Hello, my female has had an ongoing urinary infection or vagina infection. She has bin to the vet and they said she had crystals so we got rid of those. She would have accidents in the house sometimes which is why we knew something was wrong.

More recently she was licking lots and got so bad she couldnt sit comfortably. whole area inflamed and little cuts. she got put under and shaved the area got panalog to apply and nova lexin to take for 2wks. Went away...so we thought

She is licking and having trouble sitting normaly again. We have bin applying panalog again and got nova lexin for her to take.

She is on raw, gets 4 cranberry pills a day, a vit c, acv, everything we have heard to keep this from happening yet again.

What is going on. Will this ever go away.

Thanks

I'm hoping some of the more experienced folks on the board will reply to this. I'm in a similar situation with a dog who gets repeated UTIs. I've been wondering if cranberry extract would help, or anything else.

I know the board is slow on the weekends, so hopefully we'll get some opinions in the days to come.

i know someone who gave there dog lots of cranberry and cured it. But it doesnt seem to help with mine too much. Hoping some more experienced folks will chime in as well!!

Have you had her urine cultured again? If it's truly a UTI, she needs antibiotics..

Once it's cleared up make sure she is drinking plenty of water and has sufficient opportunity to pee during the day.

Sorry, nothing more illuminating to add...
ETA, one other thing you might try is a good quality probiotic capsule given daily...

Hello, my female has had an ongoing urinary infection or vagina infection. She has bin to the vet and they said she had crystals so we got rid of those.

How? (Details)



More recently she was licking lots and got so bad she couldnt sit comfortably. whole area inflamed and little cuts. she got put under and shaved the area got panalog to apply and nova lexin to take for 2wks. Went away...so we thought

Were the urine and skin tested AFTER the med protocols? If so, then you know whether it worked and she was clear, and if not, then you don't know (and SHAME on that vet, if not, with a recurring condition like this).



She is licking and having trouble sitting normaly again. We have bin applying panalog again and got nova lexin for her to take.

Started the same med again? No culture?

This poor dog needed re-checking AFTER the protocol, and certainly needed a culture before re-treating. JMO, yes, but it's a very strong opinion.


QUOTE:
"Treatment for Simple Infection

A simple bladder infection is usually easily treated with 10 to 14 days of antibiotics. The patient’s symptoms usually resolve quickly, within the first 2 days of treatment, though the entire course of treatment should be given. Inadequate treatment leads to infection recurrence and possibly future bacterial resistance. .... approximately 5 days after the last antibiotic dose, a new sample is cultured to be sure the infection is gone . If the infection has not cleared or if a new infection has developed, there is usually a reason why."
from http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2457&S=1&SourceID=42

My guess is that this vet has not done the second step, which is actually quite infuriating to me if true. A UTI is misery, never mind a recurring or never-cured one, and add to it the skin in the area being so bad that she can't even sit .... Why would the vet not direct you to return for a recheck? Why would the same med be administered now, also apparently without a culture?


Also, here is some discussion of culturing and of the careless use and re-use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

http://www.dogster.com/forums/Dog_Health/thread/694643



And an overview of antibiotics for UTIs:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Antibiotics-For-Canine-UTI&id=2132795



But I'd probably be asking asap why the urine was not cultured after the first protocol.


Also, if you could give more details about the crystals (type) and how they were treated (and when), I can probably give you more fine-tuned material.



This poor dog. I'm so sorry you and she are going through this.

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

Have you had her urine cultured again?

Very good question.

hello, thanks for all the good info! I do not remember what meds she had for the crystals. I also dont remember if the vet reccomended bringing her back, he very well may have and I just assumed she was better and didnt want to spend another large chunck of money. I realize now its a big deal and she needs to go back to see if it is in fact cleared up.

The 2nd time she was on nova lexin and applied panalog. She got better so again didnt bring her back....stupid i know

She is irritated again not as bad but now we know the signs, before we actually thought her anal glands were the problem. I just got some novo lexin from work and was going to see if it helps. I now realize how many different antibiotics there are for different problems and will have to take her in to the vet. I just really dont want to have to put her under again. Hopefully since shes not nearly as bad as before we wont have to.

Please understand I realize i sound like a cheap@$% but with an old dog costing me more than I ever anticipated, we have maxed out the cards and borrowed money. If she needs to go which I see now she does she will go and we will find the money for anything she ever needs, we just try not to take them in for every little thing because of how badly we have bin ripped off in the past. Im not a bad owner Im just poor

Will call the vet Monday!

Thanks again

I dont remember what kind of crystals she had but I do believe I may have posted for help here and someone linked me some awesome articles and was given some great advice!

Her urine has only bin cultured once.

I realize I have a terrible memory, sorry.

"Please understand I realize i sound like a cheap@$% but with an old dog costing me more than I ever anticipated, we have maxed out the cards and borrowed money. If she needs to go which I see now she does she will go and we will find the money for anything she ever needs, we just try not to take them in for every little thing because of how badly we have bin ripped off in the past. Im not a bad owner Im just poor"

Trust me, I completely understand this. I was angry with the vet; I jumped the gun (again).

You did read correctly how important this diagnostic procedure and the recheck are, and it would almost certainly have saved you money (and the dog misery) in the long run.

You might want to post here when you have a question like this, reminding this board that every penny counts (as it does with many of us). You'll often get the conservative answer on a public board, but also some help with priorities.

Kind of like when my vet tells me everything she must tell me, and then I say "I understand all that, and thank you. If you were not a vet and had very little money, and this was your dog, what would you do now?"


eta
It will also save you money and time if you keep a little notebook with dates, meds, outcome, etc., for every dog.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/13/2011 10:50 AM)
Edit reason: eta

Thanks Connie

It's pretty hard to culture (try to get bugs to grow) urine after antibiotics have been started. Usually, it works much better if you can catch some urine in a clean (just out of a hot dishwasher) glass jar, cap it and refrigerate and then start your antibiotics.
It sounds to me as though this dog may have urine scald, that she may be leaking a little urine which is burning her vulva and causing irritation. Medication for urine leaking is different from a urinary tract infection.
Even if you can't afford to go in and visit the veterinarian, most vets would be happy to speak with you on the telephone and give you some plan to begin to sort this out.
It is not at all uncommon for urinary tract infections to be recurrant, to come back again and again. Some elderly women (and men) take a low level of antibiotics daily to help keep this very problem in check.