Kidney Disease in Dogs & Antibiotics

The kidneys are one of the major filters of a dog's blood. In a dog with kidney disease, antibiotics must be carefully selected to avoid further damage to the kidney.

  1. Aminoglycosides

    • Aminoglycosides are one class of antibiotics that can damage even healthy kidneys. These drugs include streptomycin, gentamicin and amikacin. However, they are instrumental in treating fast-acting infections.

    Trimethoprim

    • Trimethoprim is frequently used with sulfa antibiotics. Use of this antibiotic in dogs with kidney disease may further kidney damage. Veterinarians use this drug cautiously in dogs with kidney disease to treat serious urinary tract infections.

    Other antibiotics

    • Many other antibiotics are excreted by the kidneys, but are usually safe to use. These drugs include penicillins, tetracylines and cephalosporins. These are helpful antibiotics to use as a first choice in dogs, which have kidney disease, to treat a bacterial infection.

    Reduced dosing

    • A dog with kidney disease may need a lower dose or more infrequent dosing of antibiotics as the kidney may not filter the antibiotics out of the blood as quickly as with a normal functioning kidney.

    Monitoring

    • It is important that a dog with kidney disease be closely monitored for signs of further kidney damage (frequent urination, increased drinking, voiding small amounts of urine), if they are receiving antibiotics.