# The Never Ending UTI



## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Pumpkin was on 2 rounds of clavamox for a UTI (8.5 wks), seemed to be doing better, but she became symptomatic again. Had more urine analyzed, and she defintely still had a UTI. Finished 10days of amoxi (supposedly stronger than clavamox), and again, Pumpkin seemed to be doing much better. Well just like the 1st time, here we are a little over a week out, and Pumpkin is AGAIN showing symptoms!! I am so frustrated  I had V field trainer tell me, that "once on antibiotics so young, always on antibiotics." He seemed to imply the antibiotics become a crutch to what may be a behavioral issue. I know Pumpkin knows she needs to pee outside, never has accidents on meds, has never pooped in the house, and when she does have an accident (1 last night & today) it's like it comes out of nowhere. She gives no warning. I know she can't help it, but I am getting concerned over why this is not clearing up?!!! Maybe wrong antibiotic, but I am getting paranoid this is going to be an on-going problem. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!


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## DixiesMom (Feb 5, 2009)

My old dog, Dixie, would have recurring bouts of UTIs and I had been told by my vet that it was probably bladder stones. As she is an older arthritic shelter rescue, I was not going to spend alot of money on testing. I took him at his word and thought it was just something that we would have to deal with as Dixie could not be put under becuase of other health issues. Long story short after a very scary couple of days of bloody urine and a double dose of amoxi she has not had another one in about 2 1/2 years. 

Vet said that a single round of antibiotics would make her feel better and the infection would linger until her immune system was weak before flairing up but that the second week of meds finally knocked it out. Sounds reasonable t me.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

Pumpkin is still really young but I heard that spaying can help. I'm not exactly sure how hormones equal UTIs but maybe it's something you want to ask your vet about?

In the meantime, make sure she is drinking lots of water to flush the bacteria. Females have a shorter urethra so it's a lot easier to get an infection than males. 

Also, becUse she is so young it could be that bythe time she is half way through antibiotics she's had a growth spurt and the dosage is too low. That happened with us. 

Lastly, is Pumpkin on grain free food? I read somewhere that there is a correlation with grains and UTIs

I k ow it's a really frustrating time to go through. It's like having a puppy for linger than it should be. Keeping an eye out, cleaning their messes, etc. But hang in there. You'll find a solution.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked her food (Wellness & Blue Buffalo), and the grains are oatmeal & some barley if I remember correctly (no corn or meal)? Meats are the 1st ingredients, & both brands indicate quality; however, I will research the food area more. I took Pumpkin to the vet this morning. Pumpkin was put on 7 more days of amoxi (lil stronger dose) for 7 days while we wait for the culture to return. They are culturing the urine & doing a sensitivity test as well. When the results return, we will either continue with more days of amoxi or change to an antibiotic indicated-per culture results. Batril is supposed to be a high-power, broad spectrum antibiotic, but use is contradicted in pups under the age of 6m. My vet will not take risks with that unless tests results say it is needed. I'm certainly in agreement with that. So, again, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this does the trick! My vet started talking about possible anatomy issues, specialists, ultrasounds etc..My eyes glazed over as we put well over 10K into our last 2 dogs @ the vet specialists! They were beloved elders, but I just don't have thousands of dollars to put into testing on a pup that is not even 5m old yet! We have already spent over $400 on this UTI business. Of course I will take care of my dog, but I guess I'm just getting more nervous this isn't a routine UTI. I'm a worrier. Anyway, thanks for listenijng.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

I am so sorry to hear that Pumpkin is going through all this. It is very frustrating to go through health issues with pups. We are dealing with that as well with Holley. I just feel so helpless sometimes. I am also a big worrier so you are in good company. I hope everything turns out okay for your little one.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks JillandDan! I appreciate your well wishes. I'm sure Pumpkin will be fine, but my mind gets going sometimes. After talk of potential anatomy issues, I just let my mind wander in negativity land. What is one to do? Yes, we have a health guarantee, but at 15 wks, I LOVE Pumpkin. I don't want a problem pup, but I'm also madly in love with the lil red head, so it's not like I just send her home! After 3 kids, all still young, you'd think I'd take a piddly UTI in my dog with a grain of salt. What is wrong with me? Ha! I am in a better space tonight ;D Hope Holley continues to do well. She is very cute & wears her jacket well!


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

kellygh,
I understand completely were you are coming from. I tend to get my mind working in the negative land as well when things come up with Holley but I am trying to work on it. We are new puppy parents so we probably worry more then we should but we just want what is best for our little one, as you do. I agree 100% on the health guarantee. We are so in love with Holley and no other pup could take her place in our hearts. We just hope that time with bring it all around and that it is just growing pains causing some little bumps in the road.


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## CGM (Nov 1, 2020)

hi!
I’m just curious how this ended up. We currently have an 18 week old pup who has had a UTI since we picked her up and has also cycled through 3 different antibiotics. Our vet like yours has started going to the scary place of kidney failure, anatomy issues, and diabetes (safe to say it’s been a LONG couple days waiting for blood work to come back). How did it all end up with your pup?


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## Atenney (Nov 30, 2020)

CGM said:


> hi!
> I’m just curious how this ended up. We currently have an 18 week old pup who has had a UTI since we picked her up and has also cycled through 3 different antibiotics. Our vet like yours has started going to the scary place of kidney failure, anatomy issues, and diabetes (safe to say it’s been a LONG couple days waiting for blood work to come back). How did it all end up with your pup?


I’d love to stay in contact about this. Our 19 week Vizsla is finishing her third round of antibiotic. I’m so scared the uti symptoms will persist. The doctor already mentioned the other issues you mentioned. Any update from your end?


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## CGM (Nov 1, 2020)

Atenney said:


> I’d love to stay in contact about this. Our 19 week Vizsla is finishing her third round of antibiotic. I’m so scared the uti symptoms will persist. The doctor already mentioned the other issues you mentioned. Any update from your end?


So sorry you’re also going through the same thing. We had blood work done and everything came back normal so she was put in a longer form of antibiotics. We are now waiting for her urinalysis results. If the UTI is still there they will then do an ultrasound so see if she was a weird placement of her ureters. Hopefully your pup is okay!


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

CGM said:


> So sorry you’re also going through the same thing. We had blood work done and everything came back normal so she was put in a longer form of antibiotics. We are now waiting for her urinalysis results. If the UTI is still there they will then do an ultrasound so see if she was a weird placement of her ureters. Hopefully your pup is okay!


Also going through the same, although latest urinalysis came back negative a few days back. In our case, we get odd bit of external pus around the vagina, but if you look inside, you can always see more.

Vet is doing another set of analysis tomorrow now that she will have been off antibiotics for a week, but the current working consensus is that this will likely get resolved at first heat. Sadly as she is only 5 months old, so that could be quite a wait!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Travelstar said:


> Also going through the same, although latest urinalysis came back negative a few days back. In our case, we get odd bit of external pus around the vagina, but if you look inside, you can always see more.
> 
> Vet is doing another set of analysis tomorrow now that she will have been off antibiotics for a week, but the current working consensus is that this will likely get resolved at first heat. Sadly as she is only 5 months old, so that could be quite a wait!


That really sounds like puppy vaginitis.


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

texasred said:


> That really sounds like puppy vaginitis.


Correct. Vaginitis rather than UTI is the likely diagnosis.

Sadly from what I can see online, it is poorly understood and studied.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

While there is some disagreements on how to treat, or if to treat. My vet does antibiotic, frequently wipe the area clean, and a probitoic. But then again we always do a probitoics, if antibiotics are given.


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

texasred said:


> While there is some disagreements on how to treat, or if to treat. My vet does antibiotic, frequently wipe the area clean, and a probitoic. But then again we always do a probitoics, if antibiotics are given.


All things we are doing at the moment. In fact our pup has had probiotics from the very beginning, although we have moved to a formulation which apparently is targeted to urinary support.

I've looked up a few academic research papers on the topic and as I mentioned above, the biggest issue with juvenile vaginitis is the fact it has been so poorly researched. Regardless, we are not keen on giving her never ending antibiotics, which could have bigger implications than just leaving it alone.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

The only other thing you could try, is a little fresh chopped parsley added to her meals.


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

Not been here for a while and feel I should write a follow up message.

To cut a long story short, the vaginitis ended up with urinary incontinence issues which were ongoing.

We got our girl a CT scan, and they also put in a scope to take a look around, and whilst there is nothing obvious on the CT, the scope showed (specifically the second scope they did a few months after the first) does look like one of her tubes (between kidney and bladder) is ever so slightly out of perfect alignment (it is not however ectopic). They think that the urine temporarily pools in the tube between the kidney and bladder causing some minor inflammation which in turn causes her to have incontinence episodes and occasional discharge.

We have been on longer term fairly low dose prednisolone (which unfortunately delayed her season), so we have weaned ourselves off that as it's not a great drug to be on long term. Whilst the prednisolone definitely helped, I will let other readers looks up the downsides beyond delaying a heat / season. Vet was quite keen for her to have at least 3 seasons to see how things grow down there, as that might likely self correct the issue. In the meantime she is off the prednisolone and now on a mixture of 'hiprex', 'oxybutynin' and 'propalin' which has controlled her issues.

To add to all of the above, we also realised about 4 months ago that our girl is polydipsic (drinks too much water), so this also adds to the situation. To help solve this, we have changed her water bowl to one of those 'low mess' bowls. It definitely helps in our case, but is still not a perfect solution. We discovered this when we stayed at my father's house, and he uses a cat water dispenser for his dog and cat. Our girl was happy to use this alternative water source, but in a more controlled manner than the desperate gulping she would do otherwise. We also try to take away water around 8-9pm so she does not overdo things just before bed.

She is literally in her first season now (at 17 months) where we will seek to taper down her medication more and see where we are at. The obvious aim will be to continue to progressively reduce everything and see where we get to. Vet is not keen on spaying her anytime soon as we want to try and avoid spay incontinence, which is sadly more common than many wish to admit. Our core issue is we now have our second V (now 5 months) who is a boy. Thankfully he is too young to be fully aware of her current season, but her next two will be very tricky. Even now she has been sexually harassing him at times, especially around 3am when they are both in bed. Not ideal with your two vizslas also happen to sleep with you...


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## VizslaGwenGirl (11 mo ago)

Travelstar said:


> Not been here for a while and feel I should write a follow up message.
> 
> To cut a long story short, the vaginitis ended up with urinary incontinence issues which were ongoing.
> 
> ...


hi there! Any updates? My girl is 6 months old and has been on different antibiotics for 3 months ughhh!! Her one sibling is going through the same thing.


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## VizslaGwenGirl (11 mo ago)

CGM said:


> hi!
> I’m just curious how this ended up. We currently have an 18 week old pup who has had a UTI since we picked her up and has also cycled through 3 different antibiotics. Our vet like yours has started going to the scary place of kidney failure, anatomy issues, and diabetes (safe to say it’s been a LONG couple days waiting for blood work to come back). How did it all end up with your pup?


hi there! Any updates? My girl is 6 months old and has been on different antibiotics for 3 months ughhh!! Her one sibling is going through the same thing.


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