UTI - don't want her to feel punished.

Arriend · 11-30-2007, 05:32 PM

Not sure if this would really qualify as a health concern, but the root of the problem is certainly health related...

My 5 month old Collie/Aussie has been crate trained for over 2 months without any accidents, until today. Within about 1 hour she had 3 accidents, the third of which had traces of blood, so I called my vet, got her looked at and on some antibiotics.
The vet said that the pup will not be able to control her bladder during this time and accidents are expected...I'm keeping her in the kitchen to avoid having her go on the carpet, but it seems like she's being punished for something that is not her fault. I don't want her to think she is in trouble for having these accidents, but also don't see it as practical to let her out and be cleaning up another mess every 10 minutes. I tried putting her in her crate, but as soon as she'd whine to let me know it's time to go out, I'd let her out and she'd pee right outside her crate.

Does anyone have advice as to how this situation could be handled more efficiently? It is complicated further by us having just adopted her a play mate on Sunday, so now the two are being isolated from one another..

This is really bothering me, does anyone have suggestions?

Anela · 11-30-2007, 05:49 PM

I have been dealing with UTI for the past 18 months. Very shortly after starting the meds, within a day, my dog stopped having accidents.

I am assuming there was a test for the UTI? You don't mention it.

Since there was blood in the urine, there probably is a UTI, but testing should be done to confirm it.

You may be starting on a long path dealing with this. Females that get infected at this early age are prone to recurring issues. Is the dog spayed? Did the vet examine her vulva? Is the vulva properly extended (not inverted)? Was urinary incontinence ruled out? Your vet should have briefed you on all of this during the initial examination. If this did not happen, you need to find another vet.

Anela

Shalva · 11-30-2007, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anela

I have been dealing with UTI for the past 18 months. Very shortly after starting the meds, within a day, my dog stopped having accidents.

I am assuming there was a test for the UTI? You don't mention it.

Since there was blood in the urine, there probably is a UTI, but testing should be done to confirm it.

You may be starting on a long path dealing with this. Females that get infected at this early age are prone to recurring issues. Is the dog spayed? Did the vet examine her vulva? Is the vulva properly extended (not inverted)? Was urinary incontinence ruled out? Your vet should have briefed you on all of this during the initial examination. If this did not happen, you need to find another vet.

Anela

ditto what she said.... the accidents should stop very quickly after she starts the meds......

Anela have you talked to your vet regarding why you have the UTI's I have a pup in a home and she is getting chronic uti's but they have said it is an immature vulva and the tilt is not good due to the immature vulva and that it should resolve itself after she comes into season one time and to not spay until after she goes into one season (that is in my contract anyway)
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Arriend · 11-30-2007, 10:10 PM

This is worrying me...I took the pup to the vet as soon as possible (noticed blood during her first accident around 7 am, she was in the vet at the earliest opening, 3 hours later). They ran urine tests and ruled out crystals, but that's about the extent of what the vet talked to me about. I will call tomorrow to complain about what appears to be an inadequate appointment (they billed for a full appointment, I would expect to receive proper instruction and information).

Unless they examined her while collecting a urine sample, they did not evaluate the positioning of her vulva. This pup was adopted at the age of 2 months, two days after being spayed, so she has been fixed and done fine for the past 3 months.

I'll try to get more information, we might be taking her back tomorrow, it will just depend on what the vet has to say.

Anela · 12-01-2007, 08:03 AM

Aside from this forum, I suggest that you Google UTI infections in dogs just to educate yourself.

This is a very complicated issue. UTI can be caused by any number of things.

My pup was spayed at 3-4 months, before I rescued her. This is a real sore spot with me, I've had nothing but females over the past 16 years, prior to the pup, the other dogs were spayed at around 9 months or before first heat. This was very common theory for as long as I can remember. Then all of a sudden I get a dog already done at 3-4 months and red flags went up, but I was assured by the rescue league that things would be fine.

Well, things have gotten very very complicated, especially in the UTI department. My dog has had three of them.

My regular vet and two vets that I consult with, have all come up with a couple of reasons why she keeps getting infected. One reason could be a inverted vulva, which is causing the urine to pool inside, which causes the infection. Another reason could be diet. There are diets made specifically to deal with UTI. Still another reason was hygiene. Because the vulva is inverted, dog cannot properly clean herself, which causes things to build up, which causes the infection. Or it could be a combination of everything.

All of this caused incredible challanges in the potty training department (5-6 months, that's how I learned so much on the subject).

To try and correct all of this mess, three months ago I switched her food to a high quality hypo allergic food (venison and potato), and I clean her twice a day. I have noticed that I am cleaning off substantial dried urine.

I hesitate to say her situation right now, because I don't want to jinx it. Lets just say my vet is happy with the way things are going. I also hesitate to say what needs to be done if things get interesting again.

Good luck!

Anela