My yorkie had struvite bladder stones removed. Following her surgery she's had recurrent UTI. She's had Ultrasound/cystos/urinalysis, etc. The diet has been modified initially to a Science Diet brand food which made oxalate crystals form and then she was moved into Royal Canine SO food which has worked better.
In the process of elimination through caught samples and cysto urine samples taken the vet was able to determine the UTI was a lower UTI vs upper UTI. Think Kidneys to Ureter to Bladder to vulva to on the grass anatomy for the urine pathway.
We've had good luck with the RC SO food and have recently added the nutraceutical craninidine 1/4 per day to the diet. It is a cranberry extract which can affect urine pH which makes the conditions for bacterial growth less favorable.
Additionally we have kept Charlie's hair cut short. We have patted her area with a pampers sensitive skin baby wipe then patted dry with a napkin after she goes to the bathroom. I take a caught urine sample every 6 wks for analysis and take a bi-weekly pH of the urine with litmus paper. You can buy litmus paper at a pharmacy. The pH that my vet recommended was between 5-6 for Charlie. |