Layla Vet Visit

Struvite or oxyate?  That has to be the FIRST question (call and ask) -- they are kinda "opposite) and thrive in different environments.

Yes a bladder infection is different than a UTI but can be caused BY a UTI that has gone up into the bladder. 

dogs avoid drinking because it burns to pee -- and that becomes habit.  You may have to encourage her other ways -- putting water in her food,  Will she eat/chew ice?  Keep a syringe and glass of water next to you and literally give it to her by syringe several times over the course of an evening/morning. 

Sometimes you can convince them by adding something to the water they think is yummy -- a bit of beef broth (no salt) or something a tad sweet. 

I'm a bit astonished at the anti-inflammatory -- that in itself is going to be hard on the kidneys *sigh*. 

If they are struvite crystals you can give some Vit C -- that will ease her discomfort a bit as well as acidifying the urine.

I know at one time you were using cranberry caps -- you may need to give them on an ongoing basis forever -- Billy takes D'mannose every single day (and so does Kee).  I just plain don't stop it because it helps so much to prevent the problem.

If there was blood it's likely been there a while.  The blood usually comes from squeezing to urinate b/c you feel like you have to go but you haven't had anything to drink so there's nothing TO go with so the squeezing bruises the kidneys)

If you want to help assuage the symptoms you can stop by Whole Foods or any health store that carries Boiron homeopathics and get "Cantharis" -- Give her two of the little beads (put the pellets in a piece of paper folded up -- just tap with a small hammer or something hard until they are crushed) - and either pour in her mouth or let her lick it up - it's sweet.  Give her 3 times a day for 3 days and then stop.

Cantharis is remarkable stuff -- it will really help take away that inflammation really fast and help the symptoms SO quickly.  Continue with the antibiotics but the cantharis will make her far far more comfy.

She'll be more amenable to drinking if she doesn't burn so badly.  She's afraid to drink because it hurts to pee.

The dr didn't say if I should take her back for a retest after her meds are gone, but I think I will just to be safe. I'm also going to pick up some test strips and check her urine regularly. I'll also give her the cranberry from now on and Abbie too.

It's funny, Layla has never been a big drinker. When she does take a drink, it's a really big one, but then nothing for a long while after that. Poor girl, I hope she's not too uncomfortable.

A couple of other things you can do are to add water to her food or give her more canned food.  And, wipe her private area after she comes in from outside.  You can also add the unsweetened cranberry juice right to her water.  Willow never liked it though. 

I'm also curious about wiping her after coming in from potty time. I haven't normally done this. Would I just use a wet washcloth and then dry her? I wouldn't think that soap would be a good thing. What about a baby wipe?

Any info that can be shared is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 I don't use store bought broth. You don't want any added sodium, for a dog with bladder issues. Too much sodium stressed the already stressed kidneys. If you cook something for yourself or your girls, though, don't add salt to the water, and save the water for them. Boiling some chicken kibble topper? That water is SO important. I make soup for mine, basically. I put whatever meat and veggie in the crock pot, and cook it til it's nice and mushy, but I fill the pot completely with water, before, and again after if it needs it. They get soup on top of their kibble, and they LOVE it.

I would have a culture and sensitivity done, personally. Teenie Weenie had struvite stones, and that was not fun or cheap. The C&S cost about $90, all the times I've had it done (5, on 3 dogs).  They take the dog in the ultrasound room, and guide a needle, with the ultrasound, to the bladder. They draw out a "sterile" sample, and send it to the lab. They lab grows it, and tells you which antibiotic will work best, from the tests they do. Struvites can be caused by unresolved infection. Sometimes, the antibiotic just doesn't kill ALL of the bacteria, and they become resistant to that medicine. Then, you need something different. That's where the C&S comes in. It tells you *what* you need, specifically.

Glucosamine is also said to help prevent crystals and stones from forming.

The sensitivity and culture sounds like a very good idea.  I tried to have one done on Tessy (who's been battling UTI's on and off for months now) but they couldn't get the needle in.  My luck was Tessy had a pee as she was going in the office.  I added a cranberry extract to her diet while she was on the antibiotics and this has helped significantly.

D-Mannose?

Honestly, my experience was that no matter what I did until they cultured her and treated her with the right antibiotic for the bacteria that she had--they kept coming back.  That's key there, the right antibiotic and they should retest her and make sure it's gone completely and if not extend the dose.  It wasn't until they did this that Willow finally got better and she doesn't get them anymore.   

Once, she's cleared up the extra water in her diet, taking her out often and keeping her clean will probably keep it from returning. And, I'm not sure if your dogs get kibble but it's important to make sure the target urine Ph of the food is what it needs to be for her.  Willow hasn't had any problems SINCE the medication after the culture and before that they were coming back constantly. 

I usually just use the Charmin wipes or Cottonelle bathroom wipes on her.  You can use the doggie wipes too but the human ones are cheaper.  The vet told me that cleaning this area is one way to prevent a recurrence because the dirt they pick up when they go out can travel up the vagina and re-infect. 

willowchow

it's important to make sure the target urine Ph of the food is what it needs to be for her.

Tomorrow I'll call the vet and ask about the C&S. Honestly, my vet is so old school, I'll be surprised if he has an ultrasound machine....... if not, hopefully he can refer us somewhere.....

She has been urinating larger amounts and drinking more so I think she must be feeling a little better. I wonder how long she was suffering with this before she started bleeding..... if it was never fully resolved in July, that's a long time.

Ask your vet what her urine Ph should be for her.  And, then call your food company and ask what the target Ph of their food is, they should be able to tell you.  At the time, I had called quite a few companies and they all told me with no problems. Now, this is going back more than three years so things could of changed with these companies and what they will tell you on the phone. 

About the culture, he might just take a normal sample in a container and not a sterile sample--taken with the guided needle.  But, it depends on the vet and the preference.  I wouldn't be totally surprised if he doesn't tell you to wait until he rechecks her to do anything. 

It takes a few days to get the results back. 

willowchow

Ask your vet what her urine Ph should be for her.

Do you know what they base this on?

It sounds like there has to be bacteria present to do the C&S so if she is cured this time around we'll have to wait until she gets another infection for it to be done?? He only gave me 6 days worth of anti-biotics. I thought they normally do a week to 10 days.