Urinary tract infections in dogs occur for myriad reasons including bacterial invasion, the dog’s immunity, the environment, and the dog’s anatomy.
The most common is bacteria invading the lower urinary tract. Many dogs will however resolve these infections within 3 days without antibiotic treatment, through the natural defence mechanism present in the urogenital tract. However, serious lower urinary tract infections (LUTIs) develop in those cases where the animal’s defence mechanisms are compromised.
Urinary tract infection symptoms
Uncomplicated or simple urinary tract infections (UTIs) are diagnosed when patients do not develop a UTI more than once in a six-month period. These cases often present with signs of difficult and/or painful urination (dysuria), frequent urination (pollakiuria) or straining during urination (stranguria). It is important to take your pet to the vet whenever they are showing these signs so that an analysis of the urine can be done, and the correct course of action taken.
Your vet may discover during clinical examination that other conditions closely linked to UTIs might be the cause of his/her symptoms. This is because UTIs, vaginitis (female) or balanoposthitis in males (inflammation of the foreskin) and transmissible venereal tumours (TVT) are sometimes very closely linked and often occur together.
Who is at risk?
In the case of vaginitis, it is often seen in patients that are sexually immature (prepubertal) or in the case of balanoposthitis in sexually mature patients, patients with UTIs or poor anatomical conformation, and in patients with TVT. They show similar signs as a patient with UTIs, and the vulva (in females) and the foreskin (in males) are often red and swollen and have a discharge containing pus and mucuous. Your dog may lick the infected area repeatedly.
What is TVT?
Transmissible venereal tumours (TVTs) are seen in dogs that have come into contact with other dogs already infected. Transmission is via sexual activity, licking, sniffing, or biting of the affected areas. These tumours usually present as cauliflower-like, irregular growths in the foreskin (male dogs) or the vagina (female dogs). In rare cases TVT may also be present in the mouth or on the nose. Look out for a bloody discharge either from the foreskin or vagina, and excessive licking behaviour. In female patients, pet owners often mistake the dog’s behaviour as being on heat, whether or not she has been sterilised. These tumours rarely metastasize and are easily treatable with chemotherapy (treatment of choice). It is, however, important that the infected dog does not come into contact with other dogs during treatment to avoid spread.
When your pet starts struggling with his/her plumbing, it is in their best interest to take them to your local veterinarian for a consultation. Early detection and treatment of UTIs and associated conditions not only relieves your pet of unnecessary suffering but it can also help prevent a more serious illness. This also gives your vet the opportunity to detect any unnoticed, underlying conditions.
Dr Bennie Grobler is a veterinarian at EberVet Pet Clinic in Strand
