UTI

xteacher wrote:
Glad to hear that Butterscotch is on the mend! I love her name, btw!!

Both our girls are "re-homed" and their names came with them. They were 7 and 8, so no need to change them.

Dale

Glad to hear that Butterscotch is on the mend! I love her name, btw!!

Thanks Sue. Butterscotch is 9 and I believe this is the first time she has had a UTI. I will mention this to the vet.

Dale

Dale, one of our past doggies had frequent UTIs. She was a lovable, gentle Norwegian Elkhound.

There was no apparent reason for the recurring UTIs. Our vet suggested that I take the time each day to clean her girlie parts with a warm washcloth, and showed me how to do so, he wanted me to not only wipe the exterior but to press and expand her area so I could clean a bit of the interior. Each evening I took a few moments to clean her up.

No more UTIs.

She never licked her area. It never seemed dirty to me. But somehow she kept developing UTIs. But by cleaning her parts, the problem stopped. She didn't mind too much, as long as the washcloth was warm.

Butterscotch is healing rapidly. She is back to her "old" self and taking her meds without resistance. She isn't peeing any visible blood now and the 15 squats she would do when she went out are gone. So that alone means she is feeling better. . . no longer feeling like she has to void constantly.

She is a sweetie and loves everyone, even everyone at the vet's office.

Thanks again!

Dale

hopefully the antibiotics kick in soon and Butterscotch feels much better .

raindove, thanks for the heads up. That sounds pretty scary. We do have a followup appointment for Butterscotch in two weeks and we will be watching her closely till she gets better.

Dale

Oh to answer the question about their food, we feed 4Health, senior bites. We researched to find a good quality food we could find around the country since we full time. We buy it at TSC and our vet approves. They have been on that for 1 1/2 years.

Dale

Thanks all for your replies.

Dr. Doug, since we live in our motorhome, we filter all our water. Here in the RGV, the water is good, but I don't care for the taste. But we don't buy special water for us or the dogs. If we do question it, we have a tester.

I ended up taking Butterscotch to the vet. It seems her bloody urine was subsiding and she wasn't trying to pee 15 times every time she went out. She was able to piddle a good puddle, so I thought she was doing much, much better. Around noon, she started getting lethargic and started coughing. I knew I would spend the rest of the day and night worrying about her coughing, so I took her to a vet. I was able to get a urine sample at the last minute, so took that. Obviously she was still spilling blood and various things in the sample were off kilter. Vet thought we should check her sugar. It was 100, so he was satisfied with that. Said all the numbers could obviously be caused by the infection. He did radiographs and could see no visible stones and they also did chest xrays and nothing showed up there, both heart and lungs looked good. He said sometimes they just get that upper respiratory stuff like we do. He gave her meds for the cough and also some cranberry chews. And I did have to increase the Clavamox because the dose I was giving was a bit under what she requires, so that was good.

I wanted everyone to know. She is doing well and her sister is glad she is home. Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions.

Dale

Keep a check on her gums to make sure they are nice and pink. If they get pale grey or white, get her to a vet. I had a dog one time who presented with blood in her urine. Took her to the vet and was diagnosed with UTI. The next day she was worse, and when I checked her gums they were very pale. Took her back and got another vet. It was AIHA. The only symptom she had was bloody urine and lethargy. Not trying to scare you, just make you aware. I've learned the hard way to always keep a check on the gums when anything seems "off" about them.