Urinary Tract Infection

[Ed Bickel]

I have a 5 month old female German Short Hair Pointer puppy that has been battling a UTI for 2 months. She has been on 3 antibiotics without any success. The Vet is now recommending to put on her a 4th antibiotic, Baytril and then suggested an early spaying. Apparently they have had a few similar cases, where, for unexplainable reasons, the spaying seemed to cure the UTI.

I am very concerned at this point as to what the right course of action and am seeking help from anyone that may have had a similar experience.

Thank you for your replies.

**Sorry, I am a newbie here and posted this incorrectly in the wrong section initially.

Ed Bickel

[VTJess03]

Welcome to PT, and good luck finding out what's wrong. I have a cousin that had a Husky with a similar problem, but she had looootttts of other health issues too, so I know that's not helpful. She was spayed earlier than my cousin wanted, but it was for the better, in the long run.

[solares412]

When antibiotics fail to cure UTIs, it usually means that it has become antibiotic resistant. What causes UTIs is when bacteria attaches itself to the bladder walls. After awhile antibiotics can fail to kill that bacteria because the bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics. Cranberry will kill that bacteria and cause it to slough off the bladder walls. Cranberry can be given as the pure unsweetened juice that you can get from a health food store. A couple of tablespoons a day mixed in a little canned milk to make it less bitter and given with an oral syringe. After this is under control, cranberry extract capsules can be given every couple of days or if it starts to flare up again. Giving alot cranberry over an extended period of time really is not necessary, just give it periodically as a preventative. Dry dog food can trigger this for some reason. Even prescription dog foods. Also tap water can do it in some areas, sometimes it can affect the ph balance of the urine. If you can find a dog food that has a lower magnesium and ash content ,eliminate fish completely from the diet and increase the amount of water your puppy drinks a little more it can all help.

[wolfsoul]

What kind of dog food do you feed? In order to boost her immune system it is recommended that you feed a high quality food. As well as cranberry, supplement with fresh parsley. Parsley is the absolute best thing you can feed for urinary tract infectons. Just blend it and mix with with fish oil to make it tasty. It's very healthy. Spaying her early is perfectly fine, if it's shown to help UTIs, I'd do it. Good luck!

[Ed Bickel]

Thanks everyone for your replies. There are some great suggestions.
We tried unsuccessfully to get her to drink cranberry juice but the oral syringe sounds like the way to go.

A sterile urine test showed that the Bladder urine did not have the UTI, thus the infection was downstream of the Bladder.

She has been on Baytril for the last 4 days and we are cauciously optimistic that there may be some improvement. I will let everyone know.

She has had at least three urinalysis tests done, all confirming the UTI and showing no improvement. We had a sterile urine sample taken directly from the Bladder which did not grow a culture, indicating that there was no infection in the Bladder. Thus the UTI is downstream of the Bladder.
A blood test, indicated that there was no damage to the Liver or Kidneys, at least at that time.

She is being fed Eukanuba. At one point we switched to Inova then California Natural since we understand that Eukanuba contains Yeast. They didn't help but caused her to have loose stools.


Thanks again for your posts.

Ed

[wolfsoul]

Eukanuba is a very poor quality food. I would try switching her to something higher quality to boost her immune system, atleast until her infection has cleared. If she has loose stools, give her a tablespoon of canned pumpkin mixed with her food, it works very well, or try adding some digestive enzymes.

[Ed Bickel]

Wolfsoul, I am surprised to hear that you feel Eukanuba is a poor quality dog food. Most people I know consider it to be a very high quality dog food. The breeder uses it and his dogs are healthy and beautiful as well as good hunters.

My dog is extremely healthy in appearance and behavior short of the UTI. Her stools are fine on Eukanuba. They were loose when we switched to Inova and California natural.

What dog foods do you consider the best? What dog foods do you use?

[wolfsoul]

Eukanuba uses feed grade ingredients. Take a look at the ingredient list:

"Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Brewers Rice, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract"

The first ingredient, chicken, is a trick --- chicken is 70-80% water, fat, and oils. Therefore, it drops about six ingredients down the list. You want chicken MEAL. By-products include things that dogs would not naturally eat, like feathers and beaks. Corn is a filler that is the #3 allergen for dogs and is hard to digest. Grains sorghum is also a filler. They don't specify the type of fish when they say fish meal, therefore they probably don't even know. Brewers rice is a filler that has no nutritional value and is usually swept off the floor of beer mills. Beet pulp is another filler with no nutritional value. Brewer's Dried Yeast has been known to cause allergies and bloat. Eukanuba does not get their ingredients from reputable sources.

I prefer kibbles that have more meat and less grains (no grains is even better) and use human grade ingredients. Here is an example, Nature's Variety Raw Instincts:


"Chicken Meal, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Pumpkinseeds, Menhaden Fish Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Chicken Flavor, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Folic Acid), Kelp, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite), Chicken Liver, Sea Salt, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Apples, Carrots, Peas, Cottage Cheese, Chicken Eggs, Freeze Dried Chicken, Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Freeze Dried Turkey Hearts, Ground Chicken Bone, Butternut Squash, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Persimmons, Olive Oil, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Rosemary Extract, Sage, Clove."

Some other better quality kibbles include Innova (EVO is really good), Healthwise, Summit, Go! Natural, Wellness, Nature's Variety, Timberwolf Organics, etc. If you'd rather go with something easier to find, Nutro Ultra isn't too bad, it doesn't use human-grade ingredients, but otherwise. I prefer a raw diet myself, I thought my dog looked healthy when she was on kibble, but she's ten times better now.

[Ed Bickel]

Wofsoul, Thanks for your reply. i must admit I find it very difficult to compare the ingredients from one manufacturer to another. The only things that I can value are the amounts of each ingredient. I do recognize the quality of each can vary. I am not sure how the average pet owner can determine which is the better product.

I did submit a post to Eukanuba. It will be interesting to see if they reply and if so, what they have to say. I'll let you know if I hear from them.

In general I have and suscribe to "you get what you pay for". In general I have found that higher priced products have better quality, features, etc. Eukanuba is certainly not on the lower end of the dog food price scale. That's one of the reasons, among others, that I have chosen it thus far.

Ed

[My Peanuts]

I used to feed Eukanuba until I realized it was poor food at premium prices. Now I use Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul and my guys do very well on it. Not all do well on it though. It's priced like Eukanuba, but it's a much better food.

[Ed Bickel]

Here's a reply that I received from Iams co regarding their quality.

Thank you for writing. I am happy to clear up any confusion and misconceptions about our food and ingredients for you.

It is true that chicken is a wet ingredient and chicken by-product meal is a dry ingredient; however, it's important to remember that the guaranteed analysis for protein printed on our bag is measured from our finished product, not the ingredients as they go into the mix. Our laboratory technicians take samples off the production line as the kibble is dropping into the open bag. So the amount of water in the chicken at the start doesn't matter because we are measuring the protein in the finished product--the kibble that will be going into our four-legged customers' mouths.

In fact, it's a waste of time to compare the water content of ingredients at the beginning of the production line--that's not what your pet will be eating. The important measurements are taken at the end of the production line, after the food has been processed and cooked. That's what your pet will eat. That's where Iams takes its measurements.

The advantages of chicken by-product meal are:

The quality of the protein. Quality is measured as a biologic value (a measure of digestibility and the levels of essential amino acids supplied).

The levels of fat and minerals that it supplies.

Only chicken and egg are judged to be better; however, chicken and egg are usually in high demand for human consumption.

Not every chicken by-product meal is as good as ours. Our chicken by-product meal is muscle and internal organs (including intestines) that have been cleaned, dried, cooked, and ground. By industry definition, chicken by-product meal can contain the feet of the chicken - but that's not an acceptable source of protein for us, so our suppliers make every effort to keep the feet out of our chicken by-product meal.

In addition to the superior specifications we set for our suppliers, we take additional steps to ensure our chicken by-product meal is the best. We put it through a proprietary screening process to further improve its protein quality. This quality assurance process costs more, but it's part of what makes Iams different. Our chicken by-product meal is an excellent and complete source of protein because it contains each of the amino acids that are essential to good nutrition for dogs and cats.

Chicken by-product meal may include stuff that people have a cultural aversion to eating; but that doesn't make it a bad source of protein. Guts are not bad! If you look at how wolves and lions eat in the wild, one of the first things they eat after they've killed their supper is the underbelly of the animal. We may think it's gross to eat intestines, but these ancestors of the dog and cat relish that part of their dinner.

Would you like to read more about our chicken? We have additional information available in our Eukanuba Dog Nutrition Library. Simply copy-and-paste the following URL to your web browser:

http://www.eukanuba.com/en_US/jhtmls...&questionid=98

There are four broad classifications of sorghum. Sweet sorghum is used to make syrup and sugar. Grain sorghum (also called milo) is used as a grain food source. In many parts of the world, grain sorghum is the staple food component in human diets. We use grain sorghum in our formulas, not sweet sorghum.

Brewers rice is used as a carbohydrate source and it is the small fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.

The fish meal that we use is from cold, northern Atlantic fisheries. We do use whitefish.

Brewers dried yeast is a source of protein and B vitamins. It is used to help promote a

healthy coat and assists with vitamin availability.

Beet Pulp

http://www.eukanuba.com/en_US/jhtmls...&questionid=97

Please contact us anytime through our E-mail Us Now page located on our web sites at www.iams.com or www.eukanuba.com. We would also welcome your call Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 800-525-4267.

I hope this information helps! Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Catherine

Iams Consumer Care, North America



Eukanuba Dog and Cat Foods - high quality ingredients and safety processes you can count on for the health and well- being of your pet. For additional information, please copy-and-paste the following URL to your web browser:

http://www.eukanuba.com/en_US/jhtmls...pti=AD&qi=4858

[My Peanuts]

Of course they are going to say good things about themselves. You should have asked why they still test on animals even though they claim they don’t.

[wolfsoul]

Their descriptions of brewers rice and yeast are like saying "cigarettes are a good way to control weight." They say they are good in these ways, but forget to mention the ways in which they are causing poor health in dogs.