Reoccuring Bladder Infections PLEASE HELP!

[lexisusan]

Hi everyone! My dog was hit by a car and has been paralyzed for almost two years now. She gets along wonderfully and really we have been very blessed that she has come so far. However, in the last 6 months...we are REALLY struggling with bladder infections. I can't seem to prevent them....I feel like I've tried everything. It's to the point now where every month when I get a urinalysis done she has to be put on antibiotics for a week. It's VERY upsetting. I tried the cranberry in her food...I bathe her all the time and recently I decided to try the apple cider vinegar in her food. (by the way she is on special food also) I don't know what to do so any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. She does tend to drag all the time...but I am very mindful of keeping her as clean as I possibly can. When I tried the apple cider vinegar I put 1 teaspoon in her food in the morning and 1 teaspoon in her food in the evening. She is 45 pounds so maybe that just wasn't enough to make a difference..but I didn't want to get carried away cause I didn't know if it could hurt her at all.

PLEASE HELP!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!

[Christine]

There are so many different bacterias out there and some are resistant to certain antibiotics. Has your vet taken a direct urine sample with a needle? My Bailey went through that and the only way they could ascertain the correct medication was using this method.

It is possible that she is not fully emptying her bladder? Do you express her? If not, because it seems that she is fully continent, it could be that she might really need that extra help.

If you give her anything cranberry, if the vet says to, be sure that it is organic because cranberries not grown organically contain a LOT of toxic chemicals

[sdrakkan]

I'm also curious if your vet is taking the direct samples. Re-occurring really needs that extra diagnosis to find the right antibiotic rather than throwing different ones at her until it sticks. The cat I have issues with takes an herbal mix with fresh organic cranberries...but his is now maintenance and not curing.

[slshepherds]

Hi

As others have mentioned it is important that your vet gets a sample via cystocentesis and send it off for culture so you know that you are treating with the right antibiotic. Also, a week is not long enough to be on antibiotics. A typical course for my vet is 2 weeks for my "healthy" dogs, 3 weeks for my paralyzed pup. At the end of the course we re culture to make certain the infection is gone. The reason for this is that paralyzed pups are at increased risk for UTI's (not able to empty their bladders) which can be antibiotic resistant.

Wishing you the best
Joanne

[CarolC]

I noticed in another message you mentioned she may go 12 hours between expressing at night. I think it might help if you set the clock and get up and express her by at least 8 hours, even if you are planning to sleep late. I do that with my dog, sometimes you're so tired you just drag out of bed and do it, but I find I sleep better after I go back to bed because I am relaxed knowing she is taken care of.

Also, you might want to review the expressing tips and see if there are any that would help? I'm thinking especially of the express-rest-express method. I know you've been expressing for 2 years so it sounds ridiculous to go back and review "first principles" when you've done it approx...let's see, 3x/day x 2 years = 730 times. [edit 2190 times] The only reason I suggest it is we had a wonderful, extremely good caretaker here named Anita who had a dachshund named Sydney, and she was having a problem with UTI, and after about the same time (a couple of years) she discovered she was not expressing well enough. I took a lesson from that and decided if it could happen to her, it could happen to just about anybody! So...just an idea, in addition to the advice on testing and antibiotics.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Express_a_dog_or_cat

[Joan]

I have several paraplegic pugs, and lots of troubles through the years with UTIs. best solution is not the special diets, but lots and lots of water. I give my pugs extra water 4 times a day with a pinch of tuna in it, and they wait for it like a treat.

On the cranberry, the trouble is that you need to know the urine ph before adding vinegar or anything else to acidify the urine. you can buy urine stix to test for infection, and it gives you a heads up on the infections and the ph. the ideal ph is about 6.5-7 If you get too far either way, there are bacteria that love to grow in either alkaline or acidic urine. I buy my strips here, and they run only $15 or so per 100. I test all my spinal every wk, unless they show any signs of UTI and then I do every day.

http://www.biousa.com/multistix--chemst ... strip.html


Dental troubles, infected teeth etc are a very common cause of UTIs, with one pug I had an infection about every 6 months, and then after a very thorough dental procedure, we have not had one in almost 18 months.

I do have one female pug that has a severed cord, and she has had so many UTIs, after going her first yr without any. She developed stones, and during surgery they took a scraping of the bladder wall and she has interstitial cystitis. that was over a yr ago, and the only way I can keep her free, is giving her a daily maintenance dose of antibiotic, about 25% of a normal dose. HOpe you dont have to do that, but it has worked, and seems like the only way for her right now.

If you need anything further, let me know, been there. Hugs joan

[jazzybaby]

I too have a paralyzed pup that we have to express her bladder for her. We have been very luck y and in the little over the year since she became paralyzed we have only had one bad UTI and one small one that we were able to catch early and knock out before it got bad. We now express her 4 times a day sometimes even 5 times if we know she has drank a lot of water (when she goes to therapy she tries to drink half the pool) , I argee with Carol you may want to try doing it every 8 hours and set your alarm if your sleeping in. Since we started doing that we have even notice that her urine is not as yellow anymore plus it keeps her on the same schedule. We have had a problem sometimes getting her to drink enough to be expressed 4 times a day and our vet told us not add anything to the water because then they won't want to drink plain water anymore. So we have started adding water to her dry dog food she now gets more of a stew. And then through out the day if we notice she is not drinking on her own we will fill her bowl up with water and add 3 or 4 pieces of dog food to it and make it a game for her to get the dog food. I also agree with what some others have posted a week is to short for the meds and she may need to try different meds. Good luck.

[Dean]

With UTI's, is it generally better they drink a bit more than average to move things through the system faster?

I sometimes worry about how much Keeka drinks. We're expressing her about every 4 hours from 6am to 10pm and there always seems plenty of urine, so it's never been dark. She hasn't had an infection (14 months). However, she now has a bladder function test every two months as part of a research programme she is on. They fill the bladder to maximum with a sterile solution and see if the bladder leaks/contracts. I think it's a bit upsetting for her, but it is part of the follow up to the treatment she recieved. Afterwards they give her an antibiotic injection as a precaution. I'm not keen on the use of antibiotics as a precaution.

[critters]

With UTI's, is it generally better they drink a bit more than average to move things through the system faster?

.

I think so. I used to mix water into canned food for Buddy, to make him drink more; he was, at that point, a recovered paraplegic. After a vet demanded that I stop, saying that stronger pee was better, he shortly became blocked with crystals.

[lexisusan]

WOW! Thanks everyone for all the great responses. I appreciate your time. I actually am a stay at home mom...so I express lexi every few hours throughout the day...she never goes more than 8 hours without being expressed and usually she never even goes that long. I have started getting up in the middle of the night to express her as well. She is currently on antibiotics AGAIN...and if she gets another infection next month....I am going to make the vet do a culture. I suggested it last month but she said since the anitibiotics had been working that there was no need for one. However, I certainly don't want my dog to become resistant to any of the antibiotics. Anyway, Thanks again...I will keep you posted!!!!

P.s Great idea with the strips. I have used them before but I am going to start again!
tHANKS

[lexisusan]

So I've tried EVERYTHING that everyone suggested and I can not stop my poor girl from having reocurring infections. It's pretty much a given that every 3-4 weeks when I have her urine tested she has an infection. A serious one at that!! I'm so sad---I really just don't know what else to do. My vet says it's the nature of the beast. I just don't understand how she went so long without one and now she has one consistently!!! I guess I will just keep trying everything I can. I am just nervous of her being on antibiotics consistently for the rest of her life....that certainly doesn't sound healthy!!!!!!

[slshepherds]

If your pup is having recurrences this often then my bet is that the initial infection is not being effectively treated. You NEED to have a culture done so you can select an appropriate antibiotic. With the problems your pup is having she may need to be on a long course and then have a repeat culture after stopping the antibiotics. You may also want to think about asking for a referral to see an internal medicine specialist. It may be that there is an anatomical problem that is predisposing your pup to UTI's (although being paralyzed is a risk itself). I see resistant UTI's at work and they can take a long time and some strong antibiotics to clear up.

Resistant infections in general are becoming an increasing problem. I am dealing with a multi organism resistant infection in my Carl's foot that is not responding to one of the few antibiotics that should treat it. To show how serious this can get - one of the specialists Carl sees is thinking we may end up having to amputate his leg

Looking forward to hearing that your pup is UTI free soon.

Joanne

[Christine]

I totally agree with the fact that they have not yet found the correct antibiotic for the bacteria that is causing the problem. I also would chime in with going to someone else, if only for this problem...it can be life threatening. You are doing everything in your power by keeping your dog expressed, giving the meds, etc. As you are saying, nothing has changed and your vet does not seem to be taking it as seriously as she should. Good luck to you and your sweet little one.