Urinary problems [Archive]

Ann Morscher

03-21-2005, 02:35 PM

We are battling urniary infections and struvite crytals in our 16 week old Samoyed. She has been on antibiotics for over 2 weeks now and the infection is still present. Last week she was so sick and we found out about the bladder stone (struvite crystals). Our vet is a holistic vet, but is so concerned about this. He immediately switched her dog food. She was on Innova puppy twice a day and Honest Kitchen Embark once a day. He switched her to Science Diet S/D. This is not for puppies, but used to help dissolve the crytals and help make the urine more acidic. I took her back today and the crystals are gone, but the bacteria remains. She was given an injection of penicillin and also continues on antibiotics. The S/D food is not for puppies since the protein content is so low, so she is on this for only 10 days. I was hoping to put her back on her previous food, but he now says she must go on Science diet C/D until she is a year old. I am so upset about his. The quality of the food is the pits. I have really looked into this and hope to sway him to let me try either Life's Abundance or Solid Gold. Both seem to do well with dogs who have this problem.

I would love to have her on a good supplement for urinary health, but everything I have read says it cannot be combined with the prescription dog food. Can anyone help me? My vet believes there is something metabolic going on and that her liver function may be involved. I really want to do what's best for her and honestly don't believe her food is the issue. I do believe that having her on prescription dog food for a year is just not the answer.

Ann

Grace Erick

03-21-2005, 04:26 PM

Do you know what the Science Diet has or lacks that makes it good for UTI? If you did, maybe you could find other regular foods that may be similar. Like someone once said they needed a low fat diet and their vet recommended Eukanuba, which like Science Diet has what may be cancerous preservative in it their special diet foods, but since she knew it was for low fat, she could find other foods that were low in fat too, so she did not need Science Diet.

Summer Magic

03-21-2005, 05:18 PM

Did the vet say anything about feeding chopped parsley and cranberry juice. I have heard that these are also good for uti in humans as well as dogs.

Ann Morscher

03-22-2005, 07:04 AM

From my understandin of this special prescription diet, it is low in fat, and has very low phosphurus and magnesium which can lead to the formation of crystals and stones.

I have also found a supplement by Solid Gold that is great for preventing stones. Unfortunately you cannot use it in combination with prescription dog food.

I called the company who makes Solid Gold dog food yesterday. I spoke with the owner of the company. She said she had never heard of a pup so young with struvite crystals. She recommended that I finish up the current prescrition dog food and then switch her and see how she does. I also would use the supplement as well. I also ordered some ph test strips so I could monitor her urine at home. If it gets too high, I know we are headed for crystal formation.

Thanks so much for the suggestions.

Ann

Rachel Webb

04-01-2005, 08:17 AM

Ann Morscher

04-01-2005, 09:38 AM

Hi Rachel,
The supplement I am referring to is called Berry Balance. You can find info about it a www.solidgoldhealth. com.

I called the Solid Gold company and spoke with them about Misty's problem. A few of their foods ( Just a Wee Bit and Wolf Cub) are good for urinary problems. The ph levels of the food are low with also lower amounts of magnesium and phosphorus. When I called Solid Gold, the nutritionist there recommened that I start her on Just a Wee Bit until she is 6 months and then switch her to Wolf Cub. Misty will grow to between 45-60 lbs once full grown. I also will check her ph levels every few days. Solid Gold sells dip sticks. You can tell if an infection may be present if the ph levels begin to rise.
Yesterday we went back to the vet for another check. She was checked 10 days ago and her struvite crystals were gone, but she still had an infection. I am still waiting for the results, but the vet fells she is probably infeciton free since she is doing so well. We talked about what food to put her on and I told him about the info I found on Solid Gold. He had heard good things about their food and gave me the go ahead to switch her off the prescription.

I am sorry about the leaking issue. Our previous dog (also a Samoyed) who died in January had this problem. We had her on a hormone for awhile, but it did not seem to work. Then we switched to phenypropanalomine and it worked just fine. I was concerned about her being on this long term since it is the active ingredient that was pulled from the shelves of cold medicine and dexatrim diet pills a few years ago. Yet, our dog was old and didn't have much time and I wanted her as comfortable as possible. When she was leaking urine, she would get so raw and irritated. I found that baby diaper rash cream and /or petroleum jelly really helped soothe the area. My vet did have an herbal urinary incontinence remedy for me to try, but she was in too much discomfort from her other issues for me to give it long enough to work.

Ann

Rachel Webb

04-01-2005, 10:04 AM

Ann,

Wow - thanks sooooooo much for all the info - it is a huge help to me! I think I will switch Ellie to Solid Gold's wolf brand and see how she does.... and will add the supplement as well.

The additional info you provided on the leaking issue is also a big help to me. I cant quite recall the exact name of the medicine she is on, but it begins with a "P"... and now I am wondering if it is phenypropanalomine.. . and will be doing research on it to... because I am concerned about long-term affects.... so I have some research ahead of me (which I love to do) on alternative remedies to ellie's leaking issue...

Thanks again for your help and I hope your baby is feeling much better!

Grace Erick

04-02-2005, 06:18 PM

Ann, I am so glad you were able to get your dog off of Science Diet and find the berry supplement!!!! Good luck! Cranberry is not supposed to cure infections, but is supposed to keep them from occuring just like with women.

Rachel Webb

04-04-2005, 10:59 AM

Hi Ann,

This weekend, I bought Ellie Solid Gold's wolf Cub and the berry supplement..... I have one quick question... did the Solid Gold folks say you should keep your pup on Wolf Cub as an adult as well?

Thanks so much for your help!

Ann Morscher

04-04-2005, 12:15 PM

The Wolf Cub is just until they are a year or so then you can switch to the Wolk King. It is for adult dogs.

Misty loves the Solid Gold food. She had no problem adjusting to it at all. I wanted her off the prescription food ASAP so I didn't take the time to slowly adjust her food. She had maybe one softer poop, but all the rest are just fine.

I also ordered some of the berry supplement. No one carried it locally here, but I hope to have it in a few days.

Hope your pup enjoys the food and the berry supplement works.

Ann

Rachel Webb

04-04-2005, 02:48 PM

Thanks again Ann - I really appreciate your help!

Michelle Rose-Fuller

04-15-2005, 07:39 PM

Hi Rachel,

I had posted a similar question back on March 14th (Urinary Tract Infection in 5 year old Female Aussie), and I purchased D-Manrose over the internet. This supplement along with "No More Leaks", a homeopathic remedy purchased on onlynaturalpet.com seems to have cleared up the problem.

Rachel Webb

04-18-2005, 08:38 AM

Thanks so much Michelle! I just found the March postings and printed them out. I am open to all suggestions that will help my Ellie. I really appreciate your help. I am off to research now.

Michelle Rose-Fuller

04-18-2005, 09:53 PM

Good luck Rachel---I hope one of these suggestions help your pup:-).

Nicole Leveque

04-26-2005, 10:16 AM

My 11 mo. old rottie, Zoe, had recurring UTIs for months. Rather than Science Diet S/D, the vet had her on Royal Canin SO (or maybe it was OS, I don't recall). It was a prescription food for urinary issues as well, but a little better than the SD. After many attempts to clear things up, it finally turned out that Zoe had a persistent hymen. They did surgery to remove it, and the UTI has not recurred since.

I also give Zoe cranberry pills and vitamin C supplements. It's also not a bad idea to wipe your dog using baby wipes after each potty.

We're back on regular food - Canidae, this time - and doing well. Best of luck!

Rachel Webb

04-27-2005, 02:32 PM

Nicole , I am glad to hear your pup is cred of her UTI related ailment and doing well.

As for my Ellie... the saga continues. I took her to the vet monday because I suspected she had yet another UTI... and she in fact does. The vet there could be three reasons for Ellie's UTI's

1) stones (she took an xray and ruled it out)
2) she was on the right antibiotic last time but just not long enough
3) her infection was resistant to the antibiotic she was on

The doc said her urine sample shows an infection present... so she reccomended sending the sample out for more specific analysis.... she said that will tell exactly what antibiotics her infection is resistant to.

So the sample is off to the lab ... and in the meantime Ellie is back on antibiotics.

Monika Lisak

04-29-2005, 07:32 AM

hello, wow i learned a lot reading this section,

I have a question about my lab/husky mix that if anyone has an idea what the problem could be i would really appreciate it before i run to the vet for the third time this month!!

I have 3 dogs the youngest who is 6mths i just got 2 weeks ago- now she used to be an outside dog where she lived before, i mena they would let her in on cold days and sometimes nights but that's it, well i'm not a big fan of that idea just because she is digging up my yard and getting into god knows what out there, but she petrified of the crate so we are slowly trying , anyways she usually sleeps through the night until about 5:30am and then i let her out for the day, however last night she was waking me up every 2 hours panting and wanting to go outside- it was pouring rain so i did not want to leave her out there so i went down let her out for a pee and she came back 2 hours pass and again she is up and wanting to go out , so this happened at 1:30 am 3am and 5am needless to say i got very little sleep last night. Now the first thing that comes to mind is a UTI because my other 2 girls never peed as much as she does when they were 6mths of age, the other thing it could be is she has had diarrhea for the past 2 weeks which the vet is doing tests on to see if she has coccidia or if her hookworms are gone, and finally her previous owner i know used to restrict her water intake , well mine always have free access to water, now they have learned to control themselves, but is it possible she is getting too much water.??

She does not pee excessively but more than what i think is normal like every hour at least??

Sorry for the length
Any ideas???

Ann Morscher

04-29-2005, 08:02 AM

Monika,
I would definitely have it checked out by the vet. It does sound alot like a UTI. When Misty had her infections, she was peeing so often during the day, sometimes every 15 minutes. Make sure you make plenty of water available. They need the water to help flush out the bacteria.

Hope she feels better soon.

Ann

Michelle Rose-Fuller

05-07-2005, 11:55 PM

Hi Everyone-

My aussie Ruby is back on antibiotics. Apparently she wasn't cured of her UTI. My vet made a mistake in his last analysis:-( So, now she's taking amoxicillin plus a sulphur based drug and PPA to control her incontinence. Very expensive if you don't have insurance. I am going to have to keep her on antibiotics for an extended period, and I hope I can keep her good intestinal bacteria alive during this time. I think the only reason her system hasn't completely crashed due to the infection are the holistic treatments I've been giving her. Per my vet it can take 5 months of antibiotics to kick a really bad infection. Sigh.

Grace Erick

05-08-2005, 02:30 PM

I knew my Capri had a UTI when she started peeing a lot and not on her pad even though she was recently housebroken. My husband thought it can't be a UTI, but why not? I put newspaper down instead of a pad and when she went, I collected the urine immediately by tilting the paper and letting it go into a container and gave it to my vet. I had already brought her in, so he didn't force me to bring her in for another exam fee and just did the test and it was a UTI. She got meds, she got better and went only on her pad again.

Bye, Grace

Jill Ramsey

05-11-2005, 11:38 AM

Well, I had hubby get a urine sample from Fischer, as he was peeing every 10 minutes when outside. He has a UTI, so is on Amoxicillin. The vet also say crystals, and he's only 9 weeks old! I'm going to check out the Solid Gold website right now.

Poor BAby!! :sad:

Ann Morscher

05-11-2005, 12:04 PM

Hi Jill,
I highly recommend the Solid Gold ph test strips and the Sold Gold Berry Balance. Misty was 16 weeks when we found out she had struvite crystals. She is doing much better now. I check her urine a few times a week with the ph strips and if I see the ph heading heading upwards, I use some of the Berry Balance and the ph drops back to normal. Misty did have another infection, but no crystals. We are hoping that once she is spayed next month this will help clear up the problem.

Take care,

Ann

Rachel Webb

05-12-2005, 12:23 PM

Ann,

Do you only give Misty the Berry Balance when her PH goes up, not daily? Also, can you purchase the PH strips through the Solid Gold website?

I just got off the phone with Ellie's vet. Ellie was diagnosed with a UTI a couple of weeks ago. She went back yesterday after her course of antibiotics to get re-tested. The vet says the infection is gone but Ellie's urine is loaded with crystals and had a high acidic level.

The vet recommended Hills CD prescription dog food. I told her about Solid Gold having low PH, etc...and she felt that would also be a good choice. I also told her about the Berry Balance. She thought that might be worth a try too. Also, she recommended putting salt in the food to encourage Ellie to drink more water to flush out the system.

I am keeping my fingers crossed...

Thanks,
Rachel

Ann Morscher

05-12-2005, 12:44 PM

Rachel,
The directions for the Berry Balance are to give it for month and then use when needed. I did not give for a full month and now just watch to see if the ph goes up. I ordered both the ph strips and berry balance from the Solid Gold website.
When Misty had crystals we would add 1 T. of chicken broth to 1/3 cup of water. She just loved this. The chicken broth made her thirsty and she would want to drink more water. We did this 3x a day in addition to as much water as she wanted.

Ann

Peggy Jensen

05-12-2005, 01:28 PM

Since I am a fairly new to the role of doggie mommy I have a lot to learn and a lot of questions.
Not that I need something else to worry about, but how do you know if your dog has a UTI, my Mickey does potty a lot when we are out, he usually goes quite a bit once, and then many times just a little, which I assumed was just marking his territory, cause he usually sniffs the spot first. He doesn't have to go out very often and he never leaks or can't hold it, so I am assuming (which you know what that means) I have nothing to worry about on that part.

Ann Morscher

05-13-2005, 07:54 AM

Peggy,
When Misty had her first UTI, it was fairly evident. She wanted outside every 5 minutes or so. When she did pee, it was only a small amount. She also started having accidents in the house. With one of her accidents in the house, I noticed blood in the urine. I was then positive something was wrong. Misty also just didn't seem herself. Her energy level was low and she seemed to be feeling really down.

Ann

Nicole Schneider

05-13-2005, 11:46 PM

At first I thought that my dog had a urinary tract infection too but I found out that she has incontinence (trouble with bladder control) and I really did not want to put her on antibotics as she is so young. So I started doing some research on the web. I found many articles about holistic remedies that have seemed to work. The web site www.evitamins.com is a great tool. Well I started her on Uva Ursi which is supplement you can add to food for urinary tract health. It is amazing! It really works. One week I ran out of the supplement and I couldn't get to the store, she started having problems again by the end of that week. I have also used cornsilk and there is a new supplement called Leaks no More (specifically designed for dogs). Both are wonderful too. If you have a Whole Foods by you, you can pick it up there or any nutrition store. I also changed her food to Nutromax as it is more meat based and no additives.
Hope this helps :-D

Monique Shimm

05-14-2005, 09:51 AM

Hi Nicole,

Based on your post, I was interested in the uva ursi for my dog - she has urinary incontinence. But I found out that you can't use it on a regular basis. I am sure that you are using it as recommended but I'll post what I found anyways (just in case...)

"Because uva ursi requires an alkaline urine for its antimicrobial properties to work, those taking uva ursi should avoid eating acidic foods like citrus, pineapple, tomato. Taking some baking soda is a good way to keep the urine alkaline. Uva ursi should only be taken for short periods (no longer than a week), and not repeated more than five times in one year."

This was in relation for human consumption - not specific for dogs. So it could be different.

Nicole Schneider

05-14-2005, 03:07 PM

Hi Monique
Thank you so much for the info on uva ursi-I really appreciate it. We are currently using Leaks No More as needed and I am so glad that we are. I am curious as to what you are using for your dogs urinary incontinence?
Thanks again.

Valerie K

05-15-2005, 09:22 AM

Both of my girls have had a few UTI's, one took about 4 months to finally get a clean culture, and the other girl has congenital kidney disease so she is prone to UTI's. I started giving them probiotics which helped with the long term antibiotic usage, and is also supposed to help prevent new UTI's from developing. I use the ultra-probiotic powder from B-naturals.com. It is a bit pricey, but it goes a long way and it stays fresh in the fridge. I have been reading about the Solid Gold berry balance and am interested in trying that. I am currently using cranberry extract tablets, but they can be a bit rough on their tummies. Fish oil capsules (1000 mg per 10 lbs. and not cod liver oil) are also useful, but you need to supplement with vitamin e (we do 50 icu or whatever the unit measurement is) every other day.

Also, Esmee (not the one with kidney disease) was found to have a slightly dilated ureter so she is on PPA to prevent the urine from going back up and causing infection. I have researched and it seems to be ok for them to be on this long term. She is 1 1/2 yrs old, and will be on this for a while anyhow.

Since the last set of UTI's cleared up and we have been on the above regimen, so far, so good.... It seems that dogs are either prone to these or not, and if they are, it is a constant battle.

Monique Shimm

05-15-2005, 02:17 PM

Hi Nicole,

Unfortuneately, what I am using is not holistic. Franny gets 1 mg of Stilbestrol per week. That has totally cleared it up. But I am uncomfortable with the fact that she will have to do this for the rest of her life - she is only 2 1/2 years old and started the Stilbestrol 6 months ago.

There was a posting on this website for another product - starts with a P - propinol or something like that. I still have to research that product.

Does Leaks no More work for your dog? Did she get incontinence after being spade?

M

Jenna Johnson

05-16-2005, 12:03 AM

Ann, my Buster had a calcium oxalate kidney stone removed in 2000. The vet put him on UD which gave him horrible diahhrea! I mean, all over the place nasty mess. We tried over about a year mixing it with WD or RD but he never really got a solid poop and I was stupid enough to let this go on that long. Finally I took him off of that and put him on what the other jacks were eating, Drs. Foster & Smith Senior formula. The ingredients are not high oxalate and the protein is lower since it's a senior food. I give him potassium citrate granuales (from vetamerica.com- they have a really good price) every day. That was recommended to me by a friend who has her Jack on them per instructions from a university vet. I make treats for him that have low oxalate ingredients. Occassionally when I think he may be starting to have a problem (you know how you get that "Mommy radar" and even though they are acting fine you just kinda know) I give him a chewable vitamin C tablet with his food for about a week. My vet gave me that tip when we had him on antibiotics trying to stop an infection from starting once. He hasn't had another stone or UTI in five years. Using the test strips is great! It can really tell you where you need to be and what to do if the pH goes to one extreme or another.

And just in case anyone else had a dog prone to calcium oxalate stones here is a human website that has listed common foods and whether they have high, low and medium oxalate content. I found this really helpful so that I know that, say, Buster can't have peanut butter treats. I had another dog on some meds for a while and I would give her her pill in a bit of bread with soem peanut butter on it. I didn't want to leave the others out so everyone got a little treat. It was only after Buster had that last flair-up, the one where the vet told me to give him the vit C, that I looked back at this website and realized that I'd been giving him a quarter of a piece of wheat bread (high oxalate) and peanut butter (high oxalate) a day and that's probably what lead to the problem. Also lets me know what flavor of yoghurt to get if I want to give them some yoghurt for a treat, or whatever.
http://www.branwen.com/rowan/oxalate.htm

Good luck! I hope all goes well for Misty!
Jenna
visit us at www.scruffyjackbaker y.com

Nicole Schneider

05-24-2005, 06:31 AM

Monica
Leaks No More was doing great with a change of her dog food to a no preservatives food-the only problem is that she cannot (and I do mean cannot) have any other food. She went over to my parent's house and my mom gave her a table spoon of different wet dog food two times. Her problem came back in a day. So we have to start back on the Uva Ursa again for a little bit (thanks for the info on that!) and then back to the Leaks No More. We were actually only giving her the Leaks No More once a week with her food until this little spell happened. I feel so bad for her too as she gets so upset! She is too only a year and a half and I do not want to put her on medicine but maybe we might have to some day.

This incontinence did start after she was spade! Very upsetting.

Monique Shimm

05-24-2005, 07:06 PM

Nicole,
Yes, I never knew this could happen!

Anyways, Good luck to you! And keep me posted.

I may try the No More Leaks...

M

Nicole Schneider

05-24-2005, 07:55 PM

As well as I never knew.
Thank you for your information and good luck to you too. Let me know if you find anything new.
N

Valerie K

05-25-2005, 09:39 PM

My vet called the other night and said that there were some relatively new developments in the treatment of calcium oxalate crystals. I don't know how new this info really is, but they are now recommending that vitamin B6 be given to dogs with this problem as it helps flush the offending substances out of the system. Zoey, 7.5 lbs, is being given 1/4 of a 50mg tablet each day. It is just the B-6, not the B complex. Just passing on information that I received. I was pleasantly surprised at the low cost of this easily obtainable vitamin... Usually everything they recommend costs a fortune.

Maria Juliano

06-08-2005, 10:19 AM

Ann - your post was so informative for me as I am experiencing pretty much the same urinary issues with my pup. Ellie is a 16 month dobie mix. The vet diagnosed her with a UTI yesterday and prescribed antibiotics. This is Ellie's 2nd infection in about 3 months. She also has a leaking problem and has to be on daily medicine to control it - the vet says - for her whole life. So, needless to say my girl has "bladder issues." The doc also recommended Ellie be put on prescription diet But I too just cant feed her such a low quality dog food. She has been on Innova since she was about 6 months old and is thriving, except of course for her bladder issues.

I am curious about the Soild Gold supplement you mentioned in your last post... what is it called?

Also, I welcome all suggestions/replies.

Thanks so much you'all!

Rachel,

Sorry to hear about Ellie's bladder issues...

I would write or call Natura about her condition and see what they recommend... they are very professional about replying to inquiries about their food. Here is their website: www.naturapet.com (http://www.naturapet.com/)

Let us know what they say...

PS-Please forgive me for hitting the edit key instead of the quote. Ooops!:oops:

Grace Erick

06-08-2005, 02:11 PM

Hi Valerie,

The Solid Gold brand makes a cranberry powder for urinary tract maintenance that I think someone here may have tried, so a call to that company can be good too as they may have ideas about the crystals since they sell the cranberry powder.

Bye, Grace

Ann Morscher

06-08-2005, 07:09 PM

THe supplement from Solid Gold is Berry Balance. It worked wonders on helping to get Misty's ph in check. I also called the Solid Gold company and asked about dog food for UTI's. I spoke with the head of the company and she was very informative and gave me a great plan to try. We are currently on Wolf Cub after being on Just a Wee Bit for awhile.

Ann

Rachel Webb

06-09-2005, 10:17 AM

Maria,

I just saw your post - Thanks for the suggestion!!!

I am going to contact the Naturapet folks today and see what they recommend. Ellie hasn't fully switched over to Solid Gold yet so perhaps they might have another option. Alslo, I am giving Ellie Solid Gold's Berry Balance. I purchased the PH strips but have not yet tested her urine - hopefully this weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I will let y'all know what the Naturapet people have to say.

Maria Juliano

06-09-2005, 11:03 AM