Frequent Drinking
When your dog is affected by a urinary tract infection, he will urinate frequently due to agitation. In order to balance out the water loss, he will drink excessively. Make sure to provide lots of water, as this helps to flush out the bacteria in the bladder.
Adding citrus to your dog's water will help treat a urinary tract infection, as the acid from the citrus makes the bladder an inhospitable place for bacteria to grow in. By encouraging this frequent drinking, especially after including the citrus juice, you help to flush out toxins that accumulate in the bladder, which can cause damage to internal organs if left too long, and stop any future growth.
Strained Urination
An infection in the urinary tract will agitate the interior of the urethra. This will cause a burning feeling when your dog urinates. Dogs frequently lick their genitals if experiencing a burning pain.
Additionally, the pain causes your dog to urinate frequently, without producing anything. This can cause a strain during urination, and will make your dog take longer to attempt voiding.
Excessive Urination
A frequent symptom of urinary tract infections, related to excessive urination, is the "accident." If your housebroken dog begins having accidents in the house, it might be because his urinary tract infection prevents him from being able to hold his bladder. Don't punish your dog for these accidents; schedule an appointment for the vet, and take your dog out more often to urinate in the proper place.
Blood In the Urine
Infections caused by E. coli in the bladder cause inflammation of the bladder. Further agitation causes bleeding and scarring in the tissues of the urinary tract, which causes blood in the urine, as well as a burning sensation.
Some dog owners confuse a dog in heat for a dog with blood in the urine. Be sure to examine the source of the blood, and determine whether or not your female dog is in season.
Dog Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
If you're looking for dog urinary tract infection treatment, consider the cause of the disease. Antibiotics are the most frequently prescribed medication to aid in the curing of an infection, and you should continue with the full course of treatment, regardless of your dog's condition.
By staying with the treatment, you make sure that the infection is cured. Ending the treatment early, due to fears of antibiotic-resistant strains of infection can lead to strains of E. coli moving through the bladder and into your dog's organs, which can cause very serious infections, and potentially, blood poisoning from Shiga toxins.