hi guys, I posted this in puppies but wondered if I would find any more experience of this on this thread. Storm is 13 1/2 weeks and has campylobacter. She is currently on antibiotics and will be on them for 14 days then a poo sample to check she is all clear. This means we have been put on a dog Socialising ban until then. Is this the norm. Poor thing had one afternoon of fun after having her jabs before being confined to the house again. From what I've read on the internet it isn't too much of an issue for healthy adult dogs and a percentage of dogs carry it without knowledge. Any thoughts would be gratefully received
I only remember when Campylobacter first appeared, I worked as a veterinary nurse then and a client brought in her dog and said he dog had Campylobacter and the doctor said it must be put to sleep. Sadly we did as told. Some months later I saw my GP and asked him why he said the dog should be put to sleep, he said he didn't, that it could be easily treated with antibiotics. I think you should be advised by your vet re socialising ban. You could take her out in the car, park at interesting places and let her see life at least, rather than house confinement. Many dogs as many people do carry the virus without knowledge as you say. With luck she will be clear and you can take her out again.
I don't have experience of Campylobacter in dogs, however I do understand the problem in humans. I would imagine it would be a case of being scrupulous with hygiene with all the family, as I think it may able to infect your family (zoonotic), check this with the vet. It can be a bit tough to eradicate, so usually requires a double course of antibiotics, and some probiotic treatment as this will play havoc with their normal gut flora, especially in dogs, I am assuming. There a a few bugs that sit in various parts of the body, and this is fairly normal...the same with dogs. If they are healthy with a developed immune system, they don't cause a problem, I guess with a young pup the bug can get a hold and cause problems, and it sounds like this is the case with your pup. I would avoid meeting dogs at this stage, or anything that may cause a lot of excitement and stress for your pup, notwithstanding the risk of infecting other dogs, but also in case you pup picks up anything else at this stage. Just my thoughts though!
Thanks everyone. That's really helpful. It is a zoonosis and we are being really careful with handwashing and licking of hands/faces. Easier said than done with a 14 week old puppy! Definitely plays havoc with flora and she is now on 2 lots of probiotics. The thing I struggle with is that from the research i have done is that it is only spread by poo contact. So unless another dog eats her poo or licks her bum then I would assume the risk is vet minimal but maybe I'm missing something. I will keep doing as I'm doing. Taking her out for one Socialisation trip each day. Either just in the boot of the car or a 5 min stint on the ground with no other dogs and hope that this is ok. She is getting too heavy to carry for anymore than 15 mins or so now so can't do like i do pre immunizations.
