Ask the French Vet - French Bulldog with Missing Parts??
lorihuntdvm July 3rd, 2008
My 5 year old Frenchie has been plagued with recurrent UTIs. We have done antibiotics repeatedly. We recently took her to an Internist and he discovered she only had one kidney. Is this common in Frenchie and is there something we can do to help prevent these reoccurring infections?
The Internist wants to discuss some surgical options. I am a little hesitant about resorting to surgery.
Any suggestions or something that might have been overlooked?
Dr. Lori writes -
I do believe recurrent UTIs can be common in frenchies, but your little girl is the first I have heard to only have one kidney. I suspect that this is at the root of her UTI problem.
One suggestion may be changing her food to a more urinary tract friendly diet, whether it be prescription or cooked.
I have also found some help with recurrent bladder problems in using some of the joint support supplements, like GlycoFlex III, there is anecdotal evidence to support that it lubricates the surface of the bladder making it tougher for bacteria to take root.
Joint sumplenets are never a bad idea for frenchies, so you don’t have much to lose by trying…
Good luck with your sweet girl and kudos to you for going for the best vet care you could get to help her out!
Lori Hunt, DVM
