# urinary tract infection in 8 week old female



## DukDog (Mar 4, 2012)

Found out this morning my new puppy has a uti. Anyone else have this before? In such a young puppy?


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## D&S Retrievers (Jul 2, 2008)

Yes, a few years ago my one female had a uti that young. Put her on some antibiotics and she was good to go in a few weeks. Give pup more water to help flush out, but then you have to do more frequent potty break. I also remember getting cranberry pills online somewhere....that helpsot balance the pH in the urinary tract. Stress of a new home can bring these on, along with a change in diet if you switched food.


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## mwk56 (May 12, 2009)

Get some cran caps from Target or wherever and start the pup on them. Keep her on them for a while--even until first heat if you can.

Meredith


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## thelast2 (Dec 7, 2012)

I was having a hell of a time potty training my CLF as a pup, took her to the vet thinking she had a UTI and was told that she had an inverted Vulva basically caused a small crease in the urinary tract causing an irritation, battled her frequent needing to go out until after she went into her first Heat Cycle.


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## Pat Puwal (Dec 22, 2004)

Our puppy got a UTI at 11-12 weeks after coming to us on the Flight From Hell (Thanks to United Airlines - The Worst). Anyway, puppy was sitting in own urine for several hours and developed UTI. My vet put her on antibiotics and we re-tested her as pills were running out and kept her on a different antibiotic for another 3 weeks. I did give her cranberry pills and Vitamin C. Since she is now 11 mos. old and at the trainer, I still have him giving her Vitamin C for good measure, but she is fine. It is important to get the original infection completely cleared up.


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## kigiin (Mar 29, 2012)

Same happened to me, at about 8 weeks too - literally within days of bringing her home. Breeder and vet said it was a bit rare but not impossible for such a young pup. Had another (adult lab) that would also get a UTI after boarding - vet said to give her vitamin C pills leading up to and during the boarding stay - not sure about this for a young pup.


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## Happy Gilmore (Feb 29, 2008)

Almost my entire last litter had UTI's. Be certain you treat it aggressively and complete the anti-biotics and do a follow up. One pup did not respond to the antibiotic administered (said it was the "wrong" antibiotic by one)and the infection became more serious and spread to the kidneys. A misdiagnosis of a congential defect by a vet and almost $3,000 later an expert on kidney's in California determined they were normal with the exception of the infection. A 2 month round of a fairly inexpensive antibiotic solved the issue. 

The right antibiotic is key to clearing it up permanently and quickly. Be sure to question your vet about which antibiotic they are giving and why. Be sure to go do a follow up visit upon completion of the antibiotics to ensure the UTI is 100% clear. Lots of potty breaks, fresh water, cranberry supplements and lastly, wiping their vaginas with baby wipes a few times a day to keep them extra clean is important.


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## J Connolly (Aug 16, 2007)

"wiping their vaginas with baby wipes a few times a day to keep them extra clean is important"

Can you explain the logic behind this?


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## DukDog (Mar 4, 2012)

Thanks for the replies so far. My vet put her on Clavamox antibiotics.Hopefully this will fix it. I do hate giving antibiotics though.


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## Happy Gilmore (Feb 29, 2008)

J Connolly said:


> "wiping their vaginas with baby wipes a few times a day to keep them extra clean is important"
> 
> Can you explain the logic behind this?


When they get a UTI they have some "stickyness/moisture" around their vaginas which is a good surface to pick up bacteria is what two vets independently told owners. Pups inability to clean themselves at the young age and not having the Dam there to also clean can contribute to UTI is what I was told.


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## windycanyon (Dec 21, 2007)

I used to have issues w/ UTIs -- but normally at ~14-15 wks when they were cutting teeth. Go to Walmart or costco (I think they are on a no-coupon special right now at Costco!) and get the cranberry supp. I have a pup here for another 10 days or so and think I'll pick up some for her, just as a precaution. The girls squat VERY close to the ground, and that little bead of urine on the vulva can often act as a wick to suck bacteria back up into the bladder. The cranberry will not only help keep the bladder environment acidic (like ascorbic acid/Vit C supps) but also apparently has some factor in preventing the binding of bacteria to the bladder wall. I think the push to crate train puppies early has lead to some of the issues now. A puppy only has the capacity to hold their bladders ~ 1 hr for every month old they are. So an 8 wk old can really only hold it ~2hrs. I keep mine in a pen w/ a potty pellet pool thru ~3 mos for that reason as I don't like getting up in the middle of the night!


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## chesaka (Dec 13, 2007)

I had a female pup in my last litter that developed a UTI at 7 weeks. It took 2 different antibiotics as the first one wasn't right. You might ask your vet about culturing the urine to find out what antibiotic will work best. Cranberry and Vitamin C are very good ideas and I would keep the pup on that for a while after the course of antibiotics are done. Don't let it go on too long as it can progress to the kidneys and that's not good.


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## Upland Hunter (Dec 13, 2012)

Our 10 week old BLF is just finishing her round of antibiotics today for UTI. This is our first dog to have this condition. I appreciate the ideas on cranberry supplements. Does anyone have a dosage or recommended amount for use on pups based on body weight and, or age? How young would you start and at what amounts? Lastly, same question for vitamin C as we have not tried that before with any of our dogs. Thanks.


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## Pat Puwal (Dec 22, 2004)

I think it says something on the cranberry supplement bottle about dosage. We gave our 11 week old pup one a day for many months and the same thing with the Vitamin C - one chewable once a day.


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## windycanyon (Dec 21, 2007)

I think when I was able to get the chewable cranberry supp, I'd break it in half but once I got the (fairly small) cran cap at Walmart, I just gave the whole thing. If doing the cran, you probably don't need the added Vit C (most have it in it already that I've seen). I'm giving the pup here ~1/4 of a Kirkland Vit C currently, so ~250mg as an acidifier.


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