Showing posts with label urinary tract infections in dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urinary tract infections in dogs. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Dog Has Yellowish Vaginal Discharge

Q: My 5yr old dog (Trixie) has gotten some sort of an infection. She has a yellowish vaginal discharge with a slight smell to it. I have an appointment with her vet set up but was just wondering if it is safe to give her some Echineacha and goldenseal to help her fight the infection in the mean time, while we are waiting to see the vet? I have seen it in various products on the market, but wanted to make sure that it was safe to be given to a dog and what the approximate dosage would be. She is approximately 62lbs if that helps. Thank you very much for your time.

A: As ironic as it may be for all of us pet Moms, our female dogs can get many of the same ailments as we do, including vaginal yeast infections, urinary tract infections and discharge. I am glad you took Trixie to the veterinarian and hope she is feeling better. Here are some suggestions. First of all, it is really important to get Trixie started on a high quality Probiotic. I highly recommend Ask Ariel's Power Probiotic for Pets It is an excellent multi-strain formula and is a good value as well. Most probiotics for people and pets are not manufactured in such a way that they even do what they promise to perform. In order for a Probiotic to work, it needs to be in a form that can survive the stomach acid and guaranteed potency at the time of USE (not manufacture). This particular Probiotic has been third party tested in high temperatures and still holds up at 97%. In any case, a Probiotic will help to repopulate the good flora for Trixie. We have good bacteria that live in our intestinal tract and help us fight disease. They are very important for our immune system. When we take antibiotics, it can lower our immunity by killing off all the good bacteria as well as the bad bacterial overgrowth. That is why we often see people and pets getting repeat infections, especially after taking several rounds of antibiotics.

The yellowish discharge can either be due to an overgrowth of yeast, bacteria or inflammatory cells as result of a urinary tract infection (UTI). Regardless, the Probiotic will help to rebalance the flora and help Trixie to fight future infections. Even if you used antibiotics this time, it is very important to start on the probiotic as many times, the infection will recur.  Other supplements that will help with the yellowish vaginal discharge are K9 Yeast Defense and Notatum.   If your dog has been on antibiotics, this kills all the good bacteria along with the bad.  Good bacteria is needed to help your dog fight another infection.  In addition, when the immune system is weak, it creates an environment where yeast and bad bacteria can quickly overgrow.  Using the K9 Yeast Defense, Notatum and Power Probiotic all together can help strengthen your dog's immune system and promote a healthy growth of good flora so that your dog is protected from future infections.

In addition to Power Probiotic, I would also recommend using a grain-free diet as many times dogs get urinary and vaginal infections from too much sugar in the diet. Most of the commercial diets contain wheat, corn, oats, and even some supplements contain molasses. Take a look at the protein percentage as for a 5 year old active dog, it should definitely be higher than the low 20s which is where many of the cereal-based dog kibbles are. Even hypoallergenic diets that use potatoes instead of corn and grains are too high in carbohydrates, creating an environment which helps bacteria and yeast to overgrow. It is best to use hypoallergenic, grain-free diets (non-chicken based) for dogs and cats that are prone to UTIs and vaginal infections.