Natural Remedies for Dog UTI: Effective, Easy Treatments
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ACV worked perfectly for my dog's bladder infection. I am so grateful, thank you to each and everyone of you who posted about the acv, it's good to help one another!
So sorry for your loss of Lola. I came across this thread as I was searching for a UTI home remedy for my dog. Your post saddened me so that I felt I had to extend my sympathy to you for your loss of a very dear friend. May your heart be filled with many happy memories of Lola.
D-Mannose powder (simple sugar) eliminates urinary tract infection quickly (24-48 hours) and safely by causing the bacteria to be flushed right out of the body with normal urination. D-Mannose is easy to buy, your local Health Food store has it.
It is a shame and unforgivable that doctors are not recommending this product - to people and to pets! I have small 16 years old dog, the dosage I use - 1/2 teaspoon with a little of her favorite treats crumbled in it - 3 times for only 1 to 2 days, and the infection is gone! (No more blood in urine, no rotten smell.) It works like a magic for people and pets! No antibiotic needed!
I have a 6 month old Newfoundland female and she once again developed the signs of a urinary tract infection. The first time I had her treated with antibiotics from the Vet, this time I tried some Yogurt and ACV and IT WORKED! I was so excited that this natural cure actually worked and it worked right away! I tried two teaspoons of ACV with two to three Tablespoons of Yogurt. She ate it right away-my older male Newfie had some yogurt too and loved it. Now I need a remedy for dog hiccups-my pup gets them several times during the day. Thanks for the help! Karen
Posted by Mary (Sterling Heights, Michigan) on 09/25/2008 ★★★★★
Thank you all so much! My little 13 yr old Lahsa (pound rescue two years ago) developed a bladder infection and (despite my doubts)1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar in a tiny bit canned cat food twice a day took care of it in a day and a half! You've saved me so much money. I initially dosed her with one teaspoon diluted in half with water (orally using a syringe)but a lot of it came back up. She doesn't much like it in her water, but hey, if that's all that's available, she (and the cats- a plus) will drink it (1/2 teaspoon in ~2 cups water). Thanks again! I'm telling everyone about this web site.
Posted by Pete (VeryRural, MN) on 09/21/2008 ★★★★★
Day 1 of ACV & I like what I see. Please read the below.
My 8 yr old Springer Spaniel had a bladder infection about 6 months ago, it was soon after she'd come out of heat, it gave her the typical discomfort, whimpering, peeing indoors, multiple dry pees outdoors etc... I took her to the vet who did the standard test & diagnosis exam, antibiotics and out the door for $275, a few days later Kayla was on the mend.
Well here we are today, yesterday actually & Kaylas been out of heat for a week now when she suddenly developes the same symptoms, as it was Saturday all I could do was sympathise w/her & made sure to walk her often. Poor girl she was panting, whimpering, pacing & me knowing the vet was at least two days away. Late last night I came to this site & saw this Apple Cider Vinegar remedy forum and figured what the heck it couldn't hurt....... I got some fresh ACV at the general store this morning and gave her 1.5 Tbsp. mixed w/her kibble. One hour later she's sleeping comfortably for a change, no whining, no visible discomfort, in fact she's obviously feeling just fine 'n dandy all afternoon. I give her another 1.5 Tbsp with tonights supper feeding, still she's feeling well & really appearing to be back to her old self. I'm retired & I'm with my dogs 24/7 mostly so I'll be careful to watch Kayla & to try to be impartial in my continued assessment of ACV treatments for UTI or bladder infections. I'll update this every day or so with a few quick comments, sorry this was so long winded but it seemed only proper to give Kaylas known history.
So guys....I have to share this for all the pet lovers out there since this site has helped me so much over the years, I felt like now is my time to make a contribution. So my 11 yr old cockapoo suddenly came down with an apparent Uti this weekend. I was at my wit's end trying to figure out what to do since his doctor's office was closed for the weekend. I tried probiotics/cranberry/uta ursi(not sure of the spelling) etc but nothing worked. I noticed that he started appearing really sick later that day and guys I was really scared. I mean this dog is my life lol....then I remembered....I had read somewhere that D-mannose is used sometimes with great success for this type of issue. I remembered that I had some stashed away in my pantry and immediately gave him to eat mixing it with a little bit of honey to make it more palatable. Well what do you know...the next morning, he went out to do his business and surprise....not a speck of blood in his urine, hallelujah.
Today day 2...same thing...urine clear as crystal. So guys please everyone with this problem try this remedy...hopefully it will work for you the way it did for me.
One more thing, your pup has to drink a lot of water to flush the bacteria out as well. In my case, my dog hates water so what I do is make some warm tea, add a little milk and he drinks it like crazy cause he loves milk.
If this post helps even one dog, I'll be so happy. Have a great night guys.
My dog was trying to pee every 2 minutes and nothing was coming out. I found this website and went and bought the ACV and plain yogurt. Within a day she was almost back to normal. Only on day two. Keep you posted
Posted by Maggie (Idaho) on 08/05/2016 36 posts ★★★★★
D-Mannose worked great for a urinary tract infection in my 14# dog. It was hard trying some of the remedies suggested here on Earth Clinic because she's almost 16 years old, set in her ways and refuses something she doesn't like. I tried apple cider vinegar in her food, Himalayan sea salt and cranberry juice but they didn't help. Made some corn silk tea from the silk on some corn that I'd bought at the store and mixed it with her food and that helped some. I could tell it made her feel better because she would urinate as soon as I took her outside. Before, she would walk around for a while, not wanting to urinate. She still had a discharge so I tried D-Mannose. I mixed the contents of a 500 mg capsule in her food three times a day for about 3 days and then twice a day for 4 days. She's fine now. What's nice about D-Mannose is that it's not bad tasting like some remedies so I was able to mix it with her food.
Posted by Noelle (Elkhorn, Ne) on 12/18/2014 ★☆☆☆☆
I have a paralyzed little dachshund that suffers from chronic UTI's. The last 5 months have been one after the other. We try 2+ weeks of antibiotics, he'll get 'better', and then a week off the antibiotics and the infection starts to flare up again.
ACV did not work. He was on it for five days.
Sea salt did not work. He was on it for four days. Excessive drinking and peeing were the only result.
He has pure cranberry powder mixed into his food. Not helping.
He has yogurt every night (and has for years). The acidophilus has not prevented or help the current problem.
Going to try Vitamin C and then iodine (per suggestions read) before I take him in for his umpteenth vi$it to the vet for this problem. Any other suggestions??
FYI - he is 14.5 yrs old and I express his urine three times a day. He also suffers from alopecia. (he's a 'blue' dachshund. Lots of thyroid problems. Hmmm, maybe the iodine is the route to try first?)
Canine Bladder Infection and high white cell count: I took our 5 year old Golden Retriever, Abbie, to the vet today after spending a night letting her in and out of the house constantly to try to urinate. I took her to the vet this morning and they confirmed she had a bad bladder infection and gave me an antibiotic ($118.00 and that was with a Wellness Plan discount) and a prescription for special Royal Canin dry dog food for bladder problems. The bag is only 17 lbs and cost a whopping $68.00! I tried to get a straight answer from the vet if this was food she was going to have to stay on forever and couldn't get a definite answer. We have another golden retriever also and are on a fixed income and frankly don't think we can afford to keep her on this food as I doubt that 17 lbs is even going to last her alone, a month. After reading about ACV benefits, I am wondering if the special food is even needed after the infection is cleared up. I am wondering how many people who posted about this problem are feeding their dog the super expensive special food or if ordinary good quality food with the ACV is enough. We had been feeding her Costco's Kirkland Salmon and sweet potato dry food and thought it was an improvement over the normal grocery store brands.
I got the most AWSOME news today from my vet! After 8 weeks of blood and protein in my yorkies urine and 4 rounds of antibiotics...we are now blood free and only a trace of protein! But guess what, it wasn't the antibiotics that he credits for the drastic improvement...it's the natural regime that I put her on...and he wants me to continue what I am doing and not give her any more antibiotics. He actually ask me about the treatment! Within 24 to 36 hours of mixing plain unflavored live cultured yogurt and a capful of unprocessed apple cider vinegar in with a 1/2 cup of her food, she was asking to go out less and when she did, her output was more...no dribbles! She has had no accidents in the house and she is acting like a 6 month old puppy instead of 5 years old! He looked at her Ph levels from where we started to where we are and at the moment, we are 7...nuetral....YAY! I will have her urine checked again in 2 weeks to see if the protein is completely gone, but I have no doubt that it will be...she is acting just too happy and healthy and I am one happy mom!
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
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How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
Did your vet wish to culture the urine to determine the best antibiotic? Or was there another reason to culture? If you try a home remedy and the UTI comes right back, you may need to continue with your vet to rule out complications such as crystals or stones.
You might consider Ted's sea salt remedy for a UTI:
Use a quality sea salt - the aquarium stores tend to sell the best.
A crisis dose is 1 teaspoon of sea salt into a liter of pure, non-chlorinated water, for 1-2 days [play it by ear; you *should* see a rather immediate resolution to the symptoms in that time frame, but if not go for 3 days and consider adding cranberry juice to the water.
A maintenance dose after the crisis resolves is 1/4 teaspoon sea salt into 1 liter of water.
If your dog won't drink the water with 1 teaspoon of sea salt added to it, consider dosing 1/2 teaspoon sea salt into canned food and hiding it that way so your dog takes it. Give 1/2 teaspoon am and pm for up to 2 days.
Ted also adds: "As to the apple cider vinegar for UTI, I do not think it to be as effective as a sea salt remedy. However if ACV is used then it is likely to be mixed with a pinch of baking soda."
Some folks report good results with powdered cranberry. As for the powdered cranberry dosage, some contributors have used 2 capsules [Cranactin brand] diluted in 1 oz water for a cat, while others have used 1 capsule for a 65 pound dog. This is something you will have to compare brands and potencies and work out for your dog, but it makes sense to me to start out with 1 capsules with food am and pm during a crisis and then scale back to 1/2 capsule am and pm for maintenance.
As for the yogurt and ACV - many mix the two together and feed with the am and pm meals. 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered, "with the mother" ACV into wet food or yogurt. If you are looking for probiotics from the yogurt, it may be easier to simply buy the probiotics in powder form and add to the diet, as some dogs don't do well with dairy.
The ACV can be used as a maintenance dose with the food; if you dose a probiotic as well its a good idea to switch brands every couple of weeks to rotate the species of probiotic for proper balance in the gut.
My 2 year old female cat was going outside the box. She didn't show any signs of weakness, bloating or pain, so I assumed the problem was behavioral in nature. For two months I tried to modify the behavior with a spray bottle of water but when I mentioned it my neighbor, she said to take Ruth to the vet "IMMEDIATELY".
Instead, I came here and just a few days after adding the ACV to wet food (and cutting out dry food) Ruth is back to going in the box and is more lively, playful and affectionate as she has ever been.
Posted by Jody (British Columbia, Canada) on 07/04/2010 ★★★★★
My 3 year old female St. Bernard has had three UTI's. Getting a urine sample from a St. Bernard is not easy to say the least:) The one before her present one I had tried the ACV and yogurt, unfortunately to no avail and had to resort to a vet visit and antibiotics. Two weeks ago I noticed her frequent urination again and went out and bought D-Mannose, which I had read great reviews about. WOW! In one to two days her urination was back to normal. I've given her one 500mg pill (opened in her food) three times a day since and was just researching when to decrease that dose. I may put her on one pill for maintenance now. It's really worth a try for all the damage antibiotics can do to animals and people (although yes, they do have their place in many instances:)
Posted by HappyHonu (Poland, NY) on 04/22/2009 ★★★★★
My 2yr old shepard/husky mix started to exhibit signs of a bladder infection after I brought her home from being boarded for a week. She was frequently trying to pee and was unable to. She also had accidents in the house overnite which never happened before. I found your site while trying to verify, online, that her symptoms could actually be a bladder infection before making a Vet appointment. I tried the ACV & yogurt the same day (Monday). She is about 80lbs so I used 1 tblsp ACV and 2 tblsp of plain yogurt. That same nite there was no accident and she seemed calmer and not so anxious to go out all of the time. I gave her the combo 2 times per day. The second morning she vomited so I knew it was bothering her stomach. She is not a big eater and hadn't eaten much in the past few days so on tues I mixed half of her food with the mixture and she loved it. I also have her sister who is a picky eater and wants everything her sister gets so I added the yogurt only to her food and she actually ate it all! Bowls of food stay all day untouched usually. It is wednesday and I am confident that the bladder issue is cleared up. I will continue with the ACV for a couple more days to be sure. I will also continue to use the yogurt in their food because it has finally gotten them to eat after much trial and error with various foods. Thanks so much for the wonderful information on this site. I feel much better being able to help my dog with natural products instead of antibiotics. I realize that the antibiotics would be necessary if more serious symptoms persisted but to be able to avoid them when possible is much better.
Posted by Rebecca (Austin, Texas) on 04/19/2009 ★★★★★
My 5 month old puppy began to have urinary frequency and small drops of blood in her urine on Friday night. As soon as we got home from training class, she was urinating more frequently, having frequent episodes of dysuria in between and still having some drops of blood towards the end of her stream. I quickly researched home and natural remedies. I came upon this one and just happened to have unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar in my fridge. She is nearly 50 lbs, so I mixed 1 tablespoon with 2 tablespoons of yogurt right then. Later with her dinner, I again mixed 1 tablespoon with the yogurt and her normal meal. She was back to normal in the morning! We are still continuing the treatment to see if it will help her with problems she has been having with skin allergies, so far we have noticed some relief and improvement. =) Thanks.
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