The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has invited the American Kennel Club (AKC) to collaborate on its initiative to promote responsible antimicrobial stewardship. This outreach marks a significant step forward in strengthening communication and fostering greater understanding between these two influential organizations.
Antimicrobial stewardship has been a concern of the AVMA since 1998 and the Committee on Antimicrobials within the AVMA was formed in 2016.
Antimicrobial stewardship refers to the actions veterinarians take to preserve the success and availability of antimicrobial drugs through careful oversight and responsible medical decision making while protecting animal, public, and environmental health.
Though the term “antibiotics” is often used interchangeably with “antimicrobials,” they are not the same. Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobial with a narrower definition: all antibiotics are antimicrobials, but not all antimicrobials are antibiotics. Antimicrobials also include antifungal and antiviral drugs as well as antiseptics.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when a microorganism develops the ability to survive and reproduce despite the use of an antimicrobial.
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in dogs, such as using them for viral infections or when not needed, creates a selective pressure that favors the survival and growth of resistant bacteria.
When antibiotics are used too frequently or inappropriately, they kill off susceptible bacteria, but the resistant bacteria survive and multiply, leading to the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic resistance was first described by scientists in 1940 but has increased in both frequency and severity since then. It is a significant concern in both veterinary and human medicine.
The consequences of Antibiotic resistance can lead to:
- Limited treatment options: Veterinarians have fewer effective antibiotics to treat infections.
- Increased risk of spread: Resistant infections can spread from pets to other animals and even to humans.
- Longer recovery times and higher medical costs: Treating antibiotic-resistant infections can be more difficult and expensive.
This resistance can affect animal welfare as well as human health, making it difficult or impossible to treat diseases caused by these microorganisms.
This type of resistance is already happening and threatens to continue and worsen if not checked. Examples are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of bacteria that can cause infections in humans and animals, has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, and colistin-resistant E. coli. Some studies have shown that companion animals can carry and potentially transmit colistin-resistant E. coli to humans.
A study released this March in a veterinary journal compared the presence of antimicrobial resistance in healthy breeding dogs and compared it to household pets. ( https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2025.106337). The study found higher occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in breeding dogs. For a particular strain of antimicrobial E. coli, 38.5% of healthy breeding bitches were positive compared to 12.5% of household dogs.
This is why judicious use of antimicrobials is so important.
Much of AVMA’s early efforts in this program were focused to veterinarians and to member of the food animal side of veterinary medicine: poultry, dairy and beef cattle, etc. AVMA is expanding its focus to companion animal breeders and has reached out to AKC to get the word out to its constituents: dog breeders.
As a veterinarian who is also a dog breeder, I am very aware of the challenges of both hobby breeders as well as larger commercial breeders face in working to keep their dogs healthy. The broad use of antimicrobials by breeders has been noted to contribute to this problem, often in the form of self-medicating puppies and dogs without a proper diagnosis or without the guidance of a veterinarian.
As a group, dog breeders need to be advocates for prevention of many common diseases.
Working alongside our veterinarians, we should try to find strategies that minimize the need for antimicrobial drugs including animal husbandry, proper nutrition and hygiene, infection and anti-parasitic control, and good vaccination programs. We need to consider better options other than only microbial drugs for many occasions.
When the need for microbial drugs arises, the selection and sensible use should be made with the advice and guidance of a veterinarian.
The AVMA and AKC are currently planning an educational session with a Q and A panel with breeder-veterinarians and dog breeders aiming for Orlando, Florida during the AKC National Championship Dog Show this December 2025.
We look forward to this collaboration to improve the future and health of breeding dogs and their puppies.
Thank you.
Dr. Jerry Klein.
Chief Veterinary Officer for the American Kennel Club