[ethereal]

Hi everyone, I have a 4 year old female Pekingese that started getting UTI's last year. She has had 4 within the year. I am so frustrated because for one, it has cost me over $2k so far (and still going) and two, I don't want my baby girl to keep suffering from this for the rest of her life. I am just a poor college student.

Each incident my girl will do 2 urinalysis and 2 culture & sensitivity tests. She has been on antibiotics (amoxicillin) for so long, usually 6-8 weeks. It clears up for a little but then it just comes back again. We have been trying to figure out the cause of her UTI's. At first the vet thought that it was just a tough strain to get rid of, so we went long-term on antibiotics. Then they said she had a little higher than normal amount of struvite crystals in her urine. So she has had water added to her food to increase her water intake. I also take her out to potty every 3-4 hours. Another time the vets did x-rays and ultrasound to check to see if maybe she had a blockage or stones. They found nothing. Just yesterday she had a dental co-op and vaginal scope and they didn't find any constriction. They have run out of ideas and now they are telling me that it may be just that she needs to have a sanitary cut more often and to put wipe her vaginal area with an anti-septic.

Basically I think my baby will always have this her whole life and I really hate the idea that she lives off antibiotics. What if one day they stop working? I don't know what to do. Also, I have never heard of using an anti-septic down there, and the vet never told me what kind and where I can buy it. I have read somewhere that diluted apple cider vinegar can help with UTI's to help acidify, but I'm not sure if that is safe. Of course if it was safe I would give it to her after her course of antibiotics as a preventative, not to cure.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions?

[Mr. Vega]

Originally Posted by ethereal

Hi everyone, I have a 4 year old female Pekingese that started getting UTI's last year. She has had 4 within the year. I am so frustrated because for one, it has cost me over $2k so far (and still going) and two, I don't want my baby girl to keep suffering from this for the rest of her life. I am just a poor college student.

Each incident my girl will do 2 urinalysis and 2 culture & sensitivity tests. She has been on antibiotics (amoxicillin) for so long, usually 6-8 weeks. It clears up for a little but then it just comes back again. We have been trying to figure out the cause of her UTI's. At first the vet thought that it was just a tough strain to get rid of, so we went long-term on antibiotics. Then they said she had a little higher than normal amount of struvite crystals in her urine. So she has had water added to her food to increase her water intake. I also take her out to potty every 3-4 hours. Another time the vets did x-rays and ultrasound to check to see if maybe she had a blockage or stones. They found nothing. Just yesterday she had a dental co-op and vaginal scope and they didn't find any constriction. They have run out of ideas and now they are telling me that it may be just that she needs to have a sanitary cut more often and to put wipe her vaginal area with an anti-septic.

Basically I think my baby will always have this her whole life and I really hate the idea that she lives off antibiotics. What if one day they stop working? I don't know what to do. Also, I have never heard of using an anti-septic down there, and the vet never told me what kind and where I can buy it. I have read somewhere that diluted apple cider vinegar can help with UTI's to help acidify, but I'm not sure if that is safe. Of course if it was safe I would give it to her after her course of antibiotics as a preventative, not to cure.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions?

I know those can be frustrating, and I'm sorry this is happening to you and your dog. Is amoxicillin the only antibiotic that your vet has prescribed?

If your vet is "out of ideas," i hate to suggest it, but, it may be time for him/her to refer you elsewhere (do you know where the nearest vet school is?). Resistant bacteria in an infection often need to be cultured so appropriate, aggressive treatment can be implemented.

[CorkyMax]

Basically I think my baby will always have this her whole life and I really hate the idea that she lives off antibiotics.Antibiotics for life is definitely a no-no!!! What if one day they stop working? I don't know what to do. Also, I have never heard of using an anti-septic down there, and the vet never told me what kind and where I can buy it. I have read somewhere that diluted apple cider vinegar can help with UTI's to help acidify, but I'm not sure if that is safe. Of course if it was safe I would give it to her after her course of antibiotics as a preventative, not to cure.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions?
Please go read a thread I did on : What About Vinegar! To find it --Go to the top of the page(s) in this forum--Find the blue strip that goes across that has the word-Search. Click on it and put the word vinegar in the search box (Leave the selection as threads-not posts) You will find What About Vinegar about the 7th thread down. Please read the whole thread very carefully--You will find some info about UTI and much more as vinegar is a very good thing for a lot of things!! My 2 dogs get vinegar added to their evening meal every night. I feed mostly raw with a lot of raw veggies--which are alkaline. I had a little problem with crystals before I started giving the vinegar--None since! Hope this helps.

Too many antibiotics are going to do damage to your dog--Very hard on the immune system and in the long run prob. going to add to the problem --Not help! You should have your dog on a probiotic when taking antibiotics. Antibiotics 'kill off' the good bacteria in the gut as well as the bad! The dog needs the good to stay healthy!