Recurrent UTI in 9 y.o spayed female dog

[islgrl]

As the title says. She has been checked for bladder stones and cancer, neither exist. She is not incontinent. She just has begun to have one UTI after another. We always test her urine at the end of treatment and she’s free of infection. Then within a month she gets another one. This has just started happening this year. We are giving her probiotics and d-mannose cranberry and have begun to wipe her down before bed at night.

has anyone had a similar issue? Solutions?

thanks

[Argo]

A same-aged spayed puggle I know is being checked for Cushing’s after a persistent uti that required a couple of different abx

[anonevent]

I had this issue with one of my dogs. One vet proposed an invasive balloon catheter procedure to diagnose what was going on, but fortunately, another of her vets said “Let’s try a longer course of antibiotics.” That’s all it took. Doubled the length of antibiotics and she went years without another UTI.

[JB]

What sort of testing is being done? If it’s not being sent off for more comprehensive testing than most vet clinics can do, I’d to that

Not a dog, but a cat - recurrent UTIs (granted, she was older) that I had tested the first few times, they always grew bacteria, abx would clear it up in a hurry, but then 2-3 months later it would be back. After a couple of testing, I stopped testing, and just treated (vet was ok, had a refill as needed for the abx). The next one that had obvious blood, I grabbed a sample, and there were raft cells, which indicated bladder cancer

[islgrl]

We’ve actually done testing to look for cancer cells which weren’t found…

[JB]

oh good!

[cattywampus]

Here are some general ideas, with the caveat that I don’t know the dog in question, what her cultures grew, or what the workup has been:

1. Sometimes there’s a structural anomaly–like a diverticulum in the bladder wall or vaginal pooling. If the dog has a recessed vulva, and skin fold dermatitis is a source of ascending infection, surgery (vulvoplasty or episioplasty) can correct the confirmation.
2. If you’ve totally ruled out a source of infection (like a bladder stone, or a polyp) and you’ve worked her up for all the things like cancer and Cushing’s (which it sounds like you did), you can talk to your veterinarian about giving a nightly antibiotic. To do this, you have to start with culture-negative urine, ie UTI currently completely resolved, then the dog gets a nightly antibiotic after the last pee before bed. The antibiotic choice depends on what type of bug she’s growing, so your veterinarian will decide based on her cultures. I’ve done this for a very few patients where we ruled everything else out. Obviously, this involves a convo with your vet about the risks of long-term antibiotic administration.
3. I’ve never had to go this route, but, if 1 and 2 fail, there is a drug that basically gets converted to formaldehyde in acidic urine. This is super interesting to me in theory, but I’ve never had to go past step 2–usually we luck out and find something surgical (recessed vulva, stone) or medical underlying problem.

[Argo]

Spoke to someone today who described symptoms in a small dog that reminded me of this thread and she’s dealing with a diagnosis of Fanconi Syndrome? Had to see a canine endocrinologist for it.

[hoopoe]

Contrast radiology to look for structural defects
Uterine stump pyometra
Has the urine been cultured?

[islgrl]

Interesting… l’ll google

[islgrl]

Urine was cultured I think

[PonyApocalypse19]

Did you get an ultrasound of the bladder? I had a dog with chronic UTIs and we went through an abdominal ultrasound to rule out masses and other anomalies. Structurally, his bladder walls were twice as thick as they should have been due to all of the infections. We had gotten to the point where the bacteria was getting harder to treat because it was resistant. I don’t know how many cultures I paid for over the years, but it got to the point where we went straight to culturing.
We did test him for cushings (negative), but he did have some adrenal issues based on the ultrasound (enlarged gland). He had other co-morbidities(bladder stones, urethrostomy, and diabetes insipidus) that most likely contributed to his chronic UTIs, so I found that having potty breaks more often, wiping after, making sure his water intake was good (not excessive or under), and changing his diet helped reduce his UTIs to once a year instead of once every 3 months.
I would double check what the culture results were. If it’s the same species, then a nightly prophylactic could work (I had considered this but I had different bacteria every time). This is super frustrating. I hope you find some relief for her.

[EquestrianRunner]

Any updates?? @islgrl

We are in a somewhat similar situation… 14 year old mini poodle, has had a couple UTIs in her life, but nothing crazy. Got a UTI around 4th of July. Only main symptom she had was she peed in her bed when she was asleep. She had been licking her crotch occasionally but nothing that made me think oh she’s sick. Same with drinking a little more water, but its also been HOTTTT as heck here in MD so again, didn’t think anything of it. The vet did the in house sample, and sent us home with 10 days of Clavamox (amaoxocylin abx). It cleared up and she was fine…last week she had another pee accident in her bed (much smaller this time). Went to the vet on Tuesday and they sent out the culture but as of Friday afternoon nothing yet. Sent us home with another 7 days of Clavamox and are likely going to get another round of abx once the culture comes back. I also wonder if my girl is dreaming and peeing in her dreams…she’s been sleeping heavier lately (when she’s asleep, she’s bene OUT lately… like I have to pet her sometimes to wake her up…her hearing is going and I think she’s also getting good sleep - at least thats what I tell myself).

[islgrl]

So far we’re doing well. The last time (about 6 weeks ago) she was on a double dose of ABX for two weeks. We tested her at the end, then tested her again 3 weeks later. She was still clear. So every night after her last pee we use a huggies wipe with gentle soap to wide down her vulva. We also switched her to a urinary wet food from a dry food. hopefully all of that is going to keep it at bay!