female puppy bladder infections

[aprilfools]

I was wondering how many dog owners of female puppies experienced numerous bladder infections in them in the past? I recently took our 14 week old labradoodle to the vet for this and he stated that once they start having them it is a common occurence and will continue until they are spayed. Our lab, who is now 8, had the same thing and it was a pain taking in the urine sample before and after treatment. She must of had a zillion of them before being spayed at 6 months. Any suggestions, cranberry juice,(if they will drink it?) of any kind to ward these things off would be helpful. I am not looking forward to this again. I already run outside plenty of times as it is!!!!!

[RachelJ]

I remember a couple bladder infections in my female dogs in the past, but nothing that wasn't cured with treatment, nor were they reoccurring. My females were spayed at the time.

[maggiedog]

Maggie has had many bladder infections. I tried the cranberry juice trick, but not sure if it really worked. Actually, it took a continuous treatment of antibiotics to kick it out of her system. She had these infections before and after she was fixed, so don't count on it being a cure all. Also, my Aunt recently told me that food with a lot of ash in it can cause problems.
I have a great trick for collecting urine samples. I keep Maggie on the leash (close enough to me) and as soon as she squats, I slip a lid from one of those disposable plastic containers under her. I put the lid upside down so that the urine doesn't spill off. Then I pour it into a baggie. Keep in mind that some of the urine may touch your hand http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/eek.gif, but this trick has worked for me every time. Good Luck! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

[aprilfools]

Thanks Maggie. I need all the suggestions I can get about the urine sample collection part. First course of antibiotics is done so we will see what happens now.