Dogs with chronic UTI's...what are you feeding them?

[blueeyes]

My boxer has had chronic UTI's for most her life. She's been on C/D diet to try to prevent them. To no avail, the food has never helped to avoid the infection. I'm going to switch her food in hopes of helping prevent the UTI's by giving her something more nutritional. I'm debating between a premade Raw (Bravo) which is pretty pricey. But I've also been looking at Canidae. If your dog get's frequent UTI's what are you feeding?

 

[KonaKoffe]

You need to give her cranberry capsules. I have found that this helps to prevent them. I get mine from Puritans Pride website. Plain unsweetened yogurt also helps and keep down the sugar in her diet.

And get her on some decent food. Obviously that diet isn't helping so why continue. Do some reserach on this site to find out what are good foods to use. Canidae IS one of them

 

[KonaKoffe]

The cranberry won't claer up an existing infection but it may help to prevent them. I would still go with a course of antibiotics to clear up a current infection. Make sure the vet cultures the urine sample to get her on the appropriate type of antibiotic. If you are using the same vet the whole time I would suggest seeing another one for a second opinion.

 

[magsp]

My dog gets frequent UTI's and I do feed her Canidae. My vet told me that if the problems persist and she continues to have trouble getting rid of the UTI's using antibiotics, I might need to explore a less protein-rich food for her. She seems o.k. at the moment. She hasn't had a problem in over a month and a half, but I'm just kind of watching and waiting. I have 4 dogs and feed them all Canidae. I think it's great stuff, so I would hate to have to switch her. Anyway, I have heard that really protein-intense diets can sometimes cause problems with respect to chronic UTI's.

 

[gmacleod]

Canidae is an excellent food - though a natural raw diet would probably be better. Cranberry extract can also be very helpful.

Can I ask though, whether you crate your dog? Or are you home with her during the day? Thing is, having to hold their urine for long periods is decidedly unhelpful with UTIs - it just means the urine concentrates (has to) and there is more time for bacteria to breed. Drinking plenty of water and urinating frequently is far better for urinary tract health So if it happens that she has to go long periods on a regular basis without the opportunity to urinate, you might find hiring a dog walker to come in every 3-4 hours, or sending her to daycare, would help a lot.

 

[2 of Them]

Did the vet give a reson for the UTIs? Mine has finally gotten better after about 9 mos. She can only have C/D or S/D for the rest of her life. Calcium causes crystals apparently. :( She was on antibiotics for a while also. I supplement with rich and fresh veggies. I tried her on Chicken Soup and it was horrid. She peed every hour on the hour. I got no sleep for a few days and put her back on the prescription diet. I hope this does not turn out to be a chronic problem for your dog, but if it is it should be able to be controled.


________________________
Hagrid- fawn, floppy, 2 years
Tonks- brindle, floppy, 1 year

 

[blueeyes]

Background on Lexie

Lexie is almost 5 years, since she was 9 mos old she's been getting recurrent UTI's. They have always cultured the bacteria to make sure she is being put on the correct antibiotic. She was put on C/D because sometimes she would have struvite crystals. More recently we took her to a vet school where they did x-rays and ultrasound. X-rays didn't show an stones but the ultrasound showed stones. She just finished a course of S/D diet and had a check up ultrasound which didn't show any stones. So hopefully we are stone free. I don't want to put her back on C/D because obviously it didn't work. I am giving her b-naturals (Aspen) cranberry tablets twice daily. I think there is 250mg in each capsule. I'm just hoping there is something that can finally cure her.

To rule out an anatomical defects she's going to be having a cystography(contrast) study to rule out ureter displacement and or diverticulum of the bladder.

And unfortunately I am not able to go home to let her out during the day. I try to run home to give her a break while I'm at work but I need to start scheduling my work appointments so I have time to run home for her. The money in gas is far worth the vet bills and her health.

 

[jaimie]

Baylee my old girl has had bladder problems her WHOLE life. From the day we got her when she was 9 months we have been fighting with it. We think that is why her old owners got rid of her. There was no way they did not know she had problems. Her bladder ruptured from Bladder stones about 3 1/2 years ago or so. She had so many stones it wasn't even funny. Our vet (OLD vet mind you) missed them completely for YEARS we believe. She still sometimes gets infections but normally we get Clavamox & it takes care of it. She was on Wellness after her surgery but we couldn't get her ph to stay low-when she had her surgery it was 12. So we had her on Dick Van Pattons Natural Balance which she did great on & her urine ph was finally normal. We just changed to Solid Gold not sure about her ph yet but if it isn't normal I am going to put her back on Natural Balance. (We changed to Solid Gold because one of my other dogs was having head tremors & we wanted to see if changing foods would make a difference.)

I would definately get a second opinion if things aren't getting any better. If I would've done that Baylee wouldn't have ruptured & may not of not had the amount of stones she had (we counted 28 stones in the bottle-not including the ones they sent to the lab & the small ones that were too tiny to count).

 

[Rocco's Mom]

We have had constant problems with Rocco and UTI's he's just finished the meds for the 4th one and he's just 8 months old. We have had urinalysis after urinalysis and multiple cultures done. All cultures have come back negative which is so aggravating......He was really sick back in Nov/Dec (we almost lost him) and he had a UTI then too. He's been to 3 vets our regular one, the Internal Medicine Vet and my cousing who is a vet. Without a positive culture it's hard to tell what may be causing it. He's also had 2 ultrasounds on his bladder,kidneys etc. Currently I am feeding him Natural Balance Potato & Duck and was going to switch him to the Venison one but after reading this am wondering about the protein and PH levels. I also have purchased some cranberry tablets which we'll start tomorrow.
He is crated but never for more than 3-4 hours/day and only 3 days a week.

 

[jaimie]

Roccos mom- you can get the chem strips for the ph at a pool supply store. I know it sounds funny but they work just the same all you need to do is get the urine into a dixie cup. Which is hard with a male dog without getting it on your hand LOL. You can also sometimes get them from Walmart or Meijers depending on where you live. Good luck with your baby!