Just like people, dogs too can get urinary tract infections (UTI’s). While you are keenly aware of the pain you feel when urinating, which signals to you that you may have a urinary tract infection, you may not know that your dog has one. This article provides an overview of what urinary tract infections in dogs are, how to spot one, what to do to treat one and how to best prevent one.
Urinary tract infections are caused by bacteria in the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body). According to seeFido.com, female dogs are more prone to UTI’s than male dogs due to their urethra being shorter and UTI’s tend to affect older, spayed dogs who suffer from incontinence. UTIs in dogs result in burning when urinating similarly to people because the interior of the urethra is irritated and may even be damaged. You may notice your dog licking the genitals more often to help soothe the burning sensation.
While the cause of UTIs is not really known, vets and animal care workers have some ideas of what contributes to one developing. According to Healthypet.com. if pets do not have enough water on hand, if they do not get taken out to urinate enough and have to hold it in their bladder for too long, they are more prone to developing a UTI. ThePetCheckup.com also suggests causes such as tumors in the body, bladder stones, nervous system problems, diabetes and Cushings disease can predispose dogs to developing urinary tract infections.
Signs and Symptoms:
More frequent urination/more asking to go out
Your dog may only urinate a little bit at a time but seem to have to urinate more often than usual
Accidents in house trained dogs often are a hallmark sign of diagnosing a UTI
Your dog seems to strain while urinating or have difficulty urinating when it seems they need to
When my puppy developed a urinary tract infection, I noticed included lethargy, tenderness in her stomach and her growling at me when I tried to touch her belly (very unusual for her) and there was a smell about her that was strong and pungent. My vet did not believe me about this one, but both my husband and I noticed that she had a terrible smell even though I gave her two baths. She smelled awful within an hour of her bath. My vet’s assistant told me she probably urinated on her bed but I knew she did not. Once the UTI went away, so did the strong foul odor.
These symptoms went on for a few days but I had no idea at the time that dogs could develop urinary tract infections. Then, we went to puppy class and she had three accidents in the course of half an hour and was really dragging her tail. This was highly unusual for her as she has been house trained for several months and rarely has an accident. The trainer suggested taking a sample of her urine to the vet and said she probably had a UTI. She in fact did and I am very glad I took my trainer’s advice.
How to Collect Urine from a Dog:
This is quite a comical scene for anyone watching. I have found the easiest way to collect urine from a dog is to use a flat plastic container. Some people suggest throwaway tin pie plates or Tupperware containers. However, if you have ever tried to get urine while your dog is peeing, you will know that for most dogs this is not going to like seeing this big plastic container or aluminum tin sliding under her while she is peeing (would you?)Most likely they will move away from you and you will be left with either a handful of urine or just a few useless drops of urine.
I suggest using a flat, round plastic lid from a container of ricotta, yogurt (the large size) or cottage cheese. Have the container you will use to bring the collected urine to the vet nearby so you don’t have to carry the urine very far and risk spilling it. Wash the lid thoroughly and use a swab of alcohol over it to be sure to get any bacteria or particles on it. You don’t want to infuse the urine sample with anything but urine to ensure there is an accurate diagnosis.
Although the vet neglected to tell me this initially, you should collect the first day’s urine to bring in for urinalysis. Be sure also to bring the urine in as soon as possible after collecting it or refrigerate if you have to wait several hours.
Diagnosis:
If you think your dog has a urinary tract infection, take a sample of your dog’s urine to the vet. You don’t actually have to bring your dog in for her to be diagnosed. If however there seem to be complications or the infection does not clear up in two weeks, your vet may ask you to bring your pup in to check for bladder stones or obstructions. A urinalysis will cost approximately $20 at the vet’s. During the urinalysis, your vet will check for anything abnormal in your dog’s urine such as blood, protein, sugar or white blood cells. This will also help to rule out other health issues such as diabetes.
If you are unable to collect a urine sample yourself or if your pet continues to have evidence of a UTI, even after treatment, your vet may decide they should collect urine from catheterization or directly from the bladder with a needle, a procedure that is called a cystocentesis. This procedure is expensive and costs about $100. Your pet will most likely be put under a general anesthesia or sedative so your vet can perform the procedure without your dog moving.
After a month of antibiotics not working, an ultrasound to check for bladder stones and obstructions, the cystocentesis was finally performed to directly test the urine from the bladder itself. We discovered that there was no UTI present (whether it had cleared after a couple of weeks we are unsure). What we learned (from the second vet we took her to for a second opinion) was that she has an underdeveloped vulva, causing bacteria from the urine to pool around her, thereby infecting the urine sample with bacteria. While it seems she did have a UTI initially as she had numerous symptoms, there were also other complications that the first vet had missed and failed to diagnose that caused the diagnosis of UTI to remain and for all her symptoms to not be appropriately treated.
Some vets (and this is a good idea if your dog continues to have UTIs or has repeated occurrences of them) will look at the urine through a process called microscopic observation where they look at the urine through a microscope. Some vets, especially if your dog continues to have a problem with UTIs or is not responding to the antibiotics will perform what is called sensitivity testing which will help your vet find out which antibiotic will work best for your dog’s particular UTI. However for the first urinary tract infection, Petplace.com states that your vet may treat with an antibiotic without performing a urine culture or sensitivity testing.
How to treat:
If your dog does have a UTI, the vet will probably prescribe an antibiotic. After about 14 days, you will have to bring another urine sample in for the vet to check to see if the UTI has cleared.
Give your dog lots of water. The more your dog drinks and urinates, the quicker the bacteria will pass through his system.
Give your dog some citric juices such as cranberry juice. If they won’t drink it alone, add a little bit to their water. I did this with my puppy as a last resort as the vet had her on medications for a month to try to clear the UTI up, and it seemed to help as when she finally did end up going for a cystocentesis there was no evidence of a UTI.
Take your dog out frequently to avoid accidents in the home and to allow your dog to urinate more of the bacteria from their system.
Dangers of Not Treating a Urinary Tract Infection:
If your dog’s UTI goes untreated, serious medical complications may occur which can be life threatening to your dog. Bacteria from the urethra can travel up to the ureter and cause pyelonephritis, which is a kidney infection. In addition, according to the PetCheckup.com, the bacteria can travel to the prostate, heart and other organs causing serious damage.
Be sure to take a urine sample in to your vet at the first sign of a urinary tract infection. It is better to be safe than sorry, and you want to be sure to provide the earliest treatment possible.
Prevention:
While you may not be able to prevent a UTI from developing, especially since we don’t know for sure what causes them, be sure to always have fresh, clean water available for your dog, take him out for regular walks at appropriate time intervals, keep their bedding clean and take your dog for their routine wellness exams at your vets. Some dogs are more prone to infections and discussing this possibility with your dog will keep you aware to the possibility of a UTI developing in your dog. Cortisone-like drugs may also predisopose according to petcare.com.
Some dogs like my puppy has an underdeveloped vulva since she is young, or your dog may have loose tissue around their genitals after spaying which can cause urine to pool up and lead to infection so check your dog for cleanliness and wash with warm water. Dogs that are overweight are also prone to this as they tend to have excess skin and tissue around their genitals.
If for some reason your dog does not respond to antibiotics, especially if they are a puppy, don’t be afraid to take them for a second opinion. The fresh eyes from the second vet may pick up on another issue that went unnoticed by your regular vet that may be contraindicating the urinary tract infection, so you may have more than one issue on hand, or they may be able to suggest other treatments. I also recommend taking your dog for a second opinion if the UTI does not clear up after the first round of medications. My first vet had wanted to continue to wait to see if the antibiotics would work after another two weeks but my dog continued to get worse and was obviously in pain. While we did come to find out she also had some other issues going on, if we had merely waited, and did not seek another opinion we would not have learned about the other issues.
