UTI or Bladder Infection

[BigD]

Hi all -

 

My little 10 wk old Marzipan has some sort of infection. Poor girl. We went to the vet this morning after I found a discharge coming from her vulva. Ick. She was licking quite a bit yesterday.

 

The vet confused me and since Marzipan desperately had to pee - I wanted to get out of there. What I DID get from it was that the antibiotics he put her on may or may not work.

 

I would like your opinion if you have had any experience with UTI's or Bladder Infect. before.

 

Here are the symptoms:

 

24hours ago:

 

Drastic increase in the licking and "cleaning" of that area.

Slight increase in the frequency of urination.

 

Last night:

 

Slight increase in urination frequency.

Pretty significant increase in consumption of water.

 

This morning:

 

Light greenish/yellow discharge from vulva. About a q-tip head amount.

Increase in urinatio frequency.

 

Went to the vet at 10am...didn't actually get to see him until 11 - by that time she had to pee. So they got a sample and she does have an infection. No fever. However, he doesn't know if it's in the bladder or just external. (since it wasn't a "clean" sample)

 

She does have a few little pustules (spell that one!) that the vet saw last Friday. He said to keep her dry and bathe her with a medicated shampoo - which we did on Satruday. The pus filled bumps cleared up, but were back on Sunday. These are just on her lower tummy - in the folds of her skin, what the vet refered to as the "diaper rash" area. He called it some form of staph.

 

He gave me Cefadroxil - in liquid form. 1ml twice a day. Gave to her at 11:30 and she hasn't been sick - so that is good.

 

However, she is peeing like a freak now. She will go every 10 - 20 min, no warning given. She drinks a lot. Outside she will piddle (drip, drip) then go 5 steps, squat again, walk while squating...then drip again...

 

Poor thing!! Tonight will be hell...no sleep for us.

 

So...any suggestions? The vet said that if this bacteria is a "-R" or something with a negative in it, that the cefadroxil may not work. ??? But it should clear up the staph on her tummy. And is pretty gentle for dogs.

 

How long will this take to clear up? Any ideas? The vet said if it works, it should clear up pretty fast. Well...duh...can you define that?

 

And remember - I'm the one with Buddy - who ALSO has Staph on his tummy (from being wet, they think) and is ALSO on Cephalexin! Crazy.

 

Thanks anyone that can offer me any advice on how to prevent in future, how to maintain a healthy "area" down there for her and how long before we see some improvement.

 

Denise :confused:

[coralandruby]

Denise,

 

I do not have experience with UTI's in dogs, but I do have a cat that has had one before. The vet put her on Clavamox and it cleared up within a few days and she was noticably better after being on medicine for a day. One of the characteristic signs of a UTI or bladder infection is blood in the urine, which means you are lucky if you don't see that. If your dog likes water, you can put her in the bath with warm water and a little baking soda, it helps with the itching and burning. You may want to try cleaning her with doggy bath wipes in the future, which you can probably get at any pet store. Good luck! Infections of any kind are no fun. I hope she gets better soon!

 

Jessica

[trailrider]

My dogs drink and urinate excessively when they have uterine infections. Bladder infection can then occur as a follow up problem. Has your bitch been spayed? Good luck - sounds like she is pretty uncomfortable.

[WWBC]

Young female pups seem to be prone to get urinary tract infections, I suppose because their parts are so close to the ground when they pee. Anyhow, you could try getting some Cranberry capsules from the local store or order Cranberry relief from one of the pet supply catalogs and add it to her food to help her get over this infection and possibly prevent another one from developing.

 

Good luck and I hope she feels better soon

 

WWBC

[KathyF]

Well, like WWBC said, females are more prone to bladder infections and to UTI's as they are closer to the ground and they have a shorter urinary track than the males. That just means that the urinary track is shorter and therefore the bacteria finds it easier to get into the bladder and cause an infection.

 

The other possibility is that it could be puppy vaginitis which is somewhat common in puppies.

 

With either one the antibiotics should clear it up. I hope your little girl is doing better soon.

 

Kathy F

[AK dog doc]

Actually, closer to the ground has nothing to do with it. (Human females are also more prone to UTI's than males, and I doubt most of us are "closer to the ground" in this way... but maybe I don't want to know... )

 

What it DOES have to do with was also mentioned here: the urethra - which is the tube which empties the bladder - is shorter and wider in females than males, so it's a lot easier for bacteria to get in. (On the plus side, it's a lot easier for stones to get OUT, so females rarely get urinary obstruction, which can be painful and life-threatening... not too many animals die of a plain old bladder infection, so maybe that's a decent trade.) Also, anatomically, in dogs the urethra empties into the vaginal vault, not directly to the outside world, so there may be some "backwash" of urine in the vaginal vault (which is called "urine pooling"), which may wash bacteria into the bladder. If there's an anatomical abnormality (like a vaginal stricture), that may worsen the problem. Some of those are outgrown as the pup matures, others not. Urine pooling may also be a contributor to puppy vaginitis, and vice cersa.

 

The frequency and dribbling are related to "urge incontinence", which means that she does have control of her bladder but she does NOT have control of her urgency, which overwhelms her and makes her need to go RIGHT THIS SECOND! - so she does. That should go away as soon as the infection is under control. Puppy vaginitis is fairly common, and often resolves with antibiotics (so should a UTI). The pustules (and good spelling, Denise! ) can be treated topically with a little Neosporin (or the generic equivalent - original formula, not pain-control) applied twice daily, if you like. That is probably puppy pyoderma, which is also fairly common... little pimple-like and/or rash-like spots on the tummy, inner thighs and peri-vulvar area, mostly. Usually not too big a deal.

 

I think the "R" and "negative" are for "gram-negative", which just describes what color the bacteria turn in Gram stain. Certain groups are negative, others positive, and there is some difference in antibiotic sensitivity between the two groups. However, Ceph is a good drug (I usually go for amoxicillin for UTI's as a first choice, but that's doctor preference, so whatever works in their hands). You should see an improvement in 48 to 72 hours (possibly sooner, but don't decide it isn't working til you give it at least 2 days, unless Marzipan is getting worse, in which case call your vet.) She may not be completely asymptomatic by then, but if she's improved, you're on the right track. You should finish out the meds, though, as I'm sure you know.

 

Cranberry does help in many cases - it inhibits the bacteria from forming little grappling hooks that they can use to stick to the bladder wall to prevent themselves from washing out to sea when she urinates. No grappling hooks (which are called pilli) = not so easy to stay put in the bladder. Some animals also seem to have symptomatic relief from cranberry, and it may acidify the urine, which makes life more difficult for bacteria. You can get the cranberry capsules at the health food store or see if she'll drink the juice for you... I advise NOT using the ones with high fructose corn syrup; try to get one of the all-juice kind (Knudsen's makes one, and there are other "natural" types with pear or grape juice to sweeten.)

 

As far as maintaining health of the bladder and related areas (or, the "naughty bits" as they like to say on Monty Python ), let her have as much water as she wants (most dogs with UTI's have an increased thirst), and unless she shows recurrence or persistence of this episode, you probably don't need to do anything special. Her little vulva is probably all tucked up still because of her youth; that usually straitens out as they mature. Many pups outgrow the tendency to bladder infections as the structures mature and take on a more adult form. If she doesn't, ask your vet to work her up for it... stones are rare in young dogs, but they can have abnormal shapes of the bladder which can contribute (this is uncommon and usually readily corrected with surgery when it occurs.) Most likely all will be well after this round of meds and you can go back to the normal puppy urinations frequency of approximately 85 million times a day, or more if you're busy with something that can't be interrupted.

 

Anyway, enough of my soapbox/mini dissertation on UTI's... Hope she's feeling better soon, and hope you get some sleep!

[2 Devils]

Sounds more like a UTI and be glad.

 

My acd had puppy vaginitis for 4 months until she was spade. It was chronic and my poor pup was so uncomfortable. And poor me for having to give her antibiotics for 4 months including inserting a cream into the delicate area (yuck). Luckily the vets were right, after she was spade they were 90% positive that it would go away and it did...

 

I think I would take a dog with a UTI over chronic vaginitis and inserting a cream.

 

Good luck

[BigD]

AKC dog doc - thank you for the info.

 

She seems better today already. As of last night, she was back to her 1 pee attempt and not doing the squat and dribble thing. (New move in basketball in case you didn't know)

 

Will definately finish up all meds and see how it turns out at our follow up in 14 days.

 

Thanks for all the info. I will look into the Cranberry juice and see if she will take it...just as a nice way to maintain things.

 

Denise

[AK dog doc]

Glad she's better - and thx for the info on basketball, I did not know about the suat and dribble move - I guess I'd better get ESPN so I can keep current!