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Hi. I posted a question a while back about my puppy Ipsy. We were concerned about getting another dog as a companion for her, but she was having trouble being housebroken. At her presurgical for her spay, she was just over six months old, I expressed my concern to the vet about her urine issues, frequently urinating, small amounts of dark urine, and not making it outside on time, so he took a urine sample. She had a severe UTI. She was put on 2 antibiotics for 2 weeks. He says she has a recessed vulva, which could cause frequent UTI's. He suggested getting the vulvaplasty and the spay done at the same time at the university, but also said that since she was only six months, she may grow and develop more, and we should know by nine months if it's going to be a problem. I opted for just the spay, because I didn't want to put her through the other surgery if it could be avoided. The spay went well and she healed nicely. Antibiotics worked well, for three weeks. She is back to the same patterns of urination, pre-antibiotic. Monday, I am going to get a urine sample and take it to the vet to test for UTI. I have several questions:     1. She will be eight months old next week. If she does, in fact have a UTI, is that an indication that she will need surgery? 2. What happens if a dog has a UTI? Is there pain? And if so, are there things she could eat to alleviate some of the acid in her urine? I, fortunately, have never had one, so i don't know what it's like.   3. Is it harmful for a dog to take antibiotics over a long period of time?
4.Could you reccommend a website containing information about the surgery? I have scoured the internet and cannot find useful information. My vet won't be handling the surgery. He can only give me the number of the vet at university.He can only give me the number of the vet at university.
Thanks so much in advance. I I know these are a lot of questions, and I have more, but I don't want to be greedy.
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234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Activia yogurt or any yogurt with live active cultures is good but not strong enough as a pro-biotic.  You should use the yogurt but should also supplement with an OTC probiotic as I mentioned above.  A good Whole foods market, or a health food store, and many pharmacies carry acidophilus/probiotics in tablet or capsule form.  She could have one pill of acidophilus twice per day.  Don't add additional salt to her diet, this can change her blood chemistry.  Just get her to drink as much as possible.  Any kind of unsweetened cranberry juice in liquid form or capsule form is good.  To entice her to drink more have unsalted or low salt broth mixed with her water available as well as plain water and cranberry water.  
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Avatar universal
Thank you, Dr. I dropped the urine off at the vet Mon. They said she has a UTI and bacteria in her urine. They put her on another antibiotic for two weeks. In ten days I have to srop off another sample. If she still has an infection, the vet wants to do a culture and figure out what antibiotic would work best for her. I have the number for the doc at the uni. I am really upset with the level of care from my vet. My physical therapist also works on animals and she told me to put some cranberry juice in Ipsy's water, salt on her food to increase water intake, and some good, plain yogurt (the special kind, can't remember what it's called) mixed in with her food. The vet said those things woked on humans, but would be useless to a dog. Which is the opposite of what you said. Also, after some researching I read that dogs with a recessed vulva should be allowed to go through one spay to see if it "pops" out. My vet never once mentioned that and instead he wanted her to go for surgery right away. We're new to this to area and I don't like the idea of just picking a vet out of the phonebook. A former friend recommended this vet. I didn't want to change the acid in her urine, I just assumed that's why she is pain. Is there any specific kind of cranberry juice or yogurt to buy? Thanks for the reply, I just feel so helpless when she's in pain.
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234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
To differentiate between a urinary tract infection and an infection of the vulva your vet should acquire urine via a cystocentesis.  If the urine is found not to be infected from the cystocentesis than you can be fairly sure that the infection is coming from the vulvar area. If you acquire urine from a free-catch the urine will be pass the vulva on the way out and can gather bacteria from there.  Your veterinarian could also do a culture and sensitivity from the vulvar area, which can then be sent to a pathologist for diagnosis.  

If your dog does truly have a vulvar malformation than a vulvaplasty is necessary.  There is a chance that the vulva can continue to grow over time which reduce's the chance of having to have the surgery in some cases, but usually the spay is not performed until this occurs since in some cases growth of the vulva is dependent on hormonal stimulation.  

Your dog should continue on the antibiotics as long as they are needed,  but I would add a probiotic supplement such as I-Flora or Culturelle, or other good acidophilus supplement as long as she is on the antilbiotics.  

Are you sure that your dog's urine is acidic?  Urine can be basic, neutral or acidic.  I would not try to change the PH of your dog's urine unless there has been stone or crystal formation that has been found in her urine.  Some stones grow in basic urine and some grow in acidic urine.  

Cranberry supplements are high in antioxidents and can be helpful because they may help the bladder wall to repel bacteria.  It is not a substitute for antibiotics though.  I don't know where you can view this surgery except from veterinary surgical text books.
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