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Your Pet: Why Won't Her Urinary Tract Infection Go Away? Annabelle is a seven year old Queensland heeler who now lives in suburbia in Goleta CA. She used to take care of a hundred of so head of sheep but since her caretaker George sold his sheep ranch and retired, Annabelle spend most of her time hearding the birds in her back yard. About six months ago Annabelle started to urinate more frequently. According to George, she was asking to go outside sometimes seven or eight times a day. Each time she would urinate small amounts. George took her in to her veterinarian where a urinalysis was performed and it was determined she had a urinary tract infection. After a short course of antibiotics, she seemed to return to normal but about a month later the symptoms had returned. Another course of antibiotics was prescribed and she again got better. This has occurred two more times since and Annabelle and George are both frustrated. George reported that everything else seems to be fine with Annabelle other than he has noted bad breath when she is sitting next to him in his truck. Recurrent urinary tract infections in dogs usually result from an underlying cause. With a single episode, a course of an appropriate antibiotic should cure the situation. When it recurs as it has with Annabelle, further investigation is in order. There is a list of more common possible underlying issues that can lead to recurrent urinary tract infections in dogs. Depending on the definition of common, this list can vary in length. High on that list is a condition leading to stones in the kidney(s) or bladder. These stones can harbor bacteria so that when the antibiotics are stooped, the bacteria can come out of the stones and reinfect. Usually a simple radiograph of the abdomen will demonstrate the stones and depending on the location, kidney(s) or bladder, appropriate surgical intervention should cure the problem. There is also a possibility that the antibiotics used in Annabelle's past infections have not been effective. By this I mean that the bacteria causing her infection may be somewhat resistant to them. I do not think this is the case with Annabelle but this can be simply ruled out by growing the offending bacteria and testing available antibiotics against it. In this way we can determine what antibiotics are likely to kill the bacteria in the urinary tract. The presence of one or more tumors in the bladder can lead to urinary tract infections. These can sometimes be seen on radiographs but usually, ultrasound of the bladder is a much more reliable diagnostic step. These tumors can be benign and removal will usually cure these patients. Malignant bladder tumors are a different story and can be fatal if not addressed early in their course. There are many other possibilities that might lead to Annabelle's recurrent urinary tract disease and I am sure I could not list them all. I do however want to mention on other possibility precisely because George mentioned Annabelle's bad breath. Bad breath usually means some degree of dental disease. With dental disease comes bacterial growth producing tartar around the teeth and gum line. These bacteria can be constantly shed into the blood stream through the gums and gain access to other parts of the body. Since the kidneys accept about twenty-five percent of the blood flow from the heart, bacteria from the mouth can get into the kidneys and from there into the bladder setting up a urinary tract infection. Antibiotics will treat the infection in the bladder but once they are stopped, bacteria from the dental disease can lead to reinfection. Once the dental disease is cleared up, the urinary tract infection will be gone as well. Obviously, it is time or even past time for Annabelle to have some more diagnostic testing. There is an underlying reason she is constantly having her urinary tract reinfected with bacteria. Until that reason is discovered, antibiotics are not the cure.