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My dog's diarrhea keeps returning. Is long-term Flagyl safe?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Welsh Terrier | Female | spayed | 3 years old | 17 lbs

have been struggling with my pets on and off diarrhea ..have been using flagyl but soon after she is off the med the gurgling and loose stool starts again..have had blood tests done, stool tests for parasites...all negative...is it safe to keep her on flagyl permanently?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 6th, 2017

Some dogs that have an underlying disease like inflammatory bowel disease do need long term antibiotic use, but it is best to have a diagnosis before continuing medications long term for two reasons: one is that antibiotic usage can sometimes mask the underlying problem, and the other is that there can be effects on the gastrointestinal flora. There are many diseases that could cause chronic diarrhea including a food intolerance, pancreatitis, or inflammatory bowel disease as stated above. I would recommend talking to your veterinarian to see if other tests or treatments are recommended at this point to try to diagnose the problem - some additional tests might include a pancreatic lipase test, cobalamin/folate, abdominal ultrasound or even obtaining intestinal biopsy samples to try to determine what might be causing chronic diarrhea. You might also want to talk to your veterinarian about a hypoallergenic food trial.

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    Answered By Anna M., DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Sorry to hear about Amber's diarrhea struggles! Sounds like your vet has done a pretty good workup so far. Have they discussed an abdominal ultrasound with you? That would be my next step with a dog with chronic diarrhea that responds to metronidazole (flagyl) but gets worse off the meds, if bloodwork and a fecal test have already been done. I would be thinking about the possibility of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) or a food sensitivity. GI lymphoma would be another concern in an older dog, but would be quite unlikely in Amber given her age. To answer your question - yes, I do have some patients who stay on flagyl permanently as part of their treatment therapy, and in Amber's case it may be appropriate to do so...but I would recommend considering an ultrasound for a little more information as to what's causing Amber's diarrhea, and/or discuss with your vet a prescription food trial to see if her system tolerates that better. I hope that helps!

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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm sorry to hear that Amber has been having such frequent diarrhea! Flagyl (metronidazole) is an antibiotic and antiparasitic medication that can be useful to kill overgrowth of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. It can be useful in modulating the cell immunity in cases of inflammatory bowel disease, in which case it is often used for the long term. However, if the cause of Amber's diarrhea is unknown still, it would not be recommended for long term use at this point in time. It may be worth looking into additional diagnostic tests to evaluate the ability of her intestines to absorb vitamins (B12, folate, TLI levels), as well as an abdominal ultrasound to determine if there are signs of chronic inflammation in her intestines. From there, it may be worthwhile to consider hypoallergenic or novel protein diets (it can take 2-3 months to see a full effect from a diet change). Amber's vet should be able to discuss further diagnostic testing and treatment options, but you can always consider a specialist in internal medicine, if needed. I hope that all goes well for Amber!

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