgical castration were included in the study. The dogs were administered cefovecin immediately after surgery. Of the 12 dogs, 7 dogs were supplemented with oral probiotics for 2 wk after cefovecin treatment (probiotic group), whereas the other 5 dogs were not supplemented with probiotics (non-probiotic group). Fecal samples were collected from each dog before and 2 wk after cefovecin treatment and subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing using the Illumina platform. We noted that cefovecin induced changes in bacterial diversity of the gut microbiota, with the Shannon index values of the non-probiotic group decreasing significantly, whereas those of the probiotic group remained stable (= 0.025). Our findings suggest that supplementation with oral probiotics is recommended for preventing cefovecin-induced gut dysbiosis in dogs.