[BellaPup]

Not a very happy birthday for Bella Boo! Like she hasn't been through enough lately.


So about a month ago I took Bella to the emergency vet in the middle of the night because she had rapidly developed a UTI - urgent need to pee, frequent and obviously uncomfortable. She started peeing blood in the middle of the night, so got a sample and off to the ER we went.

They tested the urine I brought (they wanted a sterile sample, but her bladder was too small) and did an ultra sound. They didn't see anything in the ultrasound, but there was bacteria and slightly elevated white and red cells in her urine. We were sent home with a week of Clavamox.

Everything was better until a day and a half after the last pill. Back to the local vet with a sample again.

They found the same thing in her urine so she sent us home with the same medication but for two weeks along with an anti-inflammatory.

Everything was great up until last night - about a week and a half after the last pill. Came home to find bloody urine on the floor. arrrrgh!! My poor girl!

So, got a sample and dropped it off with them right before they closed. Expecting a call with the results this morning.

WHY? I don't understand. The antibiotics just aren't doing the job. She is prone to UTI's because (as I was finally informed at the ER after this many years) she has a recessed vulva(?) (sorry - I should know the name of girl parts being a woman and all) and debris and dirt can get too close. So I've been using unscented, sensitive skin baby wipes per the ER vet.

What should I expect the next steps to be? Is there something I can do - or should stop doing to prevent this? The vet wasn't much help with those questions. She said there are things she could suggest if there were stones present, but nothing to do for bacterial infections.

I feel soooo bad for poor Bella. I know those UTI's aren't much fun

Any suggestions?

 

[Shell]

She may need a different type of antibiotic, cephalaxin for example is commonly used for UTIs. Did they do a culture?

 

[Canyx]

Sorry to hear this! Poor Bella has had enough on her plate this year!

Talk to your vet about cranberry supplements. I have heard that some ingredient in cranberry makes it hard for bacteria to attach to the urethra. Two vets recommended it to me when Brae had a UTI as a very young puppy. Maybe also ask about putting some apple cider vinegar in Bella's water dish. I think there are risks to making her system too acidic, but a slightly more acidic environment also makes it hard for bacteria to thrive. From a homeopathic standpoint, ACV is supposed to be great for health in general. Anecdotally speaking, it helped a lot in reducing Brae's urine pH when it was too basic during his UTI. Also, I've added half a cap full to Soro's big water dish for years when he was younger. Soro never had any medical issues, but I certainly didn't see a negative effect. A vet will have more insight! Lastly, certain foods are on the market for dogs with chronic UT issues. That might be worth pursuing as well.

Best of luck! Give Bella some extra snuggles for me!

 

[dogsule]

When my Belle was a puppy she had a UTI that did not respond to the first med they put her on. They put her on another and while it did clear up the UTI she then developed an immune disorder as she was also vaccinated at the same time.

Hope you can get it cleared up.

 

[BellaPup]

Thanks everyone! I will definitely give her some extra Canyx snuggles today

They did a urinalysis, not sure if that's the same as a culture or not? They said if it comes back again, they'll have to send the sample out to a lab while she's on the antibiotics to see how the bacteria is responding - or not responding.

I've been giving her a cranberry supplement for the past week or so (Solid Gold something-or-another). Haven't tried the ACV - she has a touchy tummy, so not sure if I wanna go there just yet. It is good stuff, though! I tried it myself last year, but it apparently doesn't mix well with acid reflux...lol.

She does really well on TOTW food - I'd hate to change it (especially since I just bought two new bags) and there's the switching-food-tummy-issue again. And I'm not a fan of Science Diet, but if they think it will help, I'll try it.

I also give her Nupro Joint & Immunity supplement and probiotics. I was mixing plain yogurt with her dinner to keep her "regular" while on the medication. The vet didn't think these would interfere with the antibiotics at all...?

Although it's not exactly a good thing, I'm hoping that it's just a resistant bacteria that a different medication - like the cephalaxin will take care of. I wish I didn't worry so much.

ETA:
Just got back from the vets. The UTI came back - obviously resistant to Clavamox. They took a sterile sample and are sending to the lab for "culture and sensitivity" and put her on 68mg of Baytril. We'll see I guess. I hope this antibiotic takes care of it. I didn't get a chance to speak to the vet - they squeezed me in. Will have to wait to see what the lab comes back with then deal with food changes and all that jazz after.
<<<sigh>>> I feel so bad for my girl.

 

[Shell]

When Chester had a UTI, the vet suggested the Urinary Science Diet. I asked her what about it made it different and made it better for urinary issues than another food. First, she said it is very very low protein but since Chester's kidneys were fine (we ran a blood panel), that protein made no difference for his case and I could keep feeding high protein diet (part raw a the time even). Then we carefully read the ingredients and nutrient analysis together and my vet said the only other thing she could see that made it different was a high sodium content to encourage a dog to drink more. So she suggested just adding some water to his kibble.


Of course, discuss with your regular vet and check ingredients etc on your specific foods but at this stage, i wouldnt be jumping to switching foods especially for a sensitive tummy dog.

It wouldnt surprise me if a different antibiotic does the trick. Chester had a knee abcess infection and the first round did nothing much so we went a second round with a really powerful antibiotic (treats the plague too!) which wiped it out cleanly. I am against antibiotic overuse but precisely because of how useful they are when needed.