Vomiting, then UTI, now both...not sure what it is

[HeatherJS]

Hey everyone! Not sure where to start with this one, it's kind of a long and confusing one. About a month ago I started switching my 1.5 year old boxer female, Lilly, to Royal Canin's boxer food. She had been on Chicken Soup and liked it but wasn't too excited about it. It would literally sit in her bowl for hours and then she'd eat it, like she was thinking, "Well, if you're not going to give me anything else, I guess I'll eat this." When she tried the boxer food, she LOVED it, she'd eat around her old food, spit it out, etc. I ended up buying the 35 pound bag after seeing how much she loved the seven pound bag. There were smaller pieces of kibble mixed in with the "boxer sized" pieces, and I didn't think too much of it. HUGE MISTAKE. Not realizing that bags could get mixed together on accident, I didn't realize that Lilly had another kibble mixed in--not sure yet if it was cat food, puppy food, etc., but it was very small pieces and made her very sick. After she'd been on it for a week or two I called Royal Canin because she was puking almost daily. Once she even puked three times in one day--white foam in the morning, bile in the afternoon, entire pieces of food after dinner. They said it was another kibble mixed in, apologized, and sent me a new bag.

Well, a week later Lilly was having accidents inside (pee and once even #2!!) and that's not like her at all. One day I noticed a dark spot in the urine and knew it was a bladder infection because she'd had one in March/April. Took in a sample and they said there was a lot of blood. Her white and red blood cells were okay, so we caught it early (last time, one of her cell counts was high, but now i forget which). They put her on a week of cephalexin (spelling?). I mentioned the vomiting, she'd done it once or twice since I was feeding her the Royal Canin for boxers without the other stuff mixed in, and they said it was probably just still upsetting her stomach, if it kept happening to bring her back. BUT, they warned, the antibiotics might make her sick also, so don't get too freaked out (HA). And if she gets another UTI, then they're going to check her for kidney stones.

Uh, yeah, the meds do make her sick. About a quarter to half the time I give Lilly her meds she vomits. I noticed her odds of keeping it down were better if she ate it on a full stomach, but even then it was iffy. Last night she peed IN MY BED for the second time this week. She did that only during her last bladder infection because she'd lose control in her sleep. Once she did it in the middle of the night, while I was sleeping next to her! Last night she also puked twice after I gave her the meds (and her food). I think she basically emptied her stomach. Actually, now that I think about it, last night before I even gave her the meds she was puking white stuff up after playing with my boyfriend's boxer. There was also a pile (with grass in it, of course) on my kitchen rug last night. I don't know when she put that there. So I guess her vomiting isn't always just after she takes her meds.

I'm at a loss. There are just so many factors involved. I don't know if she's puking because of the meds or because of her new food. Or if there is something else causing her to vomit and the vet is blaming the meds. BUT she didn't get sick at all the first week she was eating her new food, so I don't think she could be having bad reactions to that. It was only after I bought the bad bag that she started puking. I don't remember her vomiting a lot during her first round of cephalexin with her last bladder infection.

But with her both peeing and pooping in the house when she hasn't done that in almost a year, vomiting a lot, not getting over her bladder infection, having a lot of blood in her urine but an okay blood cell count...I guess I'm just worried my vet is thinking about the obvious and not wondering if it could be something else.

I'm going in today to pick up a prescription for Penicillin. They mentioned that I might want to put her on special food after this. Is there a special food for dogs prone to bladder infections? Should I be asking my vet more questions about this? Anyone know where I can get a cheap, new mattress since my dog is a bed wetter?

[Jan]

Medications can certainly make your dog sick. It usually helps if you give them with food, which it sounds like you are doing. Maybe you should try a different food. There are lots of great foods out there. For the UTI's you could try giving her cranberry capsules. They won't get rid of an infection, but they can help prevent them.

[HeatherJS]

I'm definitely thinking about a new vet! I went last night when I got off of work (I actually left work two hours early) and waited for thirty minutes. It was 5:15 at that point and they close at 5:30. There was still a person in front of me and I think they only had one doctor there. I figured if she got in at 5:30, they wouldn't be able to do a proper exam and so I just left. They had the penicillin waiting for me, and they recommended the UD food again. The third ingredient in that is pork fat, and that just doesn't sit too well with me so I'm not even going to consider it. I'm going to try the Royal Canin premium line (forgot the name) so I'll see how that goes.

Thanks for the slobbery kisses and suggestions!