Canine UTI, bladder issues, and kidney disease – probiotics and how they can help the gut and bladder issues – Safe Guard probiotics for dogs
Canines and excretory function issues
Dogs and puppies can develop bladder conditions. Sometimes they stem from having gut issues, liver issues, and medications – different conditions can cause the immune system to be compromised. When a dog has an immune system issue like this, it can lead to an infection getting in the bladder lining, ureters, and kidneys.
With any infection in the body this can cause chronic bladder health issues. A urinary tract infection or (UTI) are common and while they are, sometimes there are other issues developing chronic infections or health conditions causing them to happen more frequently.
This is something to discuss with the vet. If your dog starts getting those several times, urine and blood work needs to check for a cause. Keep track of other symptoms in your dog. Other infections in the body, chronic inflammation from other health issues could be causing your dog to get frequent UTIs.
What causes bladder problems in dogs?
Canines can have bladder issues just like we can and are quite common occurrences. They can commonly get UTIs, cystitis, stones that form in the kidneys and cause severe pain. These can also affect the bladder and urethra. As dogs get older they can have more and more of these bladder related issues develop. Some male dogs can also develop prostate problems that cause pressure issues on the bladder and can develop urinary leaking issues.
Potential causes of urinary infections
- Crystals
- Bacteria
- Diabetes
- Medications
- Other health conditions
Symptoms of a UTI or bladder infection in dogs
The most common indication that your dog has a bladder infection is problems urinating or whimpering while urinating. You may also notice your dog needs to go urinate more often. Many times there are problems with your dog going, or not being able to urinate fully. If your dog is showing any signs of a possible bladder infection, you should head to your vet office. These infections are very painful for dogs and any signs and indications something is going on take immediate action.
Possible symptoms and signs that your dog has a bladder issue or UTI
- Problems urinating
- Whimpering while trying to urinate
- They are urinating small amounts, more frequently
- Possible straining to urinate
- Incontinence
- Blood in the urine
- Cloudy
- Strong smelling urine
- Accidents inside your home
- Whimpering while urinating
- Licking the genital area
- Fever
- Increased thirst
- Lack of energy
Treatment for dogs with bladder issues or a bladder infection
Once a urine analysis is completed and it is clear that your dog has a UTI, usually, your veterinarian will put your dog on an antibiotic if they have an infection of the bladder, or a UTI. Sometimes they put them on anti-inflammatories to help as well. They could also put your dog on a pain medication during this time. Other tests might be run to make sure there is nothing else going on. Certain health conditions can cause bladder infections or UTI.
A bladder infection can clear up without medication, but this is rare. This is very unlikely but something drinking more water or adding supplements like probiotics could potentially help. This isn’t something you should do before talking to your vet and having a treatment or testing plan.
Don’t stop treatment by a vet. Not treating the infection could cause more severe symptoms and lead to other complications or death, and it’s simply, neglectful. Also note that the infection could be caused by another condition. Understanding the total health of your dog is essential so they are getting the correct treatment. You may need to treat another condition and treat the bladder infection that may have developed twice, due to a root cause.
Dogs placed on an antibiotic should be also on a probiotic to help balance gut flora. All antibiotics no matter what they are for kill all the good gut bacteria. It is essential to help maintain a healthy gut and the chews or probiotic powder can benefit the kidneys and bladder health as well.
Foods and allergies can contribute to UTI or bladder issues in canines
Different foods or certain levels of minerals can cause issues with forming of crystals. These can be painful and cause inflammation in the kidneys, bladder, ureters, urethra and dogs can develop infections this way. It is important your dog have a balanced diet. Sometimes prescription meal wet food like Science Diet and other similar brands may be recommended.
It is also a positive note to add probiotic powder to help boost your dog’s immune system. Boosting the immune function in humans and canines alike can contribute positively to their overall health.
- When your dog has too much magnesium and phosphate in their diets –this can cause crystals to develop fast
- Never feed your dog extra mineral supplements and always have their blood checked before they are treated for a UTI
- Foods the dog eats also correlate what their pH is in the body and this is also important to understand possibly why they are getting frequent bladder infections / UTIs, it is has to do with urine acidity levels – the higher the acidity the less frequent an infection is likely to happen
Kidney diseases in canines
Kidney health in your dog is very important. Many bladder issues can stem from the kidneys and as your dog ages, more kidney issues can develop, unfortunately. Your dog eating healthy, exercising, and taking the right supplements such as probiotics, MSM for joint health and inflammation are essential to helping maintain a healthier, active dog. But nevertheless, there are kidney issues and bladder issues that can creep up on your pooch.
A kidney support diet has:
- Less protein
- Less salts
- Less phosphorus
- Increase omega-3 fatty acids
Talk to your doctor about other tips for health and wellness. Your dog might need a special diet and certain other medications if kidney infections and inflammation are chronically present. There could be a kidney issue from a current medication they are on for being treated for another condition. Everything depends on your canine’s current health status and what medications they are on and their daily activity level.
Tests for looking at kidney function
- Complete blood count
- Serum biochemistry
- Urinalysis
The tests can show if you dog has an infection by looking at the white blood cell counts. Also it can tell if your dog is anemic, look at the blood urea and nitrogen, creatinine, and check the electrolyte levels in your dog.
The urine test needs to show your vet the urea and creatinine levels. This is important when understanding kidney disease. Other than infection, a urinalysis also shows the pH, gravity and if there is any protein or blood in your dog’s urine. Checking the urine also will show if there are any red blood cells, white blood cells, bacteria, crystals, to for helping to better diagnosis kidney issues.
Kidney disease and the gut microbiome in dogs
The kidneys are very important. They are a good indicator of how well the dog is. They are responsible for regulation hydration and remove waste from the blood. They also have to do with the blood pressure being regulated, red blood cells, calcium and many other functions they are needed for.
From studying kidney disease in dogs when kidneys are having issues doing their jobs too much spill over goes into the blood stream. This waste called uremia can cause a buildup of waste and affect gut bacteria. This means there is now an increased amount of toxins in the gut.
Then the dog can develop dysbiosis. This issue can cause gut permeability which causes gut inflammation and absorption is hindered. This can affect the entire immune system, cause nutritional deficiencies because of now developing intestinal absorption issues and so on. Using probiotics is essential whether your dog has kidney or gut issues—probiotics can only help your dog in this state of health decline.
Kidneys are needed for ridding of waste from:
- Foods
- Old cells
- Medication
How probiotics can help kidney and bladder conditions in your canine?
Research in the sector of canine health using probiotics pretty much stands across the board as a good idea. They can overall improve the entire gut microbiome. They can slow progression in kidney diseased dogs. In a study done on dogs that had chronic kidney disease, after a two month study it determined that the dogs who received the probiotic had more improvement with kidney health.
Another study showing the use of the probiotic bifidobacterium animalis, that was done on rats also helped lower the amount of toxins and the probiotic was able to slow the progression of kidney disease. Probiotics only seem to have a positive impact as a therapeutic treatment for improving gut flora to help with chronic kidney disease.
Common probiotics that can be great to add to your dog’s food, daily:
- Bacillus coagulans
- Bifidobacterium animalis
- Bifidobacterium bifidum
- Bifidobacterium longum
- Enterococcus faecium
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Lactobacillus casei
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Canines can benefit from consuming a probiotic chew or a powder like ours, Northern Cascades Safe Guard Probiotics for Dogs. They are great for preventative care for GI health, improving kidney function and health, UTI therapy, reducing inflammation and more.