In certain conditions like disturbances in urine pH, crystals in the urine bond together. Once bonded, these crystals become insoluble and when more crystals join together, they form uroliths (urinary stones).

The presence of stones in the kidney or the bladder is known as urolithiasis. Cystitis caused by bladder stones may lead to formation of more stones in the bladder.

The basic components of bladder stones are the minerals that form crystals. These are usually made up of only one type of crystal. In rare cases crystals formed by different minerals can mix for form the same stone.

The relevance of understanding the types of bladder stones lies in the fact that each type is affected by the intake of nutrients and specific diets.

Nearly half the cases of bladder stones are diagnosed as struvite stones. These are found more in female dogs than in male ones. Struvite stones are also called magnesium-ammonium-phosphate or triple phosphate.

Urinary tract infection in dogs that is caused by particular bacteria produce an enzyme called urease that sets a chemical reaction in motion. In this reaction urea is converted into carbon dioxide and ammonia.

Is your dog urinating while sleeping or urinating during the day when they are awake?
It could be a bladder infection or canine urinary incontinence.  If left untreated a bladder infection can damage the bladder so that the dog can not hold urine when needed.  In most cases of urinary problems in dogs, they are unaware of dribbling or urine leakage.  If the cause is due to a bladder infection, the dog is aware of the urination, usually because of pain, but unable to control the urge to urinate.

Young or middle aged dogs may not have incontinence, so you must have the vet rule out other urinary problems in dogs such as bladder or UTI infections or other ailments that can cause urine leakage such as bladder stones, kidney failure, neurologic disorders, hormonal disorders and diseases that increase urine output, such as diabetes.

A urine sample, a culture and other lab tests will determine the cause of the urinary problem.  There are various treatments for canine urinary incontinence which can help to control the dilemma.  Neurologic and hormonal disorders are the most common causes of incontinence in dogs. If the tests come back negative for infection or disease the vet will inquire and investigate the following issues.

The structure of the urinary tract in dogs is as simple as it can be. It consists of the following:

* Kidneys that filter the daily metabolic wastes from the blood and dissolve them in as little water as possible.
* A set of two tubes called ureters that transport liquid waste to a storage area.
* The urinary bladder which is the storage area for urine.
* Urethra, the tube through which this waste is eliminated during urination.

The simplicity, however, ends here because a lot can go wrong with this simple system that is responsible for eliminating wastes. To start with, diet, water consumption, pH balance of the urine and stress can cause urinary tract problems.

In addition to this, disease causing bacteria can enter the sterile tract through the urethral opening at the end of penis (in males) or just within the vaginal vestibule (in females) and cause canine and feline urinary infection.

If the prostate gland, the seminal vesicles or the testicles are infected or inflamed in males, they can cause urinary problems as well. This is because these organs are closely associated with the urethra. The ureters are the least affected and seldom pose a problem unless damaged by injury, cancer, surgical accident, or kidney stones that pass through them.

Symptoms of UTI infection in pets

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are uncomfortable and extremely painful. They tend to be more common in cats than dogs and can be caused by bacterial infection, bladder stones or urolithiasis (stones in the urinary tract).

UTIs often recur and can lead to more serious kidney infections if left untreated. Symptoms include

* Straining to urinate
* Obvious pain or discomfort when urinating
* Constantly licking their genitals
* Frequent urination without passing much urine
* Urinating in unusual places
* Cloudy or bloody urine
* Fever and loss of condition

What is the conventional treatment?

Conventional treatment of UTIs will depend on the specific cause of the problem. In many cases, antibiotics are prescribed which invariably relieve the animal’s symptoms rather speedily.

However antibiotics tend to have a general weakening effect on the immune system which can cause further problems, especially in the long-term and particularly if they are prescribed regularly for recurrent infections.

What is PetAlive UTI-Free?

UTI-Free is a selected combination of herbal and homeopathic ingredients especially formulated to safely and effectively treat the causes and the symptoms of urinary tract and bladder infections in pets.

Nearly the same antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infection in humans are the ones that are used to treat canine and feline urinary tract infection. Several natural remedies and herbs can also used to help boost the immune system and to resist such infections.

However, before any treatment starts, it is useful to get the condition duly diagnosed since the early signs of urinary tract infection in dogs and cats could be signs of some underlying endocrinal disorders like diabetes. It is also necessary to rule out the presence of bladder stones, identify the location of the infection and identify the location of the disease-causing- bacterium that responsible for it. This necessitates a urinalysis and a urine culture.

The root cause of the UTI can be diagnosed in most cases and only a small proportion is idiopathic or without any known cause. The causal factors can help in identifying the right antibiotic and in providing quick relief to the suffering animal.

Another aspect of urinary tract infection in dogs and cats is the recurring nature of such conditions in most cases. It has an inherent quality of recurring, despite the initial remission of the disease. Even though the antibiotics required to treat urinary tract infections are strong and concentrated, an overdose of these can lead to a resistance to the drug.

The lower (distal) portion of the canine urinary tract comprises of the bladder and the urethra. The upper (proximal) portion consists of kidneys and ureters, a pair of thick-walled tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder. The prostate gland encircles the urethra in males.

The entire system barring the urethra is normally sterile. Pathogens from the environment enter through urethra, the duct through which urine is discharged in most mammals.

Certain breeds of dogs are more prone to develop urinary tract infections. In addition, proximity to human populations has lead to a situation where dogs have become more susceptible to common human ailments like UTI. In fact, urinary tract infection in dogs is far more common than it is in humans.

Urinary tract infection usually occurs at a single site – the bladder, ureters, kidneys, urethra, or the prostate glands. But it can affect more than one site at the same time also. Common signs of UTI in puppies and adult dogs are the amount, color and odor of urine along with the frequency of urination.

Although there are other causes as well, dogs that do not drink enough water or those that are not allowed to urinate frequently are at a greater risk of forming bladder stones. Diet plays an important role since excess amounts of magnesium, calcium or phosphorus can lead to the formation of bladder stones.

Other causative factors are the pH balance and urinary tract infection. In dogs urine normally tends to be more acidic. Stones of different composition of minerals can form in both acidic and alkaline urine.

Many medications like diuretics, cortisone, sulpha drugs and tetracycline increase calcium levels in the urine that sets the stage for the formation of crystals and stones. Ammonium urate bladder stones are also among the many consequences of a liver shunt, a condition of abnormal blood flow to the liver.

The treatment of canine bladder stones depends upon the type, size and composition of the stones. Almost fifty percent of the bladder stones are struvite and are predominantly found in female dogs. Excessive struvite crystals are normally formed due to urinary tract infection.

Bladder stones are fairly common in domestic pets and are linked with urinary tract infection in dogs and urinary tract infection in cats. Besides urinary infection in dogs, changes in the pH balance, over saturation of urine with crystals and water re-absorption by the kidney tubules are the other major causes behind the formation of bladder stones.

Diet, decreased water intake and frequency of urination and genetics are some of the factors that contribute to the formation of bladder stones.

Concentration and pH balance play an important role in the type of stone that is formed. Calcium oxalate and urate stones are formed when the urine is acidic to neutral. Struvite stones are generally formed in neutral to alkaline pH environments.

Cystine stones, calcium phosphate stones and silicate stones, on the other hand, although dependent upon pH of the urine are more breed specific and are caused due to a defect in renal tubules.

The extent of urea in the body is another factor that plays a significant role in the formation of calcium crystals that ultimately result in bladder stones.

If you are a dog lover or you own a dog, then you want to know all of the signs that your dog is not healthy. If your dog is not feeling good, then you want to know the signs and symptoms that your dog is experiencing so you can help your dog get healthy.

UTI (urinary tract infection) is very painful for us humans and it is just the same for dogs. Uti infections in dogs come in many stages. Here are some of the warning signs that you can observe in your dog if your dog has UTI.

Since there are many different degrees of this disease, the warning signs vary due to the severity of the illness. If your dog has a mild case of UTI, then your dog might whimper or yelp due to the discomfort or pain. If your dog has a mild case of UTI, then this can be dealt with very easily as long as you catch it right away.

The Urinary tract infection in dogs can be classified into 2 categories. The first category is called an upper urinary tract infection and the other category is called a lower urinary tract infection. Even though these are both urinary tract infection, the symptoms of these infections are very different.