# Another UTI...



## NikkiNYC (Jun 1, 2013)

I think I posted a while ago about how my dog Edie frequently gets UTIs, well she has her 4th one now and she's only 2 1/2  
She had one in November that was pretty bad and was diagnosed by a vet I go to occasionally when visiting my family in Illinois. They said she had crystals in her urine but after she took her antibiotics she was fine and the crystals had dissolved. They took and X-ray and no stones were present. Now it is less than 3 months later and I suspected she had another so I had her tested at my regular vet in NYC and they confirmed she has one although not too bad, more of the start of one. 
I've been doing everything I can think of to prevent them:
-She's on the raw diet so gets plenty of water
-I add water to her food bowl so it's more like "soup"
-She takes a cranberry supplement
-She takes a probiotic
-Most days I put a tiny piece of vitamin C in her food
-She has a small amount of pumpkin in her food
-I obsessively wash her food bowl after every use to make sure there is no bacteria
-She gets bathed frequently
-I've started trying to wipe her after she pees

My vet said I'm doing everything right and she just is probably prone to them but I worry and hate for her to be uncomfortable especially since she can't tell me. She's mostly an indoor dog and is trained on her pads and we go outside for exercise but the one thing that concerns me and could be causing them is that when I'm gone at work all day she rarely goes to the bathroom alllll day. I'm typically gone for around 10 or more hours and she's never been a problem, no chewing of anything which is great. She LOVES her bed and sleeps in it all day covered in a bunch of blankets and seems perfectly happy to be there (probably too happy). She has a very strong bladder for such a tiny dog and even with all the added water she just holds it all day. I don't know if she just likes to wait for me to pee?? Unfortunately I can't come home during lunch or have anyone else check on her, I joked with my roommate that I should set up my computer and skype her to tell her to "go potty" during the day haha. 
Does anyone have any suggestions/experience with this? Could there be any other healthy problems I should be checking on that are causing all these UTIs? I've tried to do so much research and haven't come up with any other solutions or possible underlying health concerns. I just love her and don't want her to deal with this her whole life!


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

Maybe an intravenous plylogram (x-ray of the urinary tract) would show something?? Something to talk with your vet about. Sounds as if you are doing everything right.


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

Antibiotics are the cause of the UTI's. Being that she seems so prone to UTI's, I strongly recommend getting yourself a PH tester. One for a pool works great. I would get some Ester-C (absorbs into the blood stream much better than a Vit C pill) and give it faithfully every day twice a day with two of her meals. A pinch will do. I would continue with the cranberry powder as well twice a day. I would also recommend adding a few drops of organic Apple Cider Vinegar to her food twice a day as well. Best time to monitor PH levels are first thing in the morning before food. Keep a daily recording of it. Avoid antibiotics at this point, because antibiotics have killed all good bacteria. Get some plain Greek yogurt and add about 1/2 tsp to meals too. I have beat urine crystals with this method that was cause by antibiotics. Hope your baby gets to feeling better. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

This is the one I use and I love it:
AquaChek TruTest Digital Test Strip Reader Kit


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## Ellie Huahua (Feb 10, 2015)

I am not familiar with UTIs so I don't think I'm going to be much help and am just rambling rubbish, a Chihuahua who has unlimited access to water during the day (which is the rule for all dogs anyhoo) should be offered to relieve themselves every hour on the hour (even though they can hold it for hours) due to the bladder being the size of a shot glass. I think it's great that you have a pee-pad laying down for her while you're not in for that length of time, I find it odd that she won't use it. Perhaps pay a dog walker who could come in halfway through the day? If impossible, then I don't think it's a bad idea to set up a voice recorder set on a timer for every couple of hours or so with your voice with the command "do the toilet" (or whatever is your choice of words you've already trained her with) ... you never know, it could work. 
I really do hope she can get better, I hate hearing about dogs in any sort of pain. x x x


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## NikkiNYC (Jun 1, 2013)

Thanks everyone, I got an antibiotic from my vet that I gave her the first dose of last night and she threw up twice during the night from it  I called the vet and they are putting her on a different one she's had before. Once she's done with the antibiotics in two weeks they will do an ultrasound of her bladder to see if there's anything that could be causing it or some sort of physical problem that she could have. I'm a little annoyed with them because they suggested for a few months I put her on Hill's prescription diet but I know that food is horrible and I told them no thanks I will see how everything goes and review her ultrasound. 
I have paper to test the PH of her urine and it's typically been normal, but my vet said right now her PH is high at 8.5 so it is good to know what her urine will test when she does have a UTI. 
I've definitely heard that the antibiotics can kill the good bacteria and make them more prone to UTIs but I don't really feel comfortable skipping the antibiotics and everything I've read to try at home has not worked. I'm definitely open to suggestions though.
Unfortunately I definitely cannot afford a dog walker and even if I could I'm not really comfortable with someone else taking Edie out because she's so small and I don't feel like anyone else would look out for her like I do- I'm sure you other Chi moms understand this when you have a small dog!


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## NikkiNYC (Jun 1, 2013)

Also forgot to mention that yesterday morning I put even more water in her food and when I came home she had used her pad, so I am definitely going to start making her food even more "soupey" so she has to pee during the day!


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