Female puppy with recurring UTI

[bhawk-23]

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

Bil Jac 2/3 large breed puppy kibble and 1/3 Bil Jac raw.

 

[FloorCandy]

Bil Jac 2/3 large breed puppy kibble and 1/3 Bil Jac raw.

As far as I know, that’s about a mid range food where quality is concerned. I would consider switching to a good high quality, grain free food. I use Verus, it has worked well for me for years, but is not available everywhere. If you look at the ingredients in your food, corn meal and various protein by products are really high on the list, I would recommend something like Orijin or Taste of the Wild, it’s a bit more pricey, but IMO worth it. I haven’t looked into it recently, but Costco’s Kirkland brand used to be very popular. I believe it is manufactured by Diamond brand food, but has a store brand price tag. I’m a big fan of the various fish protein versions, I raise bulldogs which are known for weight issues, and a nice lean protein like fish has served me well.

My neighbor feeds his dogs some cheap junk he gets at the grocery store, because it has a fancy package, and his 2 year old shih Tzu already has some weird growth on its paw the vet says will be $1200 to remove. These guys pamper their pets, our dogs take the exact same preventatives, we live next door and the dogs experience the same things outdoors, the biggest difference is the food. When I was a kid, we fed our cats and dogs grocery store food like friskies and purina, and they often developed fatty growths at some point in their lives. I was at a live music event downtown recently and saw several young dogs with fatty bumps in various places, and I wonder if it’s food related. I’ve had several dogs live healthy long lives in my adult life where I make the feed and care decisions, and we’ve never had a fatty growth. I have a 14 year old pug who has general geriatric issues like stiffness from arthritis, can’t see well etc, and she has no weird growths, and poops solid healthy logs every day. The additives can really mess with a sensitive dogs insides. Also cut out all people food. After the issues are resolved, you can start introducing some other things as treats, but until the problem is solved, your dog should receive a steady diet of the healthiest food you can provide. A good tip is you should be able to pronounce and recognize most of the ingredients.

 

[TwoCrows]

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.

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.

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.

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

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

See above

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.

Oh absolutely, many issues are related to genetics and no matter what you do it can still be difficult to fully eradicate the issue. Keep trying different things, eventually you will stumble on the right food and supplements!

 

[TwoCrows]

I feed Blue Buffalo and Taste of the Wild dry, always changing the protein source every 3 months.

 

[Weeg]

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.

Look at Dogs naturally the website I linked. They have recipes approved by the FDA for raw feeders. I’ve been feeding my puppy that her whole life. You have to sign up for emails to get the recipes, but the emails just send you articles and it’s really good information.

 

[bhawk-23]

So I put my 6 yr old mutt back on raw (which he has only been on kibble for the past 5 months in his whole life) and already seeing a difference in energy and poops. I don't know why I even considered the kibble for Sonny just because it was becoming more work when I know the extreme benefits. I had enough in my freezer to get through to the order pick up this weekend. Thanks everyone for reminding me of the benefits of a wholesome diet.

But as for the puppy and her UTI'S I will still remain on Bil Jac purely for the benefit of our contract. If there is something off I am praying the contract helps cover the costs of fixing it. If I change up too many things I might lose out on any arguments I may have. Not sure if that makes any sense to others but spending, literally, thousands on a puppy from a breeder who guarantees good health is not what I am wanting to do because of a food change and adding supplements. If I continue with the breeder's recommendations and routines then we may at least get a refund to put towards all her treatments.

But, If anyone has ever heard of or dealt with
congenital urinary system issues or hooded vulvas I would love to hear what ended up happening.

Thanks!!

 

[FloorCandy]

So I put my 6 yr old mutt back on raw (which he has only been on kibble for the past 5 months in his whole life) and already seeing a difference in energy and poops. I don't know why I even considered the kibble for Sonny just because it was becoming more work when I know the extreme benefits. I had enough in my freezer to get through to the order pick up this weekend. Thanks everyone for reminding me of the benefits of a wholesome diet.

But as for the puppy and her UTI'S I will still remain on Bil Jac purely for the benefit of our contract. If there is something off I am praying the contract helps cover the costs of fixing it. If I change up too many things I might lose out on any arguments I may have. Not sure if that makes any sense to others but spending, literally, thousands on a puppy from a breeder who guarantees good health is not what I am wanting to do because of a food change and adding supplements. If I continue with the breeder's recommendations and routines then we may at least get a refund to put towards all her treatments.

But, If anyone has ever heard of or dealt with
congenital urinary system issues or hooded vulvas I would love to hear what ended up happening.

Thanks!!

The talk of a contract made me think, does the breeder require you to give a special supplement you can only buy online thru their referral link, in order to honor the contract? I’ve heard of that before, and I’ve heard those pyramid scheme supplements can cause a lot of problems for the dogs.

 

[addctd2plnts]

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.

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.

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.

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

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

See above

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.

As you can see from my avatar I'm an avid giant dog breed lover. I know you said you wouldn't spay till 2 years, but I'd encourage 3-5 years old. I had my first two giants that vet pushed me into neutering before 2 years old. They both died by 5 years old. The last 5 giants I've had I've fixed one at 3 and 4 of them at 5 years old. They all lived to be 12.5-13.5 years old! IMHO In the giant breeds, and I'm in rescue and a spay/neuter advocate, but giant breeds simply cannot be neutered before 3 and preferably 5 if you want them to live till 10 years old or longer. Interestingly, the far right dog in my avatar is a Pyrenean Mastiff who weighed 165#of pure muscle. He was my longest living dog at 13.5 years old!

 

[addctd2plnts]

I'm in human medicine but used to work for vets. I ran some searches on Google Scholar. Looks like most of the cases are in spayed dogs and their treatment was usually surgical, which wasn't always successful. One article talks about ruling out urethral strictures which are small bands of constricted tissue. If that's the cause, and it doesn't seem to be, once those bands are broken, the UTIs stop. Some articles talk about the vagina being irritated at the same time, usually due to licking.

It occurred to me. I used Proin on a foster of mine to help him hold urine, and potty train him. Before you say no, hear me out. IF she is treated for UTI with antibiotics, and takes Proin, it will help her hold it, by helping strengthen the urethral sphincter. THEN, when she does go, clean her with diluted Hibiclens. Hibiclens is what we use to scrub before surgery. There are articles that say, after 5 minutes of Hibiclens and a rinse, that it continues to kill ALL bacteria, viruses, yeast, and fungus on the skin FOR A FULL 24 hours!, Then when she goes again, you only need to wipe with diluted Hibiclens, again. It is not irritating and doesn't burn. IF you continued the Proin and Hibiclens wipes, you may be able to prevent the next UTI. If not just continue rotating antibiotics, so the bacteria don't become resistant, and using Proin and Hibiclens till she has a few heat cycles. It may resolve as she matures.

The reasoning for the vet to think about, is that once she's on antibiotics, there's no reason for her not to hold her urine longer. Less times peeing is less times you have to wipe. If she's licking and irritating the area, the habit needs to be broken and this may help.

Just a thought. The Proin has no real side effects and it works.

BTW, I'd take a roll of Bounty paper towels, the one with the 1/2 sheets. Unroll it, while layering it to fit in a gallon or 2 gallon zip lock bag. Then, dilute your Hibiclens to about 1 part Hibiclens to 2 parts water and put it over the paper towels so they are soaked. Then they'll be ready for you. If you make a second bag of towels soaked in distilled water, you'll have your "rinse towel ready after Hibiclens has been on a minute or two.

Hope this helps....

 

[addctd2plnts]

So I put my 6 yr old mutt back on raw (which he has only been on kibble for the past 5 months in his whole life) and already seeing a difference in energy and poops. I don't know why I even considered the kibble for Sonny just because it was becoming more work when I know the extreme benefits. I had enough in my freezer to get through to the order pick up this weekend. Thanks everyone for reminding me of the benefits of a wholesome diet.

But as for the puppy and her UTI'S I will still remain on Bil Jac purely for the benefit of our contract. If there is something off I am praying the contract helps cover the costs of fixing it. If I change up too many things I might lose out on any arguments I may have. Not sure if that makes any sense to others but spending, literally, thousands on a puppy from a breeder who guarantees good health is not what I am wanting to do because of a food change and adding supplements. If I continue with the breeder's recommendations and routines then we may at least get a refund to put towards all her treatments.

But, If anyone has ever heard of or dealt with
congenital urinary system issues or hooded vulvas I would love to hear what ended up happening.

Thanks!!

If you read the veterinary articles on raw, there's a good reason for the increased energy. It's essentially the Adkin's Diet for humans. It puts them into Ketosis. But unless you feed a supplement, they can't get all their vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, or can't absorb them because they are missing cofactors needed for absorption. It's particularly dangerous in giant dogs, that are still growing. If you add Platinum Performance Canine, formulated by a veterinarian, you'll help ensure the dog is still getting a balanced natural diet: https://www.platinumperformance.com/platinum-performance-canine/CPLAG.html#real-results