Hi, this is Dr. Bob Pane, from Miami, Florida, at South Kendall Animal Clinic. Let's talk about how you can tell your dog has a bladder infection. The most common thing we get in our practice is somebody complaining or telling us the dog is urinating frequently and spotting. Also, we see dogs who drink a lot of water. Unfortunately, we've been seeing a lot of cystitis’s or bladder infections that don't manifest these signs, so if you see any blood in the urine or if they're licking their vulva or penile, the preputial area a lot then it could be a sign of a bladder infection. With bladder infections you can also get stones and stones can obstruct the urinary flow, and that's very deadly for dogs. If they can't urinate, especially males, they will die within twenty four to forty eight hours, so it's important; if you see them straining and nothing's coming out you need to go to your veterinarian right away. Bladder infections usually are diagnosed by bladder or urinary tract analysis, and we bring a fresh urine or we tap the bladder and we look at it on the microscope as veterinarians, and sometimes we culture the urine. It sometimes takes three or four weeks of antibiotics to get rid of the infection, and sometimes we don't get rid of it because there's stones in the bladder. So, sometimes radiographs by your veterinarian are necessary to diagnose stones that, again, may be blocking the flow of urine, and it can be very, very painful for your dog. Bladder infections can come on really quickly. Older dogs are more susceptible because they don't concentrate their urine very often, and diabetic dogs often are more prone because of the sugar in their urine. It frequently will cause a bladder infection. But, if you see him straining, or urinating a lot, or drinking a lot of water talk to your veterinarian and bring a urine sample in to him.
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