So my little girl has an inverted vulva(and currently has a pretty bad UTI because of it). I have made the decision, based on lots of research and talking to a few different vets as well as techs, to wait to spay her till after her first heat cycle. If her vulva doesn't push out after the heat cycle, she'll have the corrective surgery when she's spayed. I'm just wondering if there's a way I could be able to tell when she's about to start her first heat so I can catch the bleeding before it gets all over carpets. I know she's only a little over 4 months old now, but I know it can happen at any time after 4 months for some dogs. Her mom had her first heat cycle after a year and a couple months, so I'm assuming Tetras will happen a little later as well. Her mom had a pomsky litter before and the breeder had said two females from that liter went into heat at 8 and 10 months. I would figure Tetra will have hers around 10 months to a year, but I'm still not sure. Would any of you have an idea as to when she will probably go into heat and what signs to look out for to know that it's about to happen?

I would imagine she will follow siblings and mom, so anywhere between 8-12 months. A good first sign is licking a lot, peeing a lot, so having the UTI will throw you off, since both have similar signs. Energy can slow down some as well as being moody and being picky with food, or lack of a good appetite.

MiyasMomma wrote:

I would imagine she will follow siblings and mom, so anywhere between 8-12 months. A good first sign is licking a lot, peeing a lot, so having the UTI will throw you off, since both have similar signs. Energy can slow down some as well as being moody and being picky with food, or lack of a good appetite.

With her inverted vulva she's always licking a couple times a day, but does more when he has her UTI's. This is the second one she's had since we got her. The last one was on Christmas that I noticed it. So when she's closer to that age I'll keep a lookout for that and not just assume UTI right away without getting it checked out or she has other UTI symptoms to say thats what it for sure is. Thanks!

It's possible that her first UTI was never fully healed, it happened with Mishka. I had to change her meds to a stronger one and she was on it a longer duration as well. Mishka has an inverted vulva as well but I had her spayed early (6months) so it's staying that way unless I let her have surgery. I opted to go a preventative route instead just giving her Cranadin (cranberry supplement the vet recommended) and so far so good. She had had 3 UTI's very close together, with the last one developing gastreontitis (was really scary, I thought she would die!) so this little supplement must be doing its job.

Artic_Wind wrote:

It's possible that her first UTI was never fully healed, it happened with Mishka. I had to change her meds to a stronger one and she was on it a longer duration as well. Mishka has an inverted vulva as well but I had her spayed early (6months) so it's staying that way unless I let her have surgery. I opted to go a preventative route instead just giving her Cranadin (cranberry supplement the vet recommended) and so far so good. She had had 3 UTI's very close together, with the last one developing gastreontitis (was really scary, I thought she would die!) so this little supplement must be doing its job.

Oh goodness I'm glad she's okay now! How old is she now and has it been an issue since those 3 UTIs? Has she had any since starting the Cranadin? Tetra's first UTI she was just put on Clavamox because I took her to the emergency vet since it was Christmas and I didn't want to be charged three time as much for the urinalysis to find out the exact bacteria causing it. I knew by looking online that it was a UTI because I saw mucus in her urine and searched what that could be, but her and I were traveling in 2 days, so I just went to emergency since I didn't know if my vet could fit her in the next day to check it out. The emergency vet was the one who noticed her inverted vulva actually, so I'm glad I took her there or I might not have found out. It went away with the Clavamox though from what I saw. This one was easy to notice because she was obviously having tons of pain when she was trying to urinate, so I got a urinalysis done at the vet and they found struvites and blood cells in the urine so she's now on a pill for 21 days. Hopefully that'll help it go away entirely. I'll definitely try the Cranadin though! Thanks!

Mishka is 3 years old, she will turn 4 at the end of March (27th). Her UTI's "seemed" to go away, but upon the third, in such a short amount of time, (I think they started in October/November and her last was in January...over a year ago now)  the vet thought her med needed to be changed. After the meds were done, I started her on a cranberry supplement called Cranimals, it's in powder form and I just mixed it with her Greek yogurt, and she devoured it too, haha. The vet had recommended Cranadin though, so since the little bags of Cranimals weren't lasting very long, I tried the pill Cranadin, and she takes it well and hasn't had another UTI since those 3 when she was 2 years old. There are varying opinions of cranberry supplements effectiveness on UTI's in people, but another member here posted a great article (I think it was Renee) on UTI's and it talked about inverted vulvas, cranberry, different bacterias, etc. and I learned thru that article that the cranberry coats the walls of the bladder, (I think that's what it was) and doesn't allow bacteria to adhere to it. Anyways, it worked for Mishka, not one UTI in over a year now.

Oh that's awesome! So glad it's working for Mishka! Hopefully it'll help Tetra till we find out if it'll grow out or not! I'll have to try and find that thread and check it out, thanks!

I'm actually trying to find that post for you now, lol. I'm going thru threads I started and dang I post a lot, hahaha. Anyways, I'll keep looking, it was a very informative article.

Btw, I get/got both cranberry supplements from Amazon. If pet stores here carry them, I haven't found them so it's super easy thru Amazon.

Thanks so much! I'm trying to look for it now as well haha. Probably easier for you to find it than me, but we'll see! Amazon is my go to so I don't have to leave the house sometimes or can order wherever whenever, so Amazon it is!

I'm not finding it. It doesn't appear to be in a topic started by me, and all posts I've posted in, only go up to like August 2017 and I'm thinking it'd be very early 2017 (cuz her UTI's started very late 2016) I've scanned quite a few threads UTI related from other members but I still don't see it. I wish I'd saved that article. Hmmm, lemme check my screen shot album, maybe it's there!

Yes! I found it! Now hopefully I link it correctly, lol...here goes...

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_4/features/Detecting-Urinary-Stones-Dogs_16215-1.html

Oh awesome thanks! I'll take a look at it! I really appreciate it!