Dog Urinary Tract Infection

If your dog is asking to go out frequently as urinates often, he might be suffering from urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common disorder for your pet dog. It is as much common as human being and generally caused due to infection of different bacteria, usually gram-negative bacteria. It is a very much irritable condition for the dog he can not hold the urine for too long.

How do you know your dog is suffering from UTI

If you usually take your dog for walking and he cries before you to go out, be careful, he may be suffering from dog urinary tract infection. He will pass urine for smaller volume than usual and the frequency will be increased. Urine will have a bad smell. Female dogs suffer from UTI more often than the male dogs as the length of the urethra (urinary pipe) is shorter. Therefore, bacteria can flow upwards more easily than male dogs. The dog will cry during the process of urination in advanced cases of urinary tract infection. After urination, they will lick the genitals for quite some time to get some relief from the burning sensation.

What may be the complication?

Dog urinary tract infection can become fatal if the infection ascends to the kidney and the ureter (connecting pipe from the kidney to the urinary bladder). Kidney infection may lead to premature death.

What can be done in case of dog urinary tract infection?

The first and foremost thing is to take the pet to a qualified veterinary surgeon. If this is not possible, allow the dog to drink fluid as much as he can. Take the dog for walking more frequently for at least five days. It is very much important; if you can not do those, ask somebody to do so. As the dog urinates, he will ease up because with each frequency, some bacteria will be washed out from the body.

Medicines are to be ideally given under supervision from a vet. Still, if you can not manage to visit a vet, give the dog a combination dose of Ciprofloxacin (5 mg per Kg of body weight) and Tinidazole (2.5 mg per Kg of body weight). The medicines should be given twice daily for five to seven days. In resistant long standing cases, the dog may require intramuscular injection of Third generation cephalosporin (cefotaxim/ ceftriaxone).

The most important thing is that you have to make the dog comfortable.