Dogs experience urinary tract infections much like humans. Symptoms of such infections include increased drinking, straining to urinate, pain upon urination, the presence of blood in the urine.
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How Are Urinary Tract Infections Treated?
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Urinary tract infections are generally treated with an oral antibiotic therapy. The drug of choice will depend on the type of bacteria causing the infection. The normal course of treatment is 7 to10 days, with dosing generally occurring two to three times daily.
Resistent Bacteria
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Some strains of bacteria have become resistant for a number of reasons including inadequate treatment with antibiotics. This can be caused by veterinarians not prescribing a long enough treatment or owners that do not complete the antibiotic therapy.
How to Recognize Resistent Infections
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A resistant infection will usually manifest itself by the continuation of symptoms after completing treatment or a recurrence that occurs quickly after the cessation of antibiotic therapy.
How to Treat Resistent Infections
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Veterinarians will generally complete a urine culture to pinpoint the bacteria causing the infection and then choose an antibiotic specifically aimed at killing those bacteria. Treatment will generally be extended for up to three weeks or longer, with testing to commence at the end of treatment.
Underlying Issues
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There may also be an underlying cause to the infection, such as bladder stones, that must be treated before the urinary tract infection will completely resolve.
Other Treatments
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In cases where the urinary tract infection does not readily clear up with the administration of oral medications, injectable antibiotics may be employed to assist in getting a larger concentration of antibiotics into the system.
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