UTI in 11 week old golden retriever

Question
My puppy was recently diagnosed with a bladder infection.  More concerning I was also told that she had a low specific gravity.  Other than the frequent urination she is VERY active, eating, and seems fine.  Is it possible that the infection caused the low specific gravity?  I have also read that low specific gravity is often a sign of kidney failure.  Wouldn't she have other symptoms if this were indeed the case?  She is being rechecked next week, but I am still very nervous!  Thanks for any help you may be able to give!

Answer
Sara,

A low specific gravity means her urine is diluted.  Normal SG is from 1.000 to 1.030.  

At 11 weeks old I can assure you she is not in kidney failure. Bladder infections occur when foreign bacteria find their way into the bladder.  This can happen in a variety of ways, most commonly through the urine opening (vagina, penis) when a puppy is hunching down to pee in the grass :-)

My pug puppy had a bladder infection when he was a few months old also.  If you watch when she pees, I'm sure you'll see that she gets her vagina in the grass, puppies have big fat bellies and not a lot of coordination!  As she gets older she'll learn to keep herself out of the grass but until then walk her on short grasses.

Grass like everything else in the world has bacteria on it and when she squats to do her business she transfers that bacteria from the grass onto herself which then grows and spreads into the bladder causing an infection.

It's not uncommon in puppies, so just make sure you give her the antibiotics on time and for the entire length of treatment.  After you finish the medication, go back and have another urinalysis done to ensure the bacteria are gone.

If you are still concerned about the kidneys you can do blood-work to check the values, but like I said I doubt she's in any danger.

Good luck and welcome to puppy-hood!

Laura