My Aussie puppy has a UTI from food. Is this common? What can I do?

In dogs, recurrent urinary tract infections are often caused by persistent bacterial infections that can alter the pH of the urine. Sometimes the result of this can be the formation of urinary crystals, and ultimately larger urinary bladder stones. If Ashlynn hasn't had an x-ray ever, I would recommend getting at least one just to make sure nothing has formed or is in the process of forming. As to your question regarding prevention of future UTIs, it would depend upon what bacteria is the culprit in her previous infections (as this would likely be the culprit in future ones as well). There is some evidence both scientific and anecdotal that indicates that cranberry juice or cranberry supplements can help prevent certain strains of e. coli bacteria from sticking to the bladder's wall. There are many different supplements available, I do not have a preference as to one in particular. If the kidneys and bladder are producing / storing urine at an inappropriate pH, there are special diets that can be fed (both long term or short term) that chance the bladder's pH back to the appropriate level. To confirm if this is a problem, a urinalysis can be ran by your primary veterinarian. With regards to the HW and flea medications, it is unlikely that one of these predisposed her to a UTI. This is not a typical side effect of most medications in that class, and they are not known to lower the immune system enough to cause a secondary urinary tract infection. Hope this makes sense.

We see sterile inflammation of the bladder in cats that people sometimes incorrectly term a UTI, but this is not seen in dogs. A true urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection. Parvo virus does not cause residual problems in the body once the dog gets rid of the infection. The diet you mentioned appears nutritionally incomplete which can certainly cause a number of problems, but I would not expect it to worsen a UTI. A UTI needs to be diagnosed based on lab results and the resolution of the UTI also needs to be confirmed with lab results. If the first round of antibiotics does not resolve the infection, we will often perform a bacterial culture and sensitivity and possibly additional testing to further investigate the problem. I have attached more information for you on UTI's below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2457 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A pet who is suffering from a uterine infection doesn't need a special diet food, unless of course you are trying to get her to eat something while she awaits surgery at a later date. If she is also suffering from bad kidneys, then she needs to be on a prescription kidney diet such as Royal Canin Renal or Hil'ls K/D, prescribed by your vet. If her kidneys are healthy and it is just her uterus that is infected, then no special diet is needed. She just needs nutrition through her normal dog food or if she isn't eating her normal dog food, you can offer some boiled plain chicken and rice or tuna and rice to entice her to eat until she can have her surgery. Surgical complications of a pyometra surgey (infected uterus) are: systemic infection, wound dehiscence (opening of the surgery site) and of course the normal risks that come with anesthesia (heart rate drop, blood pressure drop, etc). Otherwise, we shouldn't expect any complications for any pet as long as the surgery is successful and you adhere to the after care instructions from your vet. I hope that your pet Sofi is able to recover well from her soon to be surgery I assume. Best wishes and take care!

If she has dermatitis really bad than she could have a bacterial skin infection, demodex, allergies, ringworm, etc. Your vet could do a skin scrape, cytology, and culture to help diagnose. If there is any evidence of a skin infection than an antibiotic should be used for at least 3 weeks. She may also need an anti-histamine long term and a short term course of a corticosteroid. If there is any chance she could have mites than your vet could also treat for that. If she is getting frequent urinary tract infections it could be related to a skin infection. If you can't take her back to your vet than you could feed her a hypoallergenic diet like z/d or d/d and keep her on that diet for a few months to see if it is related to a food allergy. Do not give any other foods while trying the hypoallergenic diet. Switching foods frequently can cause gastrointestinal problems, like vomiting and diarrhea. So sorry that she is having all these problems but it sounds like she needs some more veterinary care. You could take her to a veterinary dermatologist if your vet is not able to diagnose and treat.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. I agree that he requires a further work up. It is not common for male dogs to develop urinary tract infections given their anatomy. I would recommend that he has bloodwork and x-rays of his abdomen. You need to rule out any metabolic disorder and uroliths (bladder stones or kidney stones). Then I would proceed with the abdominal ultrasound. Occasionally prostate disease can cause recurrent urinary signs. This is uncommon in such a young dog though. It may be easiest to pursue a consult with an internal medicine specialist. I hope you are able to get an answer and his problems resolved. Good luck!

Hi there. No, there is no evidence that a dog's susceptibility to UTIs would be influenced one way or the other by protein levels in the diet. High protein diets are often associated with more acidic urine, which can increase the risk for certain types of bladder stones - but not UTIs, directly.

Make sure your vet does a culture on the urine to be sure your pup is on the right antibiotic. Then, make sure to recheck the urine at the end of the antibiotics to make sure the infection is resolved. If you haven't yet, get an xray to make sure there are no bladder stones present. Make sure your dog doesn't have a recessed vulva or a vaginal stricture that traps the urine and leads to infection. If these things don't work, there are also supplements like probiotics, herbal products, and even foods that can help. A good holistic vet could help with this.