Bladder Problems & Food Help, Please...
 

Maggie is my 3.5 lb. Yorkie. She has had two bladder infections in the past, both cleared up with amoxicillin, and now she is getting another one. It seems like she gets them every six months. We weren't able to get urine speciman today, vet gave her amoxicillin again, it isn't advanced infection, just starting. Frequently urinating, one drop of blood.

My neighbor is a retired vet, he told me to feed her Hill's Science Diet, that Yorkie's do well on it, and seldom get bladder infections. Well, obviously it isn't working. Oh, the last time, they did xray, no stones visible. They also did urine check last time, just not today because vet was booked, and I wasn't able to get it at home.

I have been giving her tap water to drink, today I bought bottled water, no more tap water for her, I've also read online that if you have bladder problems you should feed acidic foods, yogurt, give them eggs, lean chicken, beans, etc.

Her diet consists of the Hill's Science Diet and fresh bites of veggies and fruits.

Can anyone give me some direction? Should I switch her diet, switch her food - what dogfood do you recommend? I don't know that I have the time to totally cook for her, but I am going to start giving her unflavored yogurt every day with her kibble.

My girlfriend feeds her 3 lb. yorkie Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Duck & Potato forumla, and has been pleased with it. We have an all natural dogfood store and that's what they recommended. Would this be a good choice for Maggie?

Other than these bladder problems, Maggie is a totally healthy little dog, from an excellent breeder. It's her 2nd birthday today, too, poor baby has to deal with this.

If you want to see the birthday girl up close and personal, she's on my blog - all the latest from heavensville...

Thanks so much for any help you can give me.

All I can say is I think Science Diet is a poor quality food. Have your ever tried Canidae? Solid Gold is good also. You are doing good by getting her bottled water. Some dogs do not do well on fluorinated water. I hope your baby gets to feeling better soon.

I would switch the kibble also. The Natural Balance is good kibble. I also like Timberwolf Organics, Canidae, Innova, Eagle Pack Holistic, Solid Gold, and Wellness just to name some great brands. Any of these would be great to switch to. We rotate kibble and are switching from Eagle Pack Holistic Small and mini breed to Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue. I rotate after every two medium sized bags. A medium bag lasts almost three months. So about two to three times a year, I rotate food. Gives them a variety and are less likely to create an allergy to the food they are on. Good luck with your choice.

Blood is usually seen when the dog has stones...I know you said that the x-ray showed no stones, but there are certain types of stones that do not show up on x-rays at all...They only show up on ultrasounds. Would this be a possibility? Can you find out if they have found any crystals in the urine??
I wouldn't make any drastic changes to diet because you don't know if the urine is acidic or alkaline...For example, my yorkie has urinary problems as well, but the thing is that his urine is actually too acidic. You need to find out your dog's urine pH before you start specifically adding acidic foods...
Key things:
Find out if they have found any crystals and what kind
What is the pH of the urine?
Have an ultrasound done
If stones are found in ultrasound, have bile acid test done because stones found on ultrasound are typically ammonium urate which are associated with liver shunt or liver disease...

Ohhh, I couldn't have said it better!!!

Our Paris 1 is prone to bladder infections because of crystals too (never any stones). 8 bladder infections in 2 years! We worked closely with a vet who was able to put Paris on a prescription diet and we went an entire year without an infection.

Find a great vet who understands toy breeds and work with them to find the best regime for your baby.

I'm Sorry...
 

I shouldn't have suggested changing the food. I thought that it might have been causing the bladder infections. The above posts do more to help you than I did. I just know that Science Diet is not a great food and hate to see anyone have to eat it. I hope that you get better and when you can change food, I would go with a premium food not too high in protien since she is already having bladder/kidney problems. Good Luck and keep us updated.

Awww! Don't feel bad Crickettsmom...You were just trying to tell her about quality foods :)
The thing is that when there are recurring bladder problems, it becomes a big problem and foods can make it worse or better.

Thanks for all the help...
 

Actually, it's my neighbor who is a retired vet that told me to put her on Science Diet in the first place. He says it's the industry standard that all other brands look to when formulating their food.

Well, after researching different foods, I'm not sure that I agree with him. I was just doing what he told me, but I don't think Science Diet is so great either.

At the natural dog food store they gave me a name of a lady vet who they recommend. Their customers are really happy with this woman, and she believes in a more natural approach to treating dogs. We are going to Lexington for a fews days and when we get back Maggie is going to see her and I'm going to have tests run as all of you have suggested. I feel good about a woman vet, so we'll see how it works out..

In the meantime, Maggie is on antibiotic, responding well and she is eating trout and sweet potato food, Breeder's Choice Pinnacle, at the recommendation of the people at Give a Dog a Bone. We tried some samples, she really liked California Natural, but she's only 3.5 lbs., and the kibble are so big she just rolls them around in her mouth. The Pinnacle was much easier for her to chew. Mags has a great digestive system, perfect poops, that has never been a problem, just the urine problems.

I'll let you all know how this turns out. Oh my, what a lovely day it is today. Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine as well.

My Lady has chronic uti's because of her diabetes so I know how frustrating they can be to deal with.

Has your vet cultured her urine? That needs to be done to find out which antibiotic will kill the bacteria that is causing the infections. Amoxycillin itself may not be enough. Most vets prescribe clavamox to start with, not plain amoxycillin. If it doesn't clear up with the first round of antibiotics, a sterile culture is in order.

E-coli is the culprit in over 80% of uti's and can be very resistant to antibiotics. Sometimes it can be trial and error before you find which antibiotic works. Lady had a nasty uti a year ago that was caused by two different strains of E-coli and it took two antibiotics to knock it out.

Dogs should have a negative urine pH, about 7.0. Greater than 7.0 is considered too acidic and less than 7.0 too alkaline. You can add a cranberry supplement to lower the ph and a little apple cider vinegar to raise it.

this is why i'm switching vets..
 

he just prescribed this time, didn't culture - where do you get the cranberry supplements - do you test ph yourself?

can i just put one of the sticks in the pee on the piddle pad after she has urinated? it's impossible for me to get a speciman from her - she won't allow it.

Honestly, it's best if the vet takes a sterile sample to do urine culture and all of that because if you take the urine sample, it's very likely to be contaminated.
You can test the pH though yourself at home. Ladymom is familiar with pH strips that you can use at home.

Here are the strips I have. They not only check pH, but also check for leukocytes which indicate infection:

Amazon.com: Multistix Generic Urine Test Strips...

I use them at home by putting them on the pee pad if I'm too lazy to collect a sample.

As Yorkieluv said, your vet really needs to collect a sterile sample, though, at this point. It is done by inserting a needle into the bladder so there is no external contamination. It's then sent to the lab to grow a culture, then the appropriate antibiotics are prescribed.

I like Cranberry Relief as a supplement.

KV Vet Supply / KV HealthLinks - Pet, equine & livestock supplies / Quality nutrition for you!

sedation?
 

do they have to sedate her to insert a needle into the bladder. i'm panicky about sedation. sigh, such a worry wart i am...

thanks for the links for the strips and cranberry relief, i'll order it.

No, no sedation needed. It's very quick and easy. :D