Research Communications of the 27(th) ECVIM-CA Congress: Intercontinental, Saint Julian's, Malta, 14th to 16th September 2017

Sixteen healthy pet dogs were randomly assigned to one of two groups in a double-blinded fashion: 8 dogs were given oral tylosin at 20 mg/kg while the other 8 dogs were administered a placebo capsule, each given q12 hr for 7 days. All dogs were maintained on their usual diet and a standardized fecal score (range: 1-7) was noted daily during drug administration. Fecal samples were collected on day 0 prior to drug administration as well as on days 7, 10, 21, and 63. Fecal samples were assessed using quantitative PCR for 7 bacterial taxa, belonging to the Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria phyla. Relative abundance of Clostridium perfringens was also assessed pre & post-treatment via qPCR. Parameters were compared using a Friedman's test, followed by Dunn's post-test. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.