calliecritturs
Posted : 5/18/2007 11:57:47 PM
the cyclosporine that Billy's on CAUSES them. And he had a running UTI for MONTHS back last summer when we were battling the IMHA in a big way.
D-mannose and Cranberry have been heaven sent -- the d-mannose I get as a powder and just stir into his food. It's sweet (tastes like confectioner's sugar) so he doesn't mind it at all.
Both the d-mannose and the cranberry function similarly -- they bond to infection cells and make them too slippery to stick to the urinary tract. Both my regular vet and my holistic vet are SUPER happy with it (and so is Billy's University of Florida vet). The d-mannose I get at a health store (the NOW brand is the best one I've found).
Cranactin (Solaray) actually comes with d-mannose but it's not formulated in the right proportion for a dog somehow. I DO use Cranactin (the plain cranberry one), but just not the cranactin/d-mannose combined in one pill.
Try braunschweiger (liverwurst) for the pills. It's slippery and yet sticks to the pill well -- try giving her a hunk first, and then give her the second one with the pills in it.
She may just be one of those dogs who runs a uti easily (altho it sounds to me like they didn't get it all the first time), but putting her on something like the d-mannose * cranberry may elminate the return of the infection.
After the course of antibiotics is done, wait just 2 days and then have the vet do a culture and sensitivity test. They have to take a sterile urine draw (either an aspirate or a catheter) and send it away -- BUT it will tell you 100% for sure if the infection is GONE. AND it will tell you what antibiotics that infection is sensitive to.
That one Billy had for months -- he went thru like FOUR drugs -- all the way to Cipro -- before we kicked that darned thing.
GOOD FOR YOU that you caught it. When a dog pees blood it can literally be a life-threatening emergency -- you were smart to take her in right away. I know you would just ecause you know it hurts -- but it IS an emergency thing!!
Prayers and good thots for both of you!!