Licking Her Vagina

[NeylasMom]

Disclaimer: This is about Skye, a non-greyhound in a greyhound home

 

Around December Skye started licking her vagina after walks and potty breaks. Not excessively, doesn't do it a whole lot at other times, but from then on, you can count on her doing it after she pees. When it first started I suspected a UTI so we ran a urinalysis (in house). A small amount of bacteria but vet didn't think it was enough to indicate infection. So I put Skye on a 10 day course of UT Stat Strength, she seemed a bit better briefly and then it continued. She was also sometimes asking to go out in the evenings just to pee at this point, but I can't say for sure that wasn't just because she was bored because there was also a lot going on in my life that meant not enough physical/mental stimulation for her.

 

So anyway, at this point, we ran another urinalysis (sent out to lab). Same thing, small amount of bacteria, but no other signs of infection or other problems. Vet put her on a 14 day course of Clavamox that we finished I think about 2 1/2 weeks ago. She is still doing the licking.

 

So vet said if the ABs didn't resolve it, she wanted to do a sterile draw (the others were first morning free catches) and a culture, but at this point I don't think this is a UTI because there don't seem to be any other symptoms. Any ideas what else could be going on? A bit of a local infection that the Clavamox didn't catch (is there a way to swab and culture)? Something else entirely?

 

This is not a normal behavior for her. It's not overly problematic, she is acting normal otherwise, but I don't want to let something fester. I'll get her back into the vet, but wanted to ask for ideas here first.

[tbhounds]

I would do the cysto-get a culture. Shouldn't be bacteria present-could be that the bacteria is resistant to the clavamox. That's the easiest thing to rule out before addressing other potential issues.

[MaryJane]

Do a culture and see if anything grows. They should also do the sensitivity which will tell you the antibiotic to use.

 

I had a few draws done on Lucy but, they managed to contaminate the sample the last time (I'm furious about that) and since then, I do a first morning clean catch. The last urine that I did, I cleaned her for twice a day for 3 days prior to collecting.

 

Note, drop the urine off on Monday/Tuesday because you want the exams all done by Friday and the reason for this is that the bacteriologists (who read the plates) may not work the weekend at diagnostic labs. The longer the plates sit, the more the bacteria (if any) will grow which can alter the interpretation.