Urinary Tract Infections
 

Anyone have any experience with recurring urinary tract infections? This is Brandi's 3rd UTI in two years. I take her to the vet and they give her an anti-biotic and then it clears up. Based on her bloodwork and other tests, the vet couldn't find any underlying causes. Any info would be great.
The only symptons she has is blood in her urine. She is eating and drinking water normally, she's not lethargic. In fact she seems very happy go lucky.

I make sure she has clean water everyday and her food dishes get washed everyday. I don't know what else should I be doing?

Did they do a urinalysis? Are her food and water bowls plastic or Stainless steel or ceramic? SS is best. Has she had a Bile Acids Test?

Agreed :thumbup: You should have a BAT done.

...also, giving Azodyl in low doses may help.

make sure to change water 3-4 times a day if you can to entice drinking as some dogs will not drink if water is not fresh - also i use spring bottled water as some times the taste of distilled or tap they will not drink as much

also you may want to use probiotics with her as that puts good bacteria in her system to help kill bad bacteria build up

here is a video that may help explain things

While it is possible to have recurrent UTIs, I am not sure it is common. Is it possible this is the same infection that simply has not resolved?
Have they done a sterile urine culture and sensitivity? The only way I am aware to do one is with a needle aspiration of urine from the bladder.
Just a suggestion because the antibiotics being used may not be the right ones.

Also: it is important to finish the entire course of antibiotics prescribed. Just adding that since some people are not aware and stop when the symptoms cease.

The most likely answer is that nothing is wrong and it's fine to just treat them as they occur. But I agree with the others. There could be an underlying issue and it is not a bad idea to check it out.

In my opinion, any Yorkie with recurrent UTIs should be bile acids tested because they are very much connected to liver problems. Your vet can do a cystocentesis (most sterile way of taking urine and not nearly as bad as it sounds) and send it for culture. You can also do an xray and/or ultrasound.

we did a culture with a free catch but needle cysto is more sterile i just prefer free catches even if a little contaminated and I always do first pee of the morning off back of the wee wee pad with sterile syringe and sterile bottle

make sure if doing cysto they use a ultrasound guided cysto

i think the crystals in the urine is more of a concern with liver issue but never hurts to have bats on yorkie and maltese breeds to rule out liver issues

Actually, I think it's both. See Yahoo group... Apparently some dogs with MVD are prone to them. Urinary issues were one of the things that prompted us to BAT Ellie.

They do not need to do a cysto for a sterile urine! Simple office procedure and as Ellie May said, it is not as bad as it sounds.

A cysto is just sticking a needle into the bladder through the abdominal wall to get urine. If the dog is small and/or the bladder is hard to find, doing it guided by u/s is a good option. I've actually watched it before and Ellie has had quite a few. No big deal... :)

Getting urine off of a pad isn't considered free catch. It's considered table top collection and is the least sterile way. Free catch would be following them with a dish, etc.

Oh duh. Well, I guess mine are always on the larger side, so never had to do that. and, I had cystoscope in my mind....
But..DUH

interesting as always thought it was more crystal related good to know

yeah have always done the back of wee wee pad no way could i get a catch from a pie tin lol that would be fun to watch though lolll The vet has tried to do the cysto telling me the more sterile etc and each time he has come back with results saying wow that was a good sample loll so it works. I just do not like them putting a needle in bladder - they do not put needles in our bladders to get a sample. I send in urine yearly for each of mine for almost 6 years now and dd had a culture and urinalysis done 2 times a few months ago and all came up negative for uti. I asked jean about them as i trust her alot and she does not like them either :( and why opted to go the back of wee wee pad. Just my preference but you are correct in most sterile way is cysto

i think back of wee wee pad or catching in pan could still be contaminated correct? Just much easier to when they first get up flip wee wee pad over let them go and you have a great sample as it has been sitting in their bladder all night and always best to have that first sample - I think it would be hard to get them to the vet first thing in am to get that urine sample before they pee.

also i put immediately in fridge until i leave for vets office to preserve same with stool samples

I honestly did not think you needed the first sample on them as in humans? Not sure...but I have never done that. Took it from any time of the day.

yeah as vet said best sample is first thing in am as it is sitting in bladder all night so collects the bacteria as sitting in bacteria so best sample to get like with us

If it were to be sterile, I don't see how that could be done perfectly. Makes sense, but telling a pup to hold it to take it to a vet? haha I guess so, but I would feel terrible.

My vet uses a long handled soup ladle for getting a free catch sample, works well.

And, yes, UTI's will run concurrently with untreated liver issues. If nothing is done to limit the ammonia-producing bacteria in the intestines, in time it ends up a problem in the bladder, bc the liver fails to clear the toxins completely.

Other indicators of liver issues are light or yellow colored stool, and strong smelling, dark urine.

that is so wierd as dd has mvd and had only one uti when she was a puppy and she is almost 6 - i guess maybe in more severe mvd or liver shunt issues this is true. I know the vet when doing her bats said he wanted a urinalysis done to see if crystals in urine though

My vet recently purchased a gadget for collecting urine. It has a long handle and a cup on the bottom; so the person gathering the sample does not have to bend over. I just called to ask where they got it, but the gal who ordered it is not in today. I imagine you could actually make one of them.

yeah i think we should invent a strap on cup lollllll

:eyetearss:eyetearss

Both table top and free catch are contaminated. Free catch, less so.
For those who want to get it at home, free catch is really the best way in most cases. I always just go for the cysto. There is a slight risk with them though.

We never do first of the morning for u/a or culture here. Not that we couldn't. It has just never been requested by Ellie's vet.

I think on a regular diet there is too much protein and it overworks the liver.... when they get put on a low-protein diet, less toxins are produced thereby eliminating the cause of UTI.

Sounds like what we used to collect samples from race horses after the race. May want to try a tack store, or large animal vet supply....

yeah i have done them every year off back of wee wee pad for all 3 dogs and no issues - no way could i get a free catch on these little guys they are squatters lollll even dex he is a squatter unless we go out in public that is then he is a MAN loll

ok that makes more sense as dd is on 18% protein but for 3 years prior to hat no issues other than when she was a puppy she had one uti

Dry measure cups are great for catching urine samples. Since Lady is diabetic and prone to UTI's, I keep the strips at home so I can test her myself.

Amazon.com: Multistix 10 S G Reagent Strips for...

My vet will usually just prescribe a round of Baytril based upon my test, but sometimes tests it herself. We always do a sterile culture if it doesn't clear up right away. Most UTI's are caused by E-coli which can be very resistant to antibiotics. Sometimes you are dealing with several different strains at the same time. A culture will tell your vet exactly what antibiotics are needed.

UTIs won't always accompany LS/MVD. It all depends on how much liver function each dog has, the protein content of the food they are fed, and the general health of their intestinal tract. Just as many with LS/MVD are asymptomatic all together.

DD may have only had one UTI as a puppy, bc as a puppy their livers haven't fully developed or grown to full size. As DD grew, the liver grew and must have been functioning well enough to handle the protein load, so no more UTIs.

The day I first got Tinkerbell in April 09, we arrived home and got right out of the car for a walk. Well, she peed, and the ammonia that wafted up liked to knock me out. So to the vet we went. After meds for UTI, a BAT and a limited protein diet, it wasn't till 8 months later that she developed a UTI again. So her liver filters out a lot of the toxins, but over time, what doesn't get filtered out builds up, so you have increased amounts of ammonia producing bacteria and other toxins floating around in their system. This keeps increasing, which eventually gets to a level of toxicity that causes UTI and goofy neuro behaviors called Hepatic Encephalopathy, which, if left untreated, results in seizures and death. The treatment for HE is to get the toxins out of the body ASAP, which can be acheived by hourly doses of Lactulose, until she has blow out diarrhea, which takes most of the bacteria in her gut with it, thereby immediately limiting the load on the liver, and another course of Antibiotics to also decrease the bacteria in the gut.

In summary: clean dog, feed dog till she acts crazy, medicate dog to have clean dog again. How frequently this cycle repeats is how well her liver is functioning. She now eats L/D, which is 14% protein, 20% pork/chicken fat. No meat treats... cereal, whipped cream,cottage cheese, hard boiled egg whites, people crackers etc.