Maintenance Antibiotics - Opinons and Experiences?

[cowssaymoo]

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get opinions about maintenance antibiotics for chronic bladder infections. Gracie had a bad bladder infection when we adopted her that has finally been cured. This is coupled with our increasing mastery of the expressing process Gracie has been on a low maintenance dose of antibiotics as a preventative measure in the meantime. Do any of you have dogs on preventatives?

Thanks!

[critters]

We didn't do that with Buddy; I was too concerned about antibiotic resistance. He only got 2 UTIs, which we just treated. We did a double round of anbx for the E.Coli UTI, though.

[amyd]

ummm....what are the symptoms in a UTI in a dog?? My dog's urine isn't cloudy or anything, but she has no sensation in her urethra - she wouldn't know if she had burning or not. I have elected to not do prophylactic antibiotic treatment. I am doing frequent diaper changes and good hygiene. hope it works. I just need to know what to look for in case that method fails.
thanks for your help - amy

[critters]

Bloody, cloudy, unusual-smelling pee. A critter with some mobility & sensation might want to pee all the time.

[pmilner]

Some do show symptoms, but many animals with a UTI do not show the symptoms we associate with an infection:
- frequent urination or straining to urinate
- dribbling urine
- cloudy urine
- blood in the urine
- strong odor

The Mar Vista Vet site has a nice explanation of UTI's
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/urinary ... ction.html

[Cindidoxiemom]

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get opinions about maintenance antibiotics for chronic bladder infections. Gracie had a bad bladder infection when we adopted her that has finally been cured. This is coupled with our increasing mastery of the expressing process Gracie has been on a low maintenance dose of antibiotics as a preventative measure in the meantime. Do any of you have dogs on preventatives?

Thanks!

I have two dogs on preventative antibiotics. One has been on them for about 5 years...the other about 2...thus far *knock on wood* things have been just fine!

[amyd]

hmmm. Brooklyn's deal is pretty weird. She has no control or sensation of her bladder. I don't even know if it's formed right. It sure doesn't function right! She has a birth defect of some sort. She has dribbled since the day I got her when she was 12 weeks old. She is tiny and her digestive tract is so short, she almost constantly has poo in her rear end to be expressed. Scheduling the expressing for once a day or twice a day hasn't been what's worked for us. What I am wondering is if there is some kind of product out there that doubles as a diaper rash ointment and and anti-bacterial ointment as well. I don't think Neosporin on her bottom with diaper changes would prevent UTI's but I am trying to brainstorm. What do you guys think about that?? thanks - amy

[lizrobinson]

Hi there,

My dog, Sadie, has urinary incontinence and is very prone to bladder infections due to an accident about 4 years ago (she was hit by a bus, poor girl). A few years ago, after about 4-5 infections in a year, the vet suggested I put her on preventative antibiotics---she has been on Proin since then. The cost of the antiobiotics is high---maybe $45/month, but every bladder infection ran me about $500 between tests, vet visits, antiobiotics, and retesting. Of course, I am more concerned about my girl's comfort than money, but financially, the burden has become unmanageable. Permanent antiobiotics has helped keep the cost down somewhat, and kept the infections away, so I considered it really helpful for sure! I didn't notice any side effects at all.

After 2 years or more on Proin, Sadie just got her first bladder infection. Tests showed it was a strain of bacteria that's resistant to Proin. We are going to switch sadie to a different antiobiotic for long-term protection. Although I don't like the idea of her being resistant to antiobiotics, the trade-off seems worth it. There are still several antiobiotics that work for her and being on larger dosages every time she gets an infection means a lot of being on antibiotics anyway. She's 6, so if we get 2 or 3 years out of an antiobiotic, that should work for us!

Hope this helps. This is my first time on the board and it's awesome to read about how other pet owners are handling the challenge of a pet with health issues! Yay!

[critters]

I was wondering if you're sure the med is Proin? If so, Proin isn't an antibiotic. http://www.petcarerx.com/pcrx/ProductPa ... 09&k=Proin "The active ingredient in Proin, called Phenylpropanolamine, is a sympathomimetic amine, and triggers the “fight or flight” response in the body. This helps to treat incontinence by improving the tone of the sphincter muscles, particularly the urethra and the bladder neck." Other urinary drugs used for incontinence include Bethanecol.

[lizrobinson]

Oh yes! You are right. I got her medicines confused. She IS on Proin for incontinence; the antiobiotic was Clavamox. I am always getting those two confused. Thanks for helping me clarify!

Elizabeth

[critters]

Clavamox certainly qualifies as an antibiotic!