Dog bacterial urinary tract infection can affect any part of the urinary tract and are more common in female dogs due to the length of their urethra.
These types of infections are caused by bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E coli).
Though it is likely that Escherichia coli is the culprit other types of bacteria may be the cause including, but not limited to, staphylococcus, proteus mirabilis, and klebsiella.
You may be wondering how your dog became infected.
After all you take good care of your pet.
The answer can be found in one of two explanations.
A dog bacterial infection can gain access either through oral ingestion of unclean bacterial laden water or food, or more commonly through the urethra.
One interesting side note is that dogs whose immune systems are healthy generally don't fall victim to an infection of the urinary tract, which explains why the majority of cases are animals who are over 8 years of age, or dogs who have or have had some type of immune system damaging illness.
These types of infections should not be allowed to get out of control and should be identified and treated promptly.
If our list of home remedies fails to show results in a week or so, or if your dogs symptoms continue to get worse, a trip to the vet is in order where a urine evaluation (urinalysis) will be conducted and antibiotics likely will be prescribed.
My goal is to help you find solutions, and sometimes the condition is simply too advanced for a home treatment option to provide the intended positive results.
Now let's get right down to how to treat dog urinary tract infection at home.
*Increase water intake: Increasing your dogs water intake is a very important part of any home treatment plan.
Water helps to flush the urinary system of invading bacteria which will help speed up the healing process.
But remember, by encouraging additional water consumption you will also need to be conscious of the fact that more bathroom breaks will be needed.
*Blueberry or Cranberry: Blueberry and cranberry juice reduce the ability of bacteria to adhere to the lining of the bladder and urethra.
In order for bacteria to infect, they must first adhere to the mucosal lining.
By interrupting the bacterial party plan with blueberry and cranberry juice you will be giving your dogs immune system the upper hand to fight off the infection.
*Frequent Bathing and Trimming: We have learned that bacteria generally gains access through the urethra.
By keeping the area around the urethra trimmed and clean will be taking an important step in not only eliminating your dogs urinary tract infection but preventing re-infection as well.
*Homeopathic remedy containing Uva Ursi: You may not have heard of uva ursi as an important tool in treating dog bacterial infection until now but it is considered by most naturopathic doctors to be the most effective herbal ingredient available for eradicating infections of the urinary tract.
It is reported to be especially active against E.
Coli bacteria and also has diuretic properties.
In summary, our home treatment plan for dog bacterial infection consists of increasing urine flow both with fluid intake and the herbal ingredient uva ursi, inhibiting the bacteria from clinging to the walls of the urinary tract, keeping the area around the urethra clean to avoid re-infection, and implementing the antiseptic and healing properties of homeopathic medicine to eradicate the infection.
Our approach is a sound strategy, nevertheless these home remedies for dog urinary tract infection should not be substituted for medications prescribed by your vet.
Also, it is worth repeating, that if the condition doesn't improve within a few days you should make a trip to the vet to make sure you are on the right tract.