[Jackie B]

My rescued poodle had chronic urinary tract infections for the first 9 months after we got him. These are not as common in male dogs, but he had been a stray, so who knows what bacteria he’d picked up. According to the vet, UTI’s are very painful. They also caused my poodle to have to pee very frequently and sometimes in the house. The vet will give you a round of antibiotics to treat the initial infection.

One way to keep UTI’s from coming back that worked for my poodle was increased moisture intake. I only feed him moist food (no kibble! I feed a rotation of commercial raw foods, pre-mixes with raw meat, canned food, and some homemade balanced recipes) and purchased a circulating pet water fountain for him (you can get them online). He hasn’t had another UTI in a whole year.

Things the vet recommended were adding salt to his food so he would drink more and buying some nasty prescription dog food. But you don’t need to do that stuff. Just increase moisture. Even if your dog doesn’t suffer from UTI’s, it can’t hurt to put them on a diet that is fresher and with more water. Domestic animals (cats especially but dogs too) tend to dehydrate when on a kibble-only diet.

[susalu]

My dog Gilly is 2 and has had a few UTIs this year. Now on prescription food, drinking only distilled water from circulating fountain. I am hopeful that this will do it!

[theBCnut]

Sometimes adding some vinegar helps.

[Toxed2loss]

Speaking from experience, “UTIs” are often caused by toxic exposures. Some toxins are so harsh that they irritate the bladder lining (interstitial cystitis). It can be so painful it feels like the worse bladder infection you’ve ever had. Some of the chemicals actually burn the delicate urinary tract, even to the point of causing bleeding and allowing infection to take hold. I’ve had them. Sonya (my 16 yr old Toxically Injured Pom) also gets them. Following exposures I can expect Sonya to have to go every 30 min. or more. The more compromised the immune system, the more probable it is that any toxic substances your pet is exposed to are going to end up being eliminated without first being broken down into less toxic, or non-toxic by products.

Jackie mentioned better quality, fresh food. Excellent advice! The better quality food, the more nutrients available to help your dog’s system deal with the event. The more water consumed the more dilute the chemicals, and flushing helps. Making milk thistle diffusions, cooling it and giving it to your pup will soothe and protect the dogs kidneys, ureters, bladder & urethra. Avoiding grains is important. Grains are sugars, sugars feed the bad bacteria in the infection. So check that “prescription diet.” If it is carb heavy, don’t feed it!!!

[karin F]

My 2 year old pup now has UTI and the vet gave me Hills presprescription diet for her. She does not like the food and neither do I. The first ingredient is Corn?? I had been feeding a grainfree food and my dogs love it. Now I have to buy hills p canned food to add to the Hills food so she will eat it. She is also on Antibiotic for a week now but the UTI has not stopped. She is now bleeding when she pees. I called the vet today and take her in tomorrow for an ultrasound to see if she has stones. Last week at the initial urinalysis there were no crystals found. I am stumped as to the bleeding. The antibiotic don’t seem to help either. Any suggestions as to what other food I could feed her, commercial food?
Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Did you check the search engine? Example: /forums/search/bladder+stones/

[Cassidy D]

I just took my dog in today and the vet said she has a UTI and that she does have crystals in her urine and her urine also has a ph of 8. She has been eating Orijen Original for about 5 months now. Is there any evidence to prove that grain free diets cause utis and crystals??? Y vet suggested PURINA!! There is no way I am feeding my dog that garbage.

[Shawna]

The urinary tract infection is likely the cause of the alkaline urine and crystals (if they are struvite crystals).

“Urine pH
Urine pH is typically acidic in dogs and cats and alkaline in horses and ruminants, but varies depending on diet, medications, or presence of disease….. A bacterial urinary tract infection with a urease-producing microbe will result in alkaluria. Urine pH will affect crystalluria because some crystals, such as struvite, form in alkaline urine….. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/clinical_pathology_and_procedures/diagnostic_procedures_for_the_private_practice_laboratory/urinalysis.html

[D S]

A lot of women use D Mannose for UTI
s and I don’t see any reason you couldn’t use it for a dog. 500 to 1500 mg a day. It is made from the skin of blueberries, cranberries and grapes I believe. You can treat UTI’s with it- 2 capsules every few hours, or prevent them with a daily capsule or 2. Or a lot of women use Uva Ursi as well, 2 caps Am and PM usually UTI’s are gone in 5 days. You can read the reviews on Amazon. D Mannose currently has 4.5 stars from 3000 plus people and Uva Ursi is about the same. UU can be hard on the kidneys over prolonged usaged and people should not use it for more than 2 weeks at a time up to 5 times a year I believe, so check with your vet about using that. (I use smile.amazon so a portion of the purchase goes to National Wildlife Conservation- it is Amazon)https://smile.amazon.com/Now-Foods-D-Mannose-Powder-3-Ounce/dp/B000HCMK90/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1481311425&sr=1-5&keywords=d+mannose

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by D S.

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