So about a month ago, Rue got a UTI. She had woke us up crying a few times one night needing to go out and the next morning, she peed a ton on our walk. So we took her into the vet figuring it was a UTI, which they had warned might happen because she has a regressed vulva. They did a urine test and found bacteria, so they put her on antibiotics and a probiotic. Things improved greatly for a couple of weeks, but a couple days before our follow-up appointment, I noticed she was peeing quite a bit on the walk again. At our appointment, they did a urine test but didn't find anything, so they decided to do a urine culture, where they found some e. coli bacteria. So we're going to do another round of antibiotics. They also suggested I buy this cranberry supplement, which has amazing reviews. http://www.amazon.com/Nutramax-Count-Crananidin-Pet-Supplement/dp/B0077CYK6E. I hope it helps. And I also am getting some medicated wipes to clean her with every night before bed. A couple other things: the only symptom she has shown in the last 3 weeks is peeing more so on walks. There's no dribble, no wet bedding, no wincing or pain, no asking to go out more to pee when indoors, etc. Is it normal for her not to show any other symptoms with a UTI? They want us to come back in a couple weeks for another urine test and culture. I am going to go broke over these UTIs! Anyone else have experience with labs + persisting UTIs? Tips or suggestions? Thanks!
Re: Persisting UTI problems. Poor Rue, hopefully the antibiotics, probotics and cranberry supplement will all help her recover from the UTI. I wouldn't necessarily worry too much an out the peeing more on walks, that's something Juno has always done. I think it's to let other dogs know they've been there..... Hopefully the next tests will show all is clear so you can maintain (fingers crossed) with the supplements.
Re: Persisting UTI problems. Sorry you are having trouble with Rue. My experience is only with humans, but if you have bacteria in the urine AND urinary symptoms then treatment is probably worthwhile. Some people can have higher levels of bacteria in their urine but NO symptoms so don't need an antibiotic. Sometimes bacteria levels rise if the bladder is emptying completely. Not sure why that would happen in dogs. Loads of reasons in humans. Cranberry juice or supplements have been. Shown to change the pH of urine, making it "hostile" to bacteria and stopping them take hold and causing symptoms. Has your vet suggested the antibacterial wipes? Because I would disuade this use in people prone to urine infections because it can alter the normal bacteria making the bad bacteria more likely to take hold. I guess that doesn't really help you but thought I would get my twopence in.
Re: Persisting UTI problems. [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=10850.msg161667#msg161667 date=1431027073] Sorry you are having trouble with Rue. My experience is only with humans, but if you have bacteria in the urine AND urinary symptoms then treatment is probably worthwhile. Some people can have higher levels of bacteria in their urine but NO symptoms so don't need an antibiotic. Sometimes bacteria levels rise if the bladder is emptying completely. Not sure why that would happen in dogs. Loads of reasons in humans. Cranberry juice or supplements have been. Shown to change the pH of urine, making it "hostile" to bacteria and stopping them take hold and causing symptoms. Has your vet suggested the antibacterial wipes? Because I would disuade this use in people prone to urine infections because it can alter the normal bacteria making the bad bacteria more likely to take hold. I guess that doesn't really help you but thought I would get my twopence in. [/quote] Yeah, the vet is the one who suggested the medicated wipes because of her regressed vulva! And just so I'm reading your statement about the cranberry correctly ...you're saying it keeps the bacteria at bay, correct?
Re: Persisting UTI problems. It seems to keep the levels down. In humans. Well to be more precise there is some evidence (that I can't quote on my phone sorry) that giving elderly women in nursing homes a glass of cranberry juice daily reduces the incidence of urinary infections. How that translates to dogs I can't say though. It is pretty harmless though (unless you are taking warfare ;D )
Re: Persisting UTI problems. [quote author=drjs@5 link=topic=10850.msg161674#msg161674 date=1431027825] It seems to keep the levels down. In humans. Well to be more precise there is some evidence (that I can't quote on my phone sorry) that giving elderly women in nursing homes a glass of cranberry juice daily reduces the incidence of urinary infections. How that translates to dogs I can't say though. It is pretty harmless though (unless you are taking warfare ;D ) [/quote] Yes, I was reading reviews on it from other dog owners, and after being on the cranberry tablets for awhile, their dog's UTI issues disappeared. I hope this is the case with Rue!
Re: Persisting UTI problems. [quote author=MaccieD link=topic=10850.msg161666#msg161666 date=1431026952] Poor Rue, hopefully the antibiotics, probotics and cranberry supplement will all help her recover from the UTI. I wouldn't necessarily worry too much an out the peeing more on walks, that's something Juno has always done. I think it's to let other dogs know they've been there..... Hopefully the next tests will show all is clear so you can maintain (fingers crossed) with the supplements. [/quote] Thank you! Rue usually would pee once on a walk, but now it's more like 4 times on a 20 minute walk. I just thought it weird that she suddenly was going more often.
Re: Persisting UTI problems. Hi there, I also remember ,I think it was Penny who had the same regressed vulva condition and , Lauren being told that this could correct when she had a season so that might decrease the UTI flare ups.Poor Rue and poor you,not fun at all x
Re: Persisting UTI problems. Ah...poor Rue and poor you. Sadly, I have lots of experience with Bella and UTIs. She too has a tucked up vulva. My vet and I talked at length about it, potentially allowing her to have a season before being spayed, and other alternatives. Ultimately we did her spay at 4.5 months and did not let her have a season first. So with Bella, her first UTI was diagnosed at about 12 weeks I think. Bacteria, blood, and struvite crystals were present. We did a round of antibiotics, and the bacteria cleared up, but the struvites were still present. We tried many things over the course of many weeks - and it was all terribly frustrating for me, and not the most fun for Bella either. Many urinalysis tests, a couple of cultures, ph strips, different supplements, you name it...we tried it. Ultimately, I had to change her kibble...which with her sensitive tummy was an incredible long process in itself. It literally took me a FULL MONTH to transfer her over to the new kibble. Once she was on the new kibble, we waited another 2 weeks before doing another UA to check for struvites. That UA was finally clear. 8) 8) 8) 8) One of the pieces of advice that I took to heart the most, was comments from Lochan actually. She said that I should focus on really pushing fluids with her, to help flush the struvites out. This started with Chicken and oatmeal - drowned in water....and then kibble and canned food - drowned in water. She literally had twice as much water as solid food for a very long time. Plus I tempted her with ice cubes that had kibble, canned food, treats, tuna, and all kinds of other things in them that she ate several times a day....I just worked very diligently to get her to consume as much water as possible. I still feed her meals sloppy wet, but not quite as drowned as they were. She has had no recurrence of symptoms, and we watch her carefully for struvite residue on her vulva. Heidi - and her well hydrated Bella ;D ;D ;D
Hi, yes we have a long history of UTIs unfortunately. It took 3 vets to finally figure out it was because she had a recessed vulva. We too spent a lot on antibiotics to treat them but the thing that helped the most was metacam! I've had a couple of UTIs myself and the pain and uncomfortableness is horrible! So it's no wonder the pain medication had the best effect! It was almost instantaneous so it's definitley worth asking if you can have some to give her whilst she is suffering. I was told, and there is a lot of evidence to support it, that having a season will effectively 'cure' this problem - the swelling of the vulva 'pops' it into it's proper place so please please consider this before speying. I used cranberry supplements too and I have to say they worked wonders. I stopped giving them after her season and we now haven't had a urine infection for over a year! Also you need to make sure she is getting enough water. Penny is fed exclusively dry food so we just added a bit of water to each meal and this also seemed to help a lot.
