How long can my dog safely take cephalexin without causing issues?

Cephalexin should always be given every 12 hrs due to the half-life of the medication, and sometimes even every 6-8 hrs depending on the severity of the infection. There can be a build up of resistance to frequent use of antibiotics, so I would try to have a more in depth conversation with your vet about long term treatment options that can keep Bruno's skin barrier at optimal levels, such as daily fish oils, prescription diets, and medicated shampoo's. Bruno getting Cephalexin at the frequency that he has been getting it should no affect his liver in a negative way or reduce his lifespan, the main concern here is resistance to the antibiotics over time. Best of luck with your furry friend Bruno moving forward and managing his apparent skin allergies and skin infections. Take care!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Cephalexin is a commonly used antibiotic and has minimal side effects. Most of the side effects have to do with intestinal signs - mild nausea, diarrhea, or decreased appetite - all of these can be causing Chicharito to be a little bit less active. In rare cases, cephalexin can cause kidney damage, but this is in dogs who already have kidney disease. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have regarding your pets medications!

It is indeed a long treatment course but it would depend on the underlying reason. For example skin diseases/infections may require up to 4 weeks of treatment. Please give us more informations about it to receive more specific answers from us.

It is a high dose (22 mg/kg is average although there is a range because of capsule sizes) and in some cases we would dose reduce this drug with kidney failure (but if your pet has early changes this may not be necessary, is case dependent). I would call your vet to check the dose, he or she may have a reason for this high dose. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. At the high end of the dose of 60mg/kg for systemic infections, it would be approximately 436mg every 8 hours for that dose for a 16lb dog. A 500mg capsule will not likely cause any life threatening problems. You may see vomiting and diarrhea but this should resolve on its own. If you start to see neurological symptoms such as seizures or a wobbly gait, I would have a veterinarian examine KC. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help further.

The cephalexin dose is 10 to 15mg per LB. So this means your dog is getting 1000mg divided by 75 lbs: 13.33 mg/lb, which is a perfectly proper dosage.

Usually cephalexin is well tolerated by dogs, but it can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. This can be alleviated by giving Molly her medication with food, but to be safe, I'd give your vet a call to let them know she is having these side effects. They made decide to have you stop giving it, and may want to try a different medication. I'd give your vet a call now. Best of luck.