Incidence of enteric pathogens versus presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in a working dog training facility – Presented by Dr Nicola Cotton

Gastroenteritis is a common challenge in kennel facilities, and test results can be spurious in their correlation to the underlying cause of the symptoms. Gastroenteritis symptoms can be interruptive to training, work and problematic for clients to manage.

Increasingly, research is directing treatment of gastroenteritis (specifically diarrhoea), away from firstline antibiotic use, towards more holistic approaches to addressing the underlying cause of gastrointestinal disruption.

In kennel facilities, these considerations are paramount, and traditional disease management protocols have a close interrelationship with dog mental wellbeing, and can be resource intensive for staff.

Seeing Eye Dogs has analysed faecal PCR test data from over 100 dogs, comparing the incidence of positive results in symptomatic versus asymptomatic dogs, as well as comparing the prevalence of pathogens in the population across 3 years.

From this analysis, a revision of management protocols for gastroenteritis in the kennel facility were implemented, and outcomes reviewed against the incidence of gastroenteritis symptoms.