[courtney g]

Hi,
Last night my dog was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection after taking her in for frequent urination, vomiting and diareah. She is now on antibiotics. The vet said she also had increased transitional cells in her urinalysis which could sometimes be seen with tumors or stones. She said we were probably safe to just try the antibiotics for now and see how she does on/after. If she doesn’t have improvement we will do an ultrasound to see if she does have anything else. I am hoping more than anything it’s just a UTI. I was just wondering if anyone on here has gone through this experience before if they would have any advice and possibly be able to answer a couple questions?
Thank you!

[Susan]

HI Courtney, the first day I got my rescue dog he was weeing blood, so when he was due to be desexed the next day & while he was under the vet did an ultra scan & he had crystals, she showed me a little urine container of some crystals that were removed from another dog, they looked like sea salts u put in a salt grinder, he was desexed & I had to give him antibiotics for 2 weeks & for 6 weeks he was put on the Royal Canin S/O wet & dry food for 6 weeks to dissolve the crystals, but he wasnt vomiting or had diarrhea back then, after he got his vomiting & diarrhea but that was a different health problem, 6 weeks later he had another ultra scan to see if the crystals had dissolved & they had Thank-God if they didnt dissolve vet said he’d need operation.. vet thinks his case was from being used as a breeding dog & he caught an infection from a female dog….she should be on foods low in oxalates maybe someone else will know what foods are good for urinary tract infection…there is info on UTI click on the FAQ up the top then on ur left in the “search this website” put Urinary infection..

[InkedMarie]

Hi Courtney,
I had a dog with frequent UTI’s and he was diagnosed with struvite crystals. My vet had me give him one 500 mg vitamin C a day but you don’t do this without your vets okay. It is extremely important to get enough liquid into your dog. Dry food is the worst you can feed. Best is a raw diet, canned or dehydrated. If you must feed dry, add canned & water to his food.
Don’t worry about low oxalate foods unless it’s needed. I would not use a prescription food at all. If your vet tells you to, I’d find a holistic vet to go to and get their advice. Keep us posted on how she is.

[theBCnut]

Hi Courtney

UTIs can cause struvite crystals. That’s why your vet wants to wait and see if they go away once the UTI is resolved. Make sure your dog is getting plenty of fluids to flush out the bladder, and lots of opportunity to go to the bathroom. If the crystals don’t resolve on their own after the UTI is gone, then start thinking about what you want to do next, but until that time, there really is nothing to worry about.

BTW, your vet is following the latest recommendations, which is not all that common, which makes me think you must have a pretty good vet who stays up to date and doesn’t jump all over overtreatment as a way to make a buck.

[Dori]

Hi Courtney. If your dog does wind up having crystals be sure to ask what type. As far as the UTI the other posters have helped. It is important that your dog is walked often and that she drink plenty of water. If you are feeding her kibble then please add water to it and let is absorb the water before feeding her the food. It’s a good way to get more moisture into a dog that doesn’t drink enough water. As the others have suggested, dry food (kibble) is not what she should be eating. Commercial raw foods (if you don’t want to hassle making your own), dehydrated, canned, freeze dried. In that order would be the best way for you to go imo. Normally I would put freeze dried before dehydrated but a lot of freeze dried foods don’t absorb water very well. There are plenty of quality dehydrated foods so your dog will win with the moisture and the quality of the food.

You didn’t mention what food you feed your dog. How many meals a day does she get and hopefully you leave water down for her all the time.

[courtney g]

Thank you to everyone who has responded and your helpful advice. She doesn’t appear to be going outside as often and is drinking no less or more than she usually does. She has a follow up appointment next week and will have a new urinalysis done.

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