Female puppy with recurring UTI

[bhawk-23]

Hello! I am really struggling with UTIs in my 5.5 month old F Mastiff. I am hopeful someone on here can offer some insight or possibilities of why this is happening.

History thus far:

Picked up puppy at 8 weeks

We are struggling with potty training so decide to check urine at 12 weeks. Comes back clear.

5 days later she has a raging UTI, blood, mucas and squatting/dribbling every few minutes. Don't ask, I was in ER 2 days after tested clear and in bed resting only to get up and discover what hubs was missing

Take her to ER, get 10 day course antibiotics and pain meds

Test urine on day 10 comes back clear but I do not believe it is gone so send a clean catch 48 hrs later to be cultured.

Culture was positive, showed amoxicillin sensitivity so started a 3 week course of treatment.

36 hrs after last amox dose symptoms are back. Do another clean catch culture.

I noticed her recessed vulva at this time and start cleaning her throughout the day.

Start sulfa (against Dr liking but culture would take a couple days) and I saw the best improvement as of yet.

Culture came back positive. It was still sensitive to amox so dr decided on another 3 week treatment of amox because strong Sulfas are not a good option for puppies.

2 weeks into treatment still has UTI symptoms and they are getting worse so decide to take off amox and get a clean catch urine culture, again. Start another sulfa, not quite as strong as first one.

Run blood work which is all normal. Dr conformed a pretty bad recessed vulva but said I am cleaning well.

Culture comes back positive with a sensitivity to nearly all antibiotics, including the 4 we have already tried.

Current plan is to finish the sulfa, start a maintenance dose of amox after, continue pain med for comfort while we wait for our appointment with internal medicine at the U of I.

Ok, what gives??? I am beyond boggled as to why! Can this be congenital or inherited? I am doing everything possible to treat it properly. She is very rarely locked up for any amount of time with 7 hrs only happening 2X since getting her. I don't believe we are the cause of this.

She is from a breeder and has a health guarantee but seriously, how do you trade your puppy in for a new one because of chronic health issues?

Anyways, if you've made it this far thank you, I really appreciate it. If you have experienced, or know someone or have even heard of anything like this please share. I am really at a loss and getting frustrated

Thank you.

 

[ryneaeiel]

Question: has she had her heat yet? If she has, do you let her bleed freely or do you use doggy diapers?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

https://wagwalking.com/condition/recurrent-cystitis
They say changing the food could help.
Also I found these: https://www.chewy.com/pethonesty-cranberry-uti-strength/dp/190531?utm_id=272255476&msclkid=51cf2ac2a0ac1e71f5724a3312ff4489&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping-Product Targets-Consumables-NB&utm_term=4585032210584614&utm_content=Dog Vitamins Supplements

 

[ET Mom]

Has she eaten the same food for the last 5.5 months. She could be having an issue with a food allergy. My healer pup came with a uti, I figured out it was chicken and potatoes. She is on a rotation diet of raw or dehydrated food. Changing brands and proteins all the time..
Look at a company called animal apothecary. Maybe start with the detox. There is also an animal apawtjacrary brand for Vets there is one just for uti. Also try adding raw goats milk to her diet, it will help get a neutral phone going. Only do one change at a time, and it might get worse for a day or two as the toxins are leaving her system

 

[gimmie birdies]

With people d-mannose, it comes in a powder will help with Uti, ask the vet if it is okay. It is what gives cranberries the healing power.

 

[Weeg]

I'm so sorry about your pup. I honesty don't have any experience with this disease, but if it were me I would try to get her immune system strong and healthy. Dogs Naturally has amazing articles that are based on holistic medicine, and really great info that I trust with my dogs.
She has an article on detoxing your dog, it may be worth reading. I suggest you read an article about goat milk though. It outlines why its really great for the immune system, but it also outlines the risk when feeding it to your dog.
It's also good to browse the articles if your interested. You can find info on just about anything.
Yet another good article is about feeding probiotics after antibiotic treatments. The site as lots of good info on antibiotics, so great stuff to browse.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/5-tips-for-detoxing-your-dog-from-lifes-daily-toxins/
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.c...73.104868757.1626454230-1948756781.1625719441
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/read-this-before-giving-your-dog-antibiotics/
Anyway, you can browse or scroll though the site but its definitely good info. I hope your pup gets better soon!

 

[TwoCrows]

Our Maltese had reoccurring UTIs later in his life. I had known about Cranberry being a wonderful natural product for UTI and we too used the product that @BirdsBeesTrees has linked here from Chewy. Our boy never had another infection after starting on the Cranberry supplement. Many times UTI are from yeast or imbalance in the body's PH. Cranberry stabilizes the PH.

 

[TwoCrows]

And definitely try different foods, dogs not only become allergic to a protein source after months or years of eating it, but most dogs are allergic to corn, wheat and soy.

 

[FloorCandy]

I agree about food being an issue. What are you feeding right now?

 

[bhawk-23]

Question: has she had her heat yet? If she has, do you let her bleed freely or do you use doggy diapers?

She has not. I will not spay her until about 24 months because she is a giant breed. Guessing from your asking I should not use a diaper? This will be my first time dealing with a giant breed heat cycle.

https://wagwalking.com/condition/recurrent-cystitis
They say changing the food could help.
Also I found these: https://www.chewy.com/pethonesty-cranberry-uti-strength/dp/190531?utm_id=272255476&msclkid=51cf2ac2a0ac1e71f5724a3312ff4489&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping-Product Targets-Consumables-NB&utm_term=4585032210584614&utm_content=Dog Vitamins Supplements

View attachment 2762073

I've used cranberry supplements for a mastiff with diabetes. I will go this route but waiting for her to grow a bit more. A puppy's urine is naturally less acidic and I am not wanting to change that, yet.

Has she eaten the same food for the last 5.5 months. She could be having an issue with a food allergy. My healer pup came with a uti, I figured out it was chicken and potatoes. She is on a rotation diet of raw or dehydrated food. Changing brands and proteins all the time..
Look at a company called animal apothecary. Maybe start with the detox. There is also an animal apawtjacrary brand for Vets there is one just for uti. Also try adding raw goats milk to her diet, it will help get a neutral phone going. Only do one change at a time, and it might get worse for a day or two as the toxins are leaving her system

Yes, she is on the same food as her breeder feeds.
I believe in food as a foundation for health also. I had been feeding raw (whole prey) for 6 yrs up until adding her to our pack. First reason for changing to kibble is because these giant breeds have such specific nutrient needs, since they grow so damn fast, and I am not comfortable formulating that myself. And second, it was getting more difficult to source all the proteins requiring full day trips to multiple locations/states and was becoming stressful. We actually just started talking about switching back to raw.

With people d-mannose, it comes in a powder will help with Uti, ask the vet if it is okay. It is what gives cranberries the healing power.

Yep, asked vet and she is on board with this supplement, for adult dogs. I'll have to do more research myself.

I'm so sorry about your pup. I honesty don't have any experience with this disease, but if it were me I would try to get her immune system strong and healthy. Dogs Naturally has amazing articles that are based on holistic medicine, and really great info that I trust with my dogs.
She has an article on detoxing your dog, it may be worth reading. I suggest you read an article about goat milk though. It outlines why its really great for the immune system, but it also outlines the risk when feeding it to your dog.
It's also good to browse the articles if your interested. You can find info on just about anything.
Yet another good article is about feeding probiotics after antibiotic treatments. The site as lots of good info on antibiotics, so great stuff to browse.
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/5-tips-for-detoxing-your-dog-from-lifes-daily-toxins/
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.c...73.104868757.1626454230-1948756781.1625719441
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/read-this-before-giving-your-dog-antibiotics/
Anyway, you can browse or scroll though the site but its definitely good info. I hope your pup gets better soon!

Much agree! I really like reading their articles too! Thanks for linking specific ones for me to read!

Our Maltese had reoccurring UTIs later in his life. I had known about Cranberry being a wonderful natural product for UTI and we too used the product that @BirdsBeesTrees has linked here from Chewy. Our boy never had another infection after starting on the Cranberry supplement. Many times UTI are from yeast or imbalance in the body's PH. Cranberry stabilizes the PH.

See above

And definitely try different foods, dogs not only become allergic to a protein source after months or years of eating it, but most dogs are allergic to corn, wheat and soy.

We will be discussing a diet change, just not sure which way we want to go, kibble or raw.

Thank you for all the great suggestions! Treating with food and supplements first is how I usually start. But I believe there may be more to this issue considering symptoms, recessed vulva and test results. I need to get congenital or inherited issues ruled out because of the contract. Once that is done we will begin to treat with a wholesome diet including proper supplements.