# frequent urination issues



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Have bladder stones been ruled out? Must be very frustrating...possibly behavioral as well as a medical problem?


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

You might try a cranberry supplement, usually made liver flavor for dogs. We have had great success with dogs such as yours using a supplement like this. I used to work at a local pet specialty/feed store and it was a popular product. There are several different ones on the market. Just google liver flavor cranberry for dogs.

My friend's dog who had multiple uti infections finally kicked the cycle by just drinking cranberry juice. Most dogs won't do that so therefore the liver flavor stuff.

Here is a link for one such product. 

Pala-Tech Potassium Citrate Plus Cranberry Chewable Tablets

Best of luck.....let us know how this turns out.

Viking Queen


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## coffee&curls (Nov 18, 2015)

Has the vet talked with you at all about her diet and what she is eating? Sometimes UTI's can be diet related or she may need to go on a special diet for awhile. Poor girl, that is a lot of antibiotics  Considering how many antibiotics she's been on I do not think probiotics would be a bad idea. I hope she feels better real soon.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I had a spayed Boston terrier female who had multiple episodes of urinary tract infections and stones. She had to be kept on urinary Hill's presçription diet food permanently (from the vet). Every time I tried to change foods, she was okay for a while, months even, and then the infections would start again, more severe.

I say check for a special diet for her. Maybe at this point, she can hold it long enough not to soil her crate. My dog never soiled the house most of the time, she would be able hold it, except when it became really bad.


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Guessing she may hold it in her crate and sleeps through discomfort.

This sounds far more medical and not behavioral to me though of course I am not a vet. Ask your vet to also check for an inverted vulva, which can cause these issues, too. If she should have that, I've read it's key for her to go through a full heat cycle because that can cause the issue to reverse or subside.

An ultrasound should not be all that expensive and it could make sense to do both procedures. My cat had them with his urinary issues and I had one for a past dog who developed Cushings. The latter was a lot more expensive, but it was longer ago and only a few specialists had the equipment back then. These days it's more common to have ultrasound machines so maybe call around and find a vet who does to try and avoid having to go to the uni, if the uni is more costly.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I vote for the ultrasound and a dietary consult if necessary at the university hospital. After three infections in her short life, I would want some answers. Poor Piper, it must be SO uncomfortable for her. Kudos to you for trying to make sure she doesn't have accidents during the day.


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## catsaqqara (May 20, 2011)

I had a similar experience with Bambi. She had chronic diarrhea and a UTI when I got her. She was given antibiotics but not retested to make sure that the infection was gone. A little while later she had another UTI, she was given more antibiotics, retested positive for UTI and struvite crystals, different antibiotics plus special food for the crystals, retested positive, then retested with a needle in the bladder which was positive. 

I was told that because she had been on antibiotics a culture would not grow so I was given 2 options, I could either take her to a specialist or wait a few weeks until the antibiotics cleared her system and do a culture. This whole ordeal cost me quite a bit and I didn't then have the money so I decided to wait and do the culture. 

I kept her back end very clean, I mixed her food with a lot of water (she was peeing a large amount), and she was on fortiflora. I cant remember all that I did for her as it was 7yrs ago, I may have given her cranberry juice as well. During that time I was trying to find a better quality food that she did well on and I remember that her stools did improve. Well shortly after the vet visit her symptoms disappeared. I don't know exactly what cured her.

I found out that she cannot tolerate chicken so she was put on lamb. I was afraid of her having another UTI so I have continued to keep up with her sanitary and have added 1 1/4 cup of water to her meals (shes 54lbs currently). She has had maybe 3 UTI's since then, I didn't like the idea of putting her on antibiotics again because they didn't work so I have cured these last UTI's with vit C. 

When she gets a UTI her urine becomes very alkaline so I have a liquid ph testing kit to check her urine if I suspect she is getting one. Just recently I thought she was getting a UTI due to some straining, I tested her and her urine was actually acidic. I had just put her on a new grain free food so I put her back on her old food (slowly because she is sensitive) and her urine went back to a normal. So I believe food can have an effect on urine ph, bacteria grow better in an alkaline environment. I am still curious as to why it would make it so acidic it irritates her, the vet wasn't much help.

Bambi could hold it all night with a UTI.

Does she have any discharge? she could have vaginitis. Bambi did have it off and on but not for quite awhile now.

Does she have a juvenile vulva? the fold can trap moisture and be a breeding ground for bacteria. Bambi has one, the vet assured me that it would correct itself even if I had her spayed but it never did. I wish I had let her go though her first heat (if I remember correctly that would have corrected it) I keep her hair very short.

If she has no bacteria in her bladder but does lower down then she doesn't have a UTI but is very likely to get one soon as the bacteria travel up. Water in her food would help flush the bacteria out, keeping her clean and trimmed short would help (I don't let Bambi lick herself and wash her if she has). I am curious to know what the ph of her urine is. You can probably ask the vet, I think they test it when the do the urinalysis. 
I think there is a urine acidifyer that dogs can take regularly I just cant remember what it is.


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## catsaqqara (May 20, 2011)

The urinary acidifier is Methigel but you would need to know her ph before giving it to make sure she would benefit from it. I have not tried it.

I misspoke in my last post, "If she has no bacteria in her bladder but does lower down then she doesn't have a UTI" If she has bacteria in her urethra that is part of her urinary tract, but I'm not sure if you would be able to tell if the bacteria in the collected urine sample is coming from the urethra or the surrounding structures.


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## Coldbrew (Jun 17, 2015)

N2Mischief said:


> Have bladder stones been ruled out?


Not yet. I'll add that to my list of possibilities to ask the vet about!



Viking Queen said:


> You might try a cranberry supplement, usually made liver flavor for dogs.


I'll try that, and thanks for the recommendation as well.



coffee&curls said:


> Has the vet talked with you at all about her diet and what she is eating?


He hasn't, and I hadn't really thought about that. She's been on Fromm and now is on 4Health, which are both fairly "good brands", but I will look into that and ask!



Dechi said:


> I say check for a special diet for her.


I'm defintely going to look into that! thanks



Streetcar said:


> Guessing she may hold it in her crate and sleeps through discomfort.
> 
> This sounds far more medical and not behavioral to me though of course I am not a vet. Ask your vet to also check for an inverted vulva, which can cause these issues, too.
> 
> An ultrasound should not be all that expensive and it could make sense to do both procedures. So maybe call around and find a vet who does to try and avoid having to go to the uni, if the uni is more costly.


I'd think she was holding it and in discomfort while crated, except when we go outside in the mornings and after cratings she's far more interested in sniffing about and chasing leaves than in peeing. Of course she'll eventually go but she's in no rush. I'll also ask the vet about an inverted vulva (though I'd hope that she's been poked around back there often enough that they'd have already noticed it and said something!), and double-check the prices of an ultrasound.



Mfmst said:


> I vote for the ultrasound and a dietary consult if necessary at the university hospital.


Thanks! I'm definitely going to bring up diet with the vet, and if I had to choose exploratory procedures or the ultrasound I'd absolutely chose the less invasive option first. 



catsaqqara said:


> Does she have any discharge? she could have vaginitis.
> 
> Does she have a juvenile vulva?
> 
> Water in her food would help flush the bacteria out, keeping her clean and trimmed short would help. I am curious to know what the ph of her urine is.


No discharge, though she did have some that cleared up after the first round of antibiotics. I'm not sure about the juvenile vulva, I'll have to ask. we do give her tons of water, and she's very good about drinking it. I will also ask the vet about her urine pH.

----

Thank you all so very very much. This has been very helpful, and has given me several things to discuss with the vet. As of now (4:39 pm) she's not had any accidents today in the house, even without tethering (I've been working and she's a menace in the office :argh. She pees about 50% of the time when she's taken out, which she's been taken out every 1/2 hour. She and Jasper do love all these frequent trips outside, so that's one positive of the situation!

I'm going to add cranberry juice to her diet, and ask the vet about bladder stones, inverted and/or juvenile vulva, vagnitis, the pH of her urine, and a special diet. Thank you all again! :adore: :adore: :adore:


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## Coldbrew (Jun 17, 2015)

*update*

I added cranberry juice and the silly little dog just drinks it straight from a bowl, but since she sneaks toilet water when we leave the seat up I really shouldn't be surprised! :crazy:

We had no accidents the remainder of the evening on the 29th, and had no issues yesterday at all, or this morning so far. I'm waiting to hear back from the vet (he was off yesterday), but am cautiously optimistic. Hopefully she'll keep up with the lack of accidents and I'll take in another sample on Friday for a re-check. 

I have, however, decided to switch their food again. I'm currently wavering between Taste of the Wild and Fromm (again), but need to look into options without chicken, since we suspect an allergy to it from Jasper.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Make sure there isn't too much sugar in the cranberry juice to avoid promoting other microbial changes in her lower urinary and reproductive tracts. 

I am sorry she is having such a bumpy start and hope that straightening this out is the end of her problems. She's such a cutey pie!


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