Thread: what kind of antibotics for a uti?

A vet visit for a UTI should not cost 300. It should be the cost of the office visit (typically under 40) the cost for the urinalysis (typically under 30) and the cost of the medication (which can vary greatly depending on which antibiotic and the size of your dog). If there were other problems, such as kidney or bladder stones, it's something that could run into the thousands, but would require treatment or could kill your dog.

If you're on good terms with your vet, you should be able to just bring in a urine sample and have the vet check it without an office visit.

Originally Posted by tiny

i asked the vet if i could just bring in a sample and he said he would have to get it.

You will need a prescription for antibiotics. Most vets don't require that they draw a urine sample as long as you can bring them a fresh catch. However, I would never ask a vet who'd never met me or my dog to test for a UTI without an office visit. Still, it shouldn't cost $300. An office visit is usually around $40, the test is maybe another $20-$30. Sometimes you can get prescriptions filled cheaper at a human pharmacy, so just ask for the written prescription. Target and Walmart have $4 prescription lists for a lot of meds.

The medication necessary is based on the bacteria that the vet finds upon analyzing the urine. There is no one "right" drug for a UTI. If you can't afford a vet many SPCA's and humane society clinics have reduced fee services.

There is a reason why antibiotics require a prescription.

I believe M. Howland's intentions are good, but I would be VERY reluctant to follow that advice.

Originally Posted by M.Howland

I brought Abby my 6 1/2 month old Saint Bernard in for a UTI infection and it was 84 dollars for every thing including medicine. The vet gave her 400mg tablets of Amoxicillin. 2 a day until there gone. If u want to give your dog antbiotics your self, you are going to have to get them with some sort of prescription. Or u can buy somthing called "fish mox" (Amoxicillin for fish). Its the same exact this as regular Amoxicillin but you are able to buy it online without prescription. If u need cephalexin for your dog then u need to get "Fish Flex" same exact thing as cephalexin but u dont need a prescription from a vet to buy it. It works really well. My father uses all that stuff when his dogs get ill. It is 10mg per pound for Amoxicillin (Fish Mox), and 5-10mg per pound for cephalexin(Fish Flex). Just type in which ever one u choose into your favorite search engine and u will find alot of sites where u can buy it pretty cheap.

Hope this info helps!

Oy vey. Why would you tell someone this if they clearly have no idea what they are doing to begin with. In other words: someone that doesn't even know what antibiotics are used to treat UTIs should NEVER be diagnosing and treating their dog at home. Not to mention, that dog may very well NOT have a UTI and the advice you are giving may delay necessary medical treatment for the REAL problem. Completely irresponsible of you.

Originally Posted by RonE

There is a reason why antibiotics require a prescription.

I believe M. Howland's intentions are good, but I would be VERY reluctant to follow that advice.

You are right Ron...there is a VERY good reason that antibiotics require a prescription (despite the fish-meds "workarounds"). We keep both Amoxicillan and Cephalexin on hand b/c it is cheaper for us to buy in bulk than the one-off prescriptions throughout the years from our vet (but we don't use the fish kind, which are actually fairly expensive compared to what you can get an antibiotic prescription filled for at a human pharmacy)...BUT, we don't just dose the dogs ourselves. Our vet still provides the medical care and advice...he just tells us what to dose out of our home stash if he is prescribing something we keep on hand at home. And you know what? Sometimes he opts for a med that we don't have at home.

To the original poster - please take your dog to the vet. If you can't afford even the most basic of health care for your dog, perhaps you should find a rescue organization that can take the dog and provide it medical care. BTW...in most areas, failure to provide medical care to an animal is considered animal abuse. A ten year old dog pee'ing blood is a dog that needs to be seen by a vet.

Well you are correct but if you love your dog then you can't afford to take risk. This can be a dangerous disease, go to the doc at least for a session and get to know about this problem. Be on safer side.

Originally Posted by M.Howland

Wow... This person asked a simple question

It was not a simple question. It was one that needs to be answered by a professional.

If a child was urinating blood, do you think the OP would be asking a parenting forum how to get around paying for a doctor's visit?

No one has extra cash to just throw around, but a medical emergency needs to be dealt with the right way. There are resources listed in a sticky at the top of the forum for people in need to get help with vet care. I'd beg and borrow from friends and family, take out a loan, or put bills on a credit card, or even beg and borrow to put something on a friend or family member's credit card.

I think the purpose for not self medicating the dog or a sick child is there could be a more serious issue than a UTI. Like stones or kidney failure. I do order meds myself. I have quite the supply, of suture kits, IV fluids, antibiotics, oxytocin, metronidazole, rimidyl, etc, etc. But I don't self diagnosis. I let the vet do that, unless I am 100% certain. Then I just have the drugs on hand to treat. It's nice to have the stuff on hand, because then I can take the dogs meds if I get sick. LOL I think I am over the last of my kennel cough. Hee Hee

thanks you for that last reply i am a good dog owner and love my dog very much, and am laid off of work due to a injury myself. as it is right now im barley able to pay the rent. i was shocked at the 300.00 estimate the vet gave me too , but because she is a large dog the vet said he would need to put her asleep to get the sample that alone is 70.00 i dont want anyone to think im a low life dog owner because i cant afford a 300.00 vet bill , i am just not doing that great financilly . thank you for all your replys and hopefully ill be able to take care of this because i do love my dog and will do everything in my power to take care of her

if anyone can help {MAYBE LET ME BUY THE ANTIBOTICS FROM YOU } PLEASE CALL ***Please do not broadcast your phone number over the internet**** THANK YOU

http://www.dogforums.com/2-general-d...rofit-org.html

Do not give your dog antibiotics without knowing what's going on. There's different antibiotics for different bacteria - that's why the vet needs to do a urinalysis before prescribing medication.

Please find another vet that is able to work with you. You'll still need to pay for an office visit, urinalysis and medication, but most vets are ok with owner-collected urine samples.

Heck, I wouldn't want anyone putting my sick dog under anesthesia until he had a full checkup & bloodwork, and it was determined that there was nothing going on that would interfere with the anesthesia.

I have used an antibiotic that was meant for aquarium use on my older dog.. It was for a possible infection in the stomach/ intestine. They worked great and cleared up symptoms within a day or so. It was the same ingredients and same mg. as the one previously prescribed from a vet. I had no side effects and would use them again if I felt one of my dogs needed them. In his situation I felt it was not yet necessary to make a vet visit,he was not seriously ill and still "normal" just a little sick from getting into some old food in the garbage can. Since I knew he was just feeling under the weather I wanted to make sure he did not get an infection from the diarrhea and to clear up anything brewing in his stomach. Although I was ready to take him to the vets or the er vet if needed. I mixed pedilyte in w/ a little canned food so he received fluids also. I am not going to say where I got them or what they are called b/c I don't feel that everyone should be dosing their dogs with antibiotic if they don't have the proper insight or knowledge about them. But for some circumstances... it's sometimes nice to know you don't always have to make a vet visit for a antibiotic.