So Protein might be the key? I will look that up. There must be more natural sounding options. Maybe I will get lucky and have my regular vet at the next visit. The one I had this time has been there for only a couple of month. While she is capable, it’s easier to talk to the other one. She has been out of school for 2 years, so she is still very by the book only.

The first 5-6 ingredients read like a list of undesirable proteins.

Has the UTI cleared up?

She started the antibiotics Friday night. Since I didn’t see any symptoms in the first place, I can’t say. I am supposed to take her back in after a week. Thinking about it a bit more, I am unwilling to feed her this food in the long run. Never heard of pretty much saw dust in a dog food before. And no real chicken either. If I would know what to look for in a food for UTI health, maybe I could find one to offer the vet as an alternative.

Many dog breeders have decided on a couple of things to help clear up a UTI and prevent a recurrence.

My background is as an (English) Bulldog exhibitor and breeder. Those girls are pretty low-slung and when squatting to pee get pretty close to the ground, sometimes even touching.

First thing is see a Vet.

Second, do things to reduce the pH of the dog's urine, making it more acidic and creating an environment that does not nurture the infection. Lots believe in supplementing the diet with Cranberry.

In my case, I decided that a squirt of Apple Cider Vinegar in each and every bowl of water for their entire life was a better approach. My girls were not bothered by UTI's.

Was it because of my actions or not? Can't tell.

Oh, did I mention that Step One when confronted with Symptoms of a UTI is to call your Vet?

UTI is caused by bacteria that gets into the bladder. It happens, nothing to do with the wrong kind of food. Finish the antibiotic, wait a couple days then go back for a recheck to be sure the infection is gone. Best to have a culture done as bacteria are living on the bladder wall so there can be very few bacteria in the urine and can be easily missed.

My elderly dog got her first UTI about about 14 years old. She had another the following year. Except for the cost of all those cultures plus loss of appetite because of the antibiotic it was no big deal. A younger dog had crystals in his urine which turned to be due to it waiting to be tested. I simply had the urine spun in house from then on, no more scary crystals!

Crystals can happen with 'stale' urine so be sure she has plenty of opportunities to empty her bladder. Also be sure she is drinking well. My old dog disliked drinking water so I added it to her meals. An ounce per pound of medium sized dog a day is a very rough estimate. She very happily had soup 2x a day!

If the crystals were due to UTI then they should go away once she is clear. I wouldn't want to switch food if she's allergic either!

Having run the vet gamut, I would encourage a second opinion. One of our ex-vets prescribed a different Purina food for each malady and we finally realized that was his very lucrative go-to. Hopefully, you will be able to connect with your regular vet soon.

"My vet told me to switch off puppy food when ... she was at the age where it
was appropriate to begin adult food."

Ya think?

^^ Why the sarcasm? My dog was at the age where she could have gone either way, the vet advised me to make the switch based on that and the fact she had urinary issues. Sheesh.

No sarcasm

You were feeding an adult dog puppy food that thus developed "urinary issues."

What could be wrong with that?

By now I have googled through a lot of the ingredients, but still have not found anything that suggests it would be good for my dog. Looking for alternatives to suggest to the vet at the next visit. There seems to be a Blue wilderness prescription one for weight management and urinary health. First ingredient is de boned chicken. Already sounds better than corn. Any suggestions? There seem to be plenty of supplements around.

My boy, Fred, had crystals in his bladder and had to have surgery. He did fine with that. My vet had me feed him as low a protein food as possible as he did well on that.

Iris, I suggest discussing supplements with your trusted vet as this is an unregulated market. Our dog was on numerous supplements which initially seemed to help until he took a sudden turn for the worse. We weaned him off all except one and he’s been stable ever since. We worked with a holistic animal practitioner to find the best diet plan.

Unfortunately, I have had to much experience with dog UTI. I've spent tons of money and been extremely frustrated. All with recurring experiences (in females).

You are getting lots of advice, some valid, some not.

The bottom line that you need to consider and ask your vet about: Lots of (not all) UTI is caused by bacteria. That bacteria must get in to the dog to cause UTI.

UTI caused by bacteria is probably due to dried urine that your dog is not properly grooming after urinating OR unable to especially around her vulva area. If you take a look and notice that the area is dirty, clean it with a non-scented only baby wipe. IF you clean a black color residue off, this COULD be the problem.

IF your dog has long fur or hair around the vulva area, when she squats to urinate, she could be accidentally getting urine on her fur or hair, it dries, causes bacteria, which causes UTI. Trimming the fur so it doesn't mop up pee and dry, and/or doing a regular cleaning will help prevent bacteria.

Females of all species are more prone than males to UTI because the bacteria does not need to travel far to cause an infection.

Finally (this took me tons of money and tons of frustration to figure out). If your vet is trying more than twice to fix the problem, there is a very good chance he/she does not know what they are doing in this department.

Good luck!

And again, consider getting the dog's urine slightly more acidic to create a less inviting environment. A squirt of Apple Cider Vinegar in the girl's dring water bowl each refill can' do harm - might have the same experience I had for decdes with my low-slung (English) Bulldogs - no UTI's. Who knows?

Thank you! This is the first time she ever had problems with this, hope the antibiotics clean that up. She has short fur, I just checked, she looks clean to me. I do have earthbath natural cleaning wipes, just in case. I was just hoping to find an alternative to offer the vet to the Purina. There is really no way I want to feed her that. Corn as the main ingredient sounds bad to me in the first place, worse in a dog that has allergies.