Antibiotics for diarrhoea without evidence of bacterial infection

[ender]

First time I've taken dogs to vet for anything other than vacs. Vet seemed rushed and one of my dogs v scared so no chance to discuss. Hope someone can help as have a few questions.
Both my dogs have had the squits for a week, usual home remedies didn't work so wanted them checked. Apart from diarrhoea they seem fine, behaving normally.
Is it usual for vet to prescribe antibiotics when dog's temp is normal? I was expecting him to ask for stool specs but he said it wasn't necessary.
He gave injection of Colvasone and 5 day course of Metronidazole.
Dogs have both refused to take first tablet, would normally hide it in food but vet said to starve for 24 hrs. Is this up to date advice?
I know with humans starving out of date and guidelines are to give small amounts of food if patient wants it. Am thinking antibiotics on an empty stomach are likely to make dog feel sick

My dog has just had a 5 day course of Metronidazole - he picked up a maggoty bone and had the runs which I couldn't get rid of with the usual starving and then chicken/rice. My vets still advocate starving for 24 hours then introducing plain food (eg chicken &rice). I know some on here say that's not right anymore but it usually works for mine.

Vet did say that if the 5 day antibiotics didn't work I would need to provide sample but luckily it has. Dog also had normal temperature, healthy gum colour, lots of energy etc.

Thanks Calipto good to hear it worked for your dog. Not looking forward to starving them for 24 hrs, they're raw fed and get really excited when meals are due.

Metronidazole is know to encourage good gut health hence using it for diarrhoea.

Yes most simple cases of diarrhoea would have resolved within a week. Metronidazole is a good first line drug for these cases, and it also treats giardiasis which is probably underdiagnosed. Also, a number of simple diarrhoea cases go on to become chronic, used to be known as "small intestinal bacterial overgrowth" and now glamorously referred to as "antibiotic responsive diarrhoea"!

Personally I no longer advocate a 24 hour starve, but many vets do because clients become exasperated by the mess. Sad but true. Small amounts of boiled white fish four or five times a day works well and is easy to prepare. Did you get anything else? Diarstop is an oral paste which works brilliantly for drying up diarrhoea, and it's available over the counter. Your vet will probably have that or an equivalent which you can buy to have for future use.

Sorry short message before as in rush.
I agree Garcia is massively under diagnosed we now snap test every diarrhoea that lasts more than three days 95% of them are positive for Gardia on the snap test and another 2% prove positive on the advance lab test even though negative on snaps.
I also don't starve, but I'm in the normal food gets the gut normal faster than anything else so just have normal diet feed in smaller amounts.
I also point out to owners that 'the bad stuff has to come out' starving just delays that a bit.

affafantoosh - no, didn't get anything for drying up the diarrhoea. Have just looked up Diarstop which seems to help increase good bacteria. Bit confused, if antibiotics kill bacteria won't the good as well as the bad bugs get zapped? Is there any benefit to giving Diarstop while on metronidazole?

I don't think it's the probiotic effect that makes it work. It's the adsorbent that slows up the diarrhoea. I'm a bit sceptical about probiotics.

Thanks, will get some from PAH.

Thanks all for advice, was in a bit of a lather yesterday and it really helped being able to ask about things. Was feeling doubtful about the meds but not any more, no diarrhoea overnight, in fact no stools at all yet and dogs seem very chilled. Must be the Colvasone inj as only had 2 metronidazole tabs so far. Have disobeyed the vet (he said starve for 24 hrs "to give stomach a chance to heal") as dogs won't take tablet unless it's disguised in food, small amounts white fish seem to go down very well .