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Just as for humans, it's pretty common for dog bladder infections. Let's define a dog bladder infection and then go over the causes, symptoms, and treatments for canine bladder infections.

What is a dog bladder infection? Bladder disease is often referred to as urolithiasis, cystitis, urethritis, urinary calculi, bladder stones, or other names. Bladder disease is usually associated with bacterial infection, bladder stones, crystals (minerals which merge to form bladder stones), infection within the bladder wall, cancer or tumors in the bladder.

What causes canine bladder infections? There are several important causes of incontinence and most of these are ruled in or out with a urinalysis and urine culture. The urinalysis reveals cell types and biochemical elements in the patient’s urine while the culture isolates the bacteria growing in the urine. The bacterial species grown are identified and tested for their sensitivity towards different antibiotics, the end result being confirmation of the presence of infection and a list of appropriate antibiotics. Most cases of incontinence are due to infections, excessive consumption of water, weak bladder sphincter, and spinal cord disease.

What are the symptoms of dog bladder infections? First you will see the irritable behavior of the dog. They will ask you to go outside more frequently than usual. The urination becomes troublesome and the dog can cry during the process. There will be less amount of urine and the frequency will surely be increased. The urine becomes foul smelling. As the infected urine makes the urinary passage inflamed, there is burning sensation during the process and the dog will lick their genitalia after urination for quite some time. They do it to get some respite. In advanced cases, where the kidneys have become diseased, there may be dribbling of blood from the urethra.

How do you treat canine bladder infection? Most lower urinary tract infections are one-time events, and antibiotic treatment cures them without complication. A lower urinary tract infection that doesn’t respond to antibiotics may be more complicated. This indicates the need for further tests such as a urine culture and X-rays of the bladder.

Dog bladder infection pictures:

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