Hi all, I was turning here as a bit of a last resort for information in regard to some ongoing UTI issues my senior Malamute has been having for a while. I've been to our local vet numerous times and we've recently tried 3 rounds of different antibiotics but her tests keep coming back positive for a high rod count. Essentially, still fighting an infection.

While I'm not expecting anyone to be able to fully diagnose her issue (as we already know that the culprit bacteria is E Coli from the urine culture results), I was hoping maybe someone could confirm some suspicions I have and some possible remedies I'm about to try?

As of right now, the last call I received from the vet after a two week stint of 500 mg of Amoxicillin was that she was still fighting an infection. My vet is almost at a loss as she can't imagine why the antibiotics aren't working against this E Coli outbreak she has. She has asked around to other vets to see if they have dealt with similar cases and they told her that while she isn't showing an signs of incontinence that they've seen meds used for incontinence work alongside the Amoxicillin in stubborn cases that they have seen. So as of this morning, she's back on another 2 weeks of Amoxicillin and a month long supply of incontinence meds. My vet seems to think that urine is possibly pooling in her private areas and could be keeping the antibiotics from fully working. Which is why the incontinence meds may help with that situation. I'm also giving her a wipe down after taking her to the bathroom to make sure the area is as dry as I can get it.

Also, her history may come into play here as well. We adopted her when she was 5 years old from a breeder. This girl had A LOT of puppies during her early years. More than she should have. And I would have a hard time believing that this wouldn't have something to do with these UTI's as she ages. Just a theory but a lot can change inside when a dog or human for that matter has a lot of babies.

Years ago when we first adopted her, we had an allergy and skin analysis done on her and she came back with a really high yeast content on her skin. And recently, I've been noticing that she is licking her paws quite often. Which I know can be a sign of yeast buildup. And along with the buildup, I know yeast can lead to UTI's. However, I'm not sure if the yeast would show in the urine culture or if it could just add to the E Coli issue? I've told my vet about my suspicions and it's even in her chart but they seem to be ignoring it. I mean, they know more than I would so maybe it's not linked but maybe someone here can tell me for sure as I don't feel like I get a straight answer from their end.

So here we are. I'm going to give the full run of antibiotics and incontinence meds for the next couple of weeks. And then get her urine re tested and hope that this works.

In the meantime, I'm going to try and tackle this probable yeast issue as well. I'm going to start her with a bath using an anti fungal shampoo as well as an anti fungal ear wash. Shes been shaking her head from time to time but when I and the vet check her ears, they look clean. Even giving them a deep wipe comes up with nothing visible. But with her paw licking, ear scratching, and head shaking from time to time, and scaly skin flakes, along with her history of yeast, I really feel this needs to be tackled. So I'm just going to do this myself and do it early while she is just starting the meds. I also changed her food a while back to a potato free diet as I've read that potato can really feed yeast buildup.

The other big equation here is that she shows absolutely no physical signs of the UTI and the only way I end up knowing there is a problem is because she has an accident in the house. She isn't licking her privates, she isn't drinking an abnormal amount of water, she eats all her food everyday, her temp is normal during the vet visits, and she doesn't whine or show pain when going to the bathroom. Everything is totally normal until I see an accident.

So now that I've explained all I can think of, do any of you have any suggestions or history in dealing with anything similar?

I appreciate anyones time on this matter. I just thought it would be good to read some other opinions. Our next step is an ultrasound but my vet really doesn't think it's going to show anything so she keeps trying other methods to bust this UTI. But we may have no choice if all of this doesn't work on this go around.

Thanks again!