Recurrent vaginitis in golden retriever

[Bailey's Mom]

Hello,

Hope someone can help on this one, at the end of December my 10 year old golden (very healthy and active sofar) got a bad case of vaginitis, this is the first time she ever gets it. My vet suggested washing the area very carefully twice/day but it did not clear, few weeks later she analyzed a urine sample and found a very high white cell count, she prescribed antibiotics for 2 weeks and the vaginitis cleared up, white cell count back to normal by beginning of February. Yesterday, I noticed a brown discharge again. I'm cleaning the area with warm water and tea tree oil twice daily, giving her plain yogurt (1 tbsp/twice a day). Could this condition be food related? I'm slowly switching her from California Natural to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance duck & potato formula. Any ideas anyone? Hate the idea of more antibiotics. She is not licking the area, no redness, no frequent urination, no signs of discomfort. Any ideas anyone?

Thanking you in advance for you help!

[davet]

quick question---is she spayed or not and one more was a return use of the antibiotics for a longer time done.....

[Bailey's mom]

She's spayed (done when she was 6 months old, long long time ago now!) and she was on antibiotics for 2 weeks ... infection cleared after a few days but I kept on with antibiotics until prescription finished. My vet seems to think that it could be caused by the cold weather we've been having here (calling from Montreal!), not sure I agree but what do I know, she also mentioned checking her thyroid if infection did not clear but it did go away...but came back again, bummer. Wondering about causes and prevention.

Thanks for looking into this Davet...merci beaucoup!

[davet]

idon't know how the cold weather is involved uunless she is sitting in an area outside that might cause recontamination---how i don;t know---but it might be good to have a culture and sensitivity run and go back to the antibiotics for which the bug is sensitive to..if that was done before then i think a much longer time on the antibiotics used before or a new one that could be found on culture and sensitiviey test......just guessing again from a 1'000 miles away

[Traci]

I agree with Davet, culture the urine in the event there is something unresponsive to the current antibiotics.

I would also nix the tea-tree-oil, this can cause skin irritation in some dogs (and is toxic to cats)

[k9Karen]

davet and Traci - any chance this is yeast? 'Brown' sounds like could be Malassezia

[Traci]

Yep could be, although I'd think the vet might be able to tell that based on experience and/or slide exam.....IMO, culture would be the next step regardless.

[davet]

agree

[Bailey's mom]

Thank you everyone...back to the Vet we go....I'm also wondering about the cold weather, she's an inside dog, when she does go out tends not to sit in the snow for very long...misses us way too much to be out of sight for more than a few minutes! Cleaning her twice per day (vet told me to keep area clean, not that she's very dirty but don't bathe her in winter time) and no discharge last night or this morning. Will research Malassezia since I have no idea what it is and my French translation software is stumped! Was trying to stay away from another session with antibiotics and trying to find a more natural way to clear the infection.

[Doglady]

Just a thought. Since you have a Golden, she has those long "feathers" that do lay on the ground when they squat to pee. This can be a source of contamination when the feathers then have urine on them and bacteria can go up into the urethra and vaginal area. If it were me, I would try clipping the fur in that area to a very short length to try and avoid the possibility of contaminating, or recontaminating when an infection is already present, even though you cleanse the area. This has worked for several clients I mentioned it to, that had continuing problems.