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  #1  
Old June 21st, 2010, 10:10 PM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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need advice on urinary tract infections

I have a 7 month old lab beagle mix that has had two urinary tract infections already. In fact she is not quite finished her second round of antibiotics. My problem is she has started peeing in the house again and is asking to go out about every 15 minutes and then coming in and peeing. I really don't know what to do and this is costing me a fortune! I don't know why she is getting them and the peeing in the house is frustrating. I don't want to have to keep her in her crate when I'm home because she is usually in it for 4-6 hour during the day when I'm at work and then again at night when she sleeps. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I should add that she was spayed about 2 1/2 weeks ago and that I've been using either an emzyne cleaner or white vinegar to clean up the accidents.

Frustrated and confused!

Last edited by mygirlchloe; June 21st, 2010 at 10:11 PM. Reason: more information added
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  #2  
Old June 21st, 2010, 11:37 PM
pugsrule pugsrule is offline
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When they have a UTI they cannot help going pee frequently. How long between the two infections? If it was not long, she probably did not get it cleared up completely and as soon as you finished the antibiotics, it reasserted itself. If you have not already, your vet needs to send off a urine sample for a culture and sensitivity so you are sure the antibiotic is effective for the bacteria. If your dog was older, I would say to check for stones, but that would be quite unusual in such a young dog.
Joan
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  #3  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 06:39 AM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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She has gone from one antibiotic to another. No period of time between the two infections. Her medication is finished tomorrow. She has had 3 urine ananlysis done at this point. She has been on medication for 5 weeks now! Two different types. The vet went ahead with spaying her when she had an infection could this be part of the problem? I'm sending off another urine sample today as she started peeing in the house again on Sunday. I've never dealt with this with any of my other pets. Just not sure if I should be doing something else. She's a great dog and we just love her but we have spent over 1500.00 on vet bills since we rescued her and I would really like to get things cleared up. She cannot be feeling great. Are there things I can be doing at home to help her. We feed her a natural dog food and watch what treat we give her.

Thanks for any suggestions
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  #4  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 08:18 AM
pugsrule pugsrule is offline
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when you say urinalysis, do you mean your vet looks at the urine under a microscope or that the sample is sent off to a lab to grow a culture and see what specific antibiotic should be used?
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  #5  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 09:17 AM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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The vet looks under the micorscope, she has not said anything about sending it out for a culture.

Do you know what causes urinary tract infections? Vet just says it happens sometimes. But is there anything I can do to help prevent further infections?

Is it possible that she is going to long in her kennel. On an average day she spends 4-6 hours in her kennel while I'm away. She also spends the night in her kennel. I should mention she has never peed in her kennel. I just worry that I may be doing something that I shouldn't be. With my other dogs they were out of their kennels by about 6 months of age. She just seems to need the quiet time and I am not willing to have her out when I'm not home as she still chews on things when not supervised. She has been a bit harder to train because she was very badly treated before we rescued her at 13 weeks of age. She was initially very timid and very easily threatened. If our voices were loud at all she would hide in a corner, even if the tv was too loud. She is now pretty easy going and seems to want to play and make friends with everyone. She really is a great dog, I'm just really worried about her. The start to her life was terrible and it took her the first 2 1/2 months that we had her just to heal up (she had been badly bitten by other dogs and bites had not been treated, she was also malnourished and had worms). It jsut seems that she has been through a lot already and I would like to prevent her from further pain and discomfort. I now I'm rambling but I'm feeling frustrated and the vet just keeps putting her on antibiotics and doesn't really give any suggestions for preventing this sort of thing.

Thanks
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  #6  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 09:26 AM
cell cell is offline
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Does she have a anatomical defect? Did the vet notice if she has a lot of extra skin/creasing/folding of the skin around the vulva? I met someone who's female dog had a very tucked in vulva and the hairs and extra skin were leading to infection. Some people say that letting the dog go through one heat cycle and help possibly as the swelling in the vulva from the hormone cycle can help put the anatomy into a more correct position, but since your girl is spay she could need a corrective surgery if there is something physical leading to the infections.
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  #7  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 09:38 AM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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Cell vet didn't say anything about a anatomical defect. She said everything went great with the spaying but I will ask her today. The vet had recommended spaying prior to her first heat cycle and I've only ever had male dogs up until now. I've also asked for a urine culture to be done, thanks pugsrule for the advice on that.

Do you think the time in her kennel could be contributing to the infections? What is the normal time length that a dog at this age should be left in a kennel?

Thanks
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  #8  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 10:53 AM
free free is offline
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in the fall our dog had an ecoli uti. he was on 1 antibiotic for 2 weeks after
retesting they cultured it again to find out that it had not cleared.while culturing they can check to see what antibiotics it will respond to. our dog was on meds the 2nd time 1 type for a month and 2 others 1 for 10 days the other for 20 days. it was expensive to treat but we have a pharmacy near us that does pet scrips that was cheaper than the vet.
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  #9  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 01:34 PM
ScottieDog ScottieDog is offline
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I'm sorry your girl isn't feeling well. You will want the urine culture. This may require a clean draw sterile sample direct from the bladder. The culture basically determines which antibiotic kills the bacteria, therefore, getting the appropriate medication. My dog was much older, but we had one UTI that took 3 months of antibiotics to clear (note, my dog was a senior and had a compromised immune system at the time).

One thing to check is your grass. My dog was a short-legged breed and the vet felt that she could be picking up bacteria from tall, damp grass. Keeping the grass mowed short did seem to decrease the frequency of her infections until the immune system issues. You might want to try keeping your dog out of the tall grasses if she has access to them.

You ask about her time in her kennel. At 7 months I would think 4-6 hours would be OK, especially on the lower end. But until the infection gets cleared up, she may have issues. I've heard that pups typically can hold their urine the number of hours equal to their age in months. But typical doesn't cover every dog. With the infection you do need to make sure she has ample opportunities to empty her bladder so she can rid herself of the bacteria. Your vet could tell you if her kennel time is too much, based on her current health.

I know it is frustrating. Good luck.
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  #10  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 07:57 PM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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Thank you everyone for your responses. My vet is running a culture on her urine and said she would get back to me tomorrow. I never thought about long grass, we are out in the country and she loves to run in the fields, in fact she prefers to do her business in the tall grass. I will try to keep her away from it in the future. I've been feeling so guilty about leaving her in her kennel that I have my sons girlfriend coming over after two hours and letting Chloe out for a little, hopefully this will help.

This is an amazing site, thank you all again for your advice. I will keep you posted.
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  #11  
Old June 22nd, 2010, 11:50 PM
pugsrule pugsrule is offline
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FYIL running a culture on a urine sample has to be done at a lab, and results generally take 3-4 days. first they actually have to grow the bacteria that they find in the urine, and then they will test numerous antibiotics to determine which one is most effective on killing the bacteria they have grown. the culture and sensitivity cannot be done by your vet overnight.
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  #12  
Old June 23rd, 2010, 10:10 AM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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Okay so yesterday when Chloe saw the vet she said everything looked good. This morning when her assistant called she said that Chloe still had a bladder infection according to the tests. She prescribed the following antibiotics Orbax 22.7 mg, two tabs once daily for 14 days. Pugsrule I didn't read your post prior to talking to the vets assistant so I assumed she had done a urine culture as that is what I had asked for yesterday and I had to pay 75.00for the visit and another 43 for the test??? I've left a message with her receptionist to inquire about this as she did prescribe more anitibiotics???? Chloe was on her first antibiotic for 2 weeks, I don't remember the name as I don't have the bottle anymore. The second anitbiotic was Bioclav 250 mg, 1 tab every 12 hours twice daily for 3 weeks. I am really frustrated here, maybe I should try another vet???

Thanks
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  #13  
Old June 23rd, 2010, 10:46 AM
free free is offline
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when you talk to the vet asked if they sent out the specimen to an independant lab to culture to see what type of infection and what meds it is resistant to. as i said before beau was on 3 different types for 1 month straight
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  #14  
Old June 23rd, 2010, 01:54 PM
pugsrule pugsrule is offline
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Itis quite customary for a vet to put a dog on a broad spectrum antibiotic such as bioclav when they find a UTI...however when that does not clear it up in less than 10 days, it is time to take a culture and find the exact med to use.

If you indeed asked your vet for a CULTURE, then she/he should have taken the sample and sent it off. Therefore, you should not have to pay another visit ($75) and should be refunded the $45 towards the culture itself (usually $60-70) If your current vet does not agree to this, I would change. I have not run into a vet that woudl not send off a culture when asked to do so. Also when at least 2 antibiotics have been prescribed, and the condition still exists, this is pretty standard practice.

FYI: When they do an "urinalysis" in house, what is generally done, is they use a chemstrip in the urine to find ph, protein, blood etc (they cost about 25 cents), takes about 60 seconds. I use them every wk for my pugs. then if they find a positive reading, they will look under a microscope generally, and try to determine what type of orgnism they are dealing with. Thats it.
so the visit, and rest of the fee is pretty darn good money. Not arguing with that as a business person, but when their attempts fail, it is time to move on and get a culture done by the lab before the condition becoms chronic. JMO
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  #15  
Old June 24th, 2010, 09:38 AM
mygirlchloe mygirlchloe is offline
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I am taking Chloe to another vet tomorrow to have her looked at. I am not happy with the way things have been done at the vet that she has been seeing. The assistant said that the current medication should do the trick and they would not refund the money I paid or put it towards a culture. So I figure if I'm going to have to pay again I might as well pay for a second opinion. At least this time I'm going in with a little more knowledge (thanks to this site)!!

Thanks again
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  #16  
Old June 24th, 2010, 10:33 AM
pugsrule pugsrule is offline
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I think you have made the correct decision. Hope this new vet works out well for you, do let us know how you make out tomorrow.
Hugs Joan
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  #17  
Old June 24th, 2010, 03:55 PM
cell cell is offline
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Good idea on the second opinion, a UTI should have been resolved by now, if general antibacterials didn't work a culture should have been done after asap to determine what your dealing with, anyone who has had a UTI can agree they're not fun to deal with any longer then necessary.
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