Keflex works by affecting the bacteria in such a way that they cannot properly form cell walls, which leads to the death of bacteria, thus treating the infections. The wide variety of bacterial infections in dogs that can be treated with Keflex include bladder infections, skin infections, bone infections, wound infections, pneumonia, etc. Whenever specific strains of bacteria are involved, Keflex can be of help. However, it is not efficient in cases of parasite infections or viral infections, only in cases of bacterial infections. The main advantage of Keflex over penicillin antibiotics is that it is effective against a wider specter of different bacterial strains, which means that it can be used in more cases.
Now, we should say that Keflex hasn’t been approved for use in dogs, but the veterinarians have been prescribing it for dogs for decades now. This means that you should first talk to your veterinarian and not try and come up with a regimen yourself. The veterinarian will know exactly how much of this antibiotic your dog has to take to achieve the best results.
What you need to keep in mind is that dogs that are allergic to penicillin and especially to other cephalosporin antibiotics, such as cefadroxil may be also allergic to Keflex. Your veterinarian needs to be aware of this when prescribing a treatment. When it comes to side effects, there is a possibility that the dog might vomit upon ingesting Keflex and that it also may experience diarrhea. These are the most common side effects of Keflex, although they happen only in a small percentage of dogs.
Another thing to keep in mind when treating your dog with Keflex is that you need to complete the entire regimen. Your dog may feel better very soon, but this does not mean that the infection has been treated. It only means that the bacteria are in remission and that they are causing no symptoms. If you stop administering Keflex to your dog at this point, it is possible that the bacteria will activate again and the condition will exacerbate once more. This is why you need to make sure the regimen has been completed in its entirety.
In conclusion, while Keflex has not been approved for veterinarian use, it is still very effective in treating bacterial infections in dogs and there are a lot of veterinarians that prescribed this antibiotic when the dogs are suffering from conditions caused by bacteria.