(portions of this message have been removed) She also said early on that she did have them on antibiotics from the vet but wanted to augment with some natural remedies. Seemed like some might have been missing those two facts when they replied.
Thank you.
As for your daughter causing the E coli by feeding wet dog food, I do not believe that could be the cause. E coli infections are caused by coming into contact with the
feces -- from humans or animals.
(portions of this message have been removed) Feces getting into the water supply, food bowls, etc. could be the cause. Not cleaning the water and food containers well could be a problem.
(portions of this message have been removed) Nursing mothers can actually spread the E coli through their teats to the babies.
Wet food alone, does not cause E coli. Wanted to make this clear so you would not be needlessly blaming your daughter.
The wet/moldy food was suggested by our vet. That is when it clicked. We had already gotten that mess taken care of before the dogs were showing obvious signs of sickness. Even though I feel it was something she didn't do correctly, I can't really blame her because I should not have fully trusted her to do what was asked of her. She is 13 and old enough to know to dump wet food and change the water, washing both pans but ultimately I am in charge so even though I let her know that she was wrong no one is allowed to harangue her about the dogs getting sick.
Here is an excerpt you might want to read that suggest specific anti-biotics that might help as well as enforces your idea to seek other ways to sort of help the antibiotics work. The entire article is at:
Infectious Disease - Bacterial (portions of this message have been removed)
When E. coli is pathogenic (a disease causing strain) there is a strong tendency for it to be resistant to most antibiotics. Usually the fluoroquinolones (Baytril Rx, Dicural Rx, others) are a good choice, as are trimethoprim-sulfas and amoxicillin-clavulinic acid combinations. An antibiotic sensitivity test may indicate that other antibiotics should work, too.
We are using Baytril, Metronidazole, Reglan, Di-Methox, Clavamox and in some cases Penicillin.
It is important to remember that antibiotics need help in order to kill bacteria. It is very difficult for antibiotics to kill infectious agents without the proper conditions being present in the body for the antibiotic to get to the area of the infection and without the help of the patient's immune system."
I was out of state for most of the early part of the year tending to my father who died in May. When I came home we brought parvo so their immune systems were weakened already. Our vet has also recommended we clean with bleach water to help kill bacteria from the parvo, E. coli and other bacteria.
Hope some of this helps! Good luck in the continued paring down of your population by finding new homes whether for money or love alone. I can not begin to fathom how, even with your family's help you could care for that many dogs. It must be exhausting and all-consuming! You have made a good decision here for the sake of yourself as well as the dogs.
At the beginning I only wanted 7 dogs, 5 females and 2 males. And there were 12 of us here, 6 adults, 3 teens and 3 babies. Everyone was for starting a kennel but as we got more and more dogs I found out, no one wanted to actually do the work or even help properly. As time passed and my husband and I had to slave day and night to save puppies with low blood sugar we became so attached to them that we couldn't part with them. So we have pets, breeders who are pets and then there are dogs that just didn't sell. The unsold dogs will be even harder to find homes for now since they are older and not housebroken so I expect it to take a lot longer to find homes for them because I will not lie nor will I omit this fact. If someone wants one of them, I want them to know all so that they don't later go, "I have to get rid of this dog because I can't housebreak him." I believe that if people know the full truth of a situation that they should have a good idea if they can handle it or not. I do not want someone taking a dog and thinking they can potty train a dog and then get frustrated with my dog and hit him or her. I don't hit them and I don't want anyone else hitting them.
Edit: Seems I am late with this, as I read further down that your remaining sickly one is now doing well. Thank goodness and pray the good health continues.
Thank you again, Sylvia