Puppy shepherd with UTI

Question
Hi Dawn--
We went to consult our vet, which seems to be an excellent veterinarian, however, a number of things he said were troubling:  (1)  puppies (ours is 10 months old) do not get UTIs; (2) it seemed to me that he was a little too harsh in his diagnosis of a UTI (he called it "severe") and just happened to mention that there was blood in the sample I took over (kind of like an "oh, by the way..." statement); (3) since he couldn't pinpoint what caused the actual UTI, he told us that upon examination, he "noticed" a strange occurrence; he said that she has a tipped uterus and that the UTI could have been caused by hairs blocking the elimination of urine through the vagina; he also said that it is a birth defect, since i asked if this could have happened during the spaying process, which he denied; this news was devastating, since he told us that IF she continues to get UTIs, then surgery is necessary.  I guess our question is twofold:  (1) how many UTIs constitute a chronic condition?  (2) Can a tipped uterus actually cause UTIs?

Thanks...and look forward to your answer (so we can have some peace of mind)...

Answer
Hi Rene,  Yes puppies do get UTI's.  In fact, it is very common for very young puppies to get them because they are closer to the ground and bacteria can get in there fairly easy.  Also, one of the most common symptoms of UTI's is blood in the urine.  That's how most people discover it.  Urine is not eliminated through the vagina, in fact it has no contact with the vagina.  As far as hair, yes hair can cause UTI's because hair carries bacteria which can go up the urethra and cause the UTI.  Normally it is recommended in boy dogs to trim the hair around the penis to keep the bacteria down.  You can do the same in the girls.  If there are long hairs, you can trim them down so that urine & bacteria are not collecting at the opening which can help the bacteria travel up the urethra.  A tipped uterus shouldn't cause UTI's, and yes a tipped uterus can be genetic in origin.  There is no set number for chronic UTI's, I would cure this one with antibiotics, keep the hair trimmed down and the area clean and then stress if she continues to get UTI's, but you will probably find she doesn't.  If she is spayed, then she shouldn't have a uterus.  It is taken out during the spay process.  And actually dogs don't have a uterus, they have uterine horns to carry puppies.  Basically when a dog is spayed they take out the ovaries & uterine horns.  Hope this helps,

Dawn