Reoccuring UTI

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Princessangela3201
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Reoccuring UTI

Post by Princessangela3201 » Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:38 am

Hey All,

We have a female 4 1/2 month old GSP pup who has had reoccurring Urinary tract infections. We are curious to know if anyone has dealt with this before and how it was resolved? Our vet has done urinalysis with culture and sensitivity ID to assure the pup is getting the right antibiotics but once antibiotics are completed within 3 days she has the signs and symptoms again of the UTI. We have added cranberry tablets to her diet, she is fed Canidae All-stages dry kibble and Canidae wet puppy food given right before she takes her medications.

We have had ultra sounds, blood work, and other testing to rule out tumors, in-mature or under developed female parts. Vet is also suggesting spaying her now to see if that resolves the UTI's but my husband and I had not planned on spaying her for at least two years and we are concerned spaying her could make the UTI's worse, or cause spay incontinence. It was suggested that she may "grow out of it" with her first heat???? Any ideas??? UC Davis veterinary school has a "trial" that we are trying to get our pup in that uses a non-antibiotic approach as treatment for the UTI. The good thing is they pay for all the testing to rule out everything else, the bad thing is it is a "trial".

PS you would never know by looking at our pup that she had a UTI, she is a spunky, never ending ball of energy. She does great with her training. The only reason we know the UTI is back is when she is off the antibiotics she pees every 5 minutes or acts like she needs to pee with very few dribbles and we have a test strip that tests her urine now so that we know right away.

Thanks in advance for any help.

shags
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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by shags » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:05 am

Just this past weekend a friend said she cleared up that problem by adding a spoonful of vinegar to her dogs' water. She said she usually uses apple cider vinegar, but ran out, and white vinegar did the job, too.

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dog dr
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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by dog dr » Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:25 am

does she have a recessed vulva?? that can predispose them to a UTI, and yes, will often correct with the first heat. Personaly I don't understand how spaying her now would help prevent a bladder infection.

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Princessangela3201
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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by Princessangela3201 » Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:52 am

We truly appreciate your answers!! Thank you!

We did try the Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar to no avail.

The UC Davis Dr. said all her female parts look normal. I am assuming the Dr would have noticed a recessed vulva during her physical exam. Sophie (our pup) had a complete physical exam including an ultra sound and another test I am forgetting right now during her work up for the trial by the UC Davis Dr.

We also do not see the benefit of spaying her now. I will ask the Dr. to clarify why she feels that would help this situation, I am curious if it is more because while they are spaying her they could "look" to see if there is anything internal going on which would be cheaper then exploratory surgery to find the issue. I will ask her when we next see her, possibly end of this week.

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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by Timewise65 » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:01 am

Our female Golden Retriever had this same problem. We also did all the tests and spent lots of vet money, but never got a clear answer. Our vet noticed that when our girls squats to pee that she really did it lower than most dogs, and thought that might be part of it. He also had us start giving her a daily Paxon, which is a nutritional supplement for urinary health in dogs. It is a cranberry extract and our vet said it prohibits bacteria in the bladder from attaching to the wall of the bladder! Wallaaaaaaaaaaa! That did the trick! That was over 18 months ago and we have had "0" problems with her bladder...

Hope this helps!

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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by fuzznut » Tue Oct 06, 2015 5:09 pm

also suggest cranberry- works for human females as well. Our Wirehair bitch puppies get this sometimes because they are sometime a wee bit hairy there and the urine will wick back up and cause problems. Keep the area clean as you can, and she should outgrow it as she gets taller. Some bitches squat really low to the ground, and it can exacerbate the issue.

Least that has been my experience

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snips
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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by snips » Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:54 am

A friend that is close to a very good very had the problem and a month of Clavamox fixed it.

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Princessangela3201
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Re: Reoccuring UTI

Post by Princessangela3201 » Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:00 am

We are currently off antibiotics (Clavomox) for three days now, there is a slight amount of discharge so yesterday she had a urinalysis and ultra sound. The immediate results were that a UTI was not positively ID (no white blood cells were seen) however her bladder was "echogenic", her bladder lining was thickened, and there is a small amount of red blood cells in her urine (Not enough to bee seen by the naked eye). All her female parts are anatomically correct and no issues were seen with the structure. The UC Davis vet said she would be surprised if Sophie's culture came back negative so we were given more antibiotics (Amoxicillin) but asked not to give them just yet. The vet wants us to wait until the complete results are in and we see more positive signs of the UTI like blood in her urine we can see and then email her before starting the antibiotics. IF the culture is positive they will see her again on Monday and start the non antibiotic trial which is basically instilling a "good" strain of the E. Coli bacteria to see if it can rid the "bad" E. Coli from Sophie's bladder. IF the culture is negative and no signs are seen then hopefully all is resolved. I must say the two vets we are working with at UCD have made themselves completely available, rearranging their schedules to work Sophie in. I really feel like they are going above and beyond to get this resolved whether its in their trial or not. Keeping our fingers crossed!!

On a positive note, Sophie went to our trainer today for her second lesson and was introduced to Chukkar and I could not have been a more proud mama! The guy showed her the hobbled chukkar and then let it fly off. She excitedly watched it, went after it, and proudly retrieved it. I love how proudly puppies bring things back to us. You can see a definite spring in their step! She did not flinch or even take notice of the .22 blank. I am excited to see her grow into the awesome hunting dog we know she will be.

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