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My puppy has dermatitis & UTIs, vet care is costly. What can I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 11 months and 2 days old | 36 lbs

Ellie our puppy isn't doing so good she has dermatitis and gets urinary tract infections on and off we bring her to the vet pretty often but we just can't afford it anymore we have no money to bring her at all we've been trying all natural stuff but it seems to not be working and we keep giving her different kinds of food to try but my friend says if we keep switching food it can make her really sick I really don't know what to do

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 3rd, 2017

If she has dermatitis really bad than she could have a bacterial skin infection, demodex, allergies, ringworm, etc. Your vet could do a skin scrape, cytology, and culture to help diagnose. If there is any evidence of a skin infection than an antibiotic should be used for at least 3 weeks. She may also need an anti-histamine long term and a short term course of a corticosteroid. If there is any chance she could have mites than your vet could also treat for that. If she is getting frequent urinary tract infections it could be related to a skin infection. If you can't take her back to your vet than you could feed her a hypoallergenic diet like z/d or d/d and keep her on that diet for a few months to see if it is related to a food allergy. Do not give any other foods while trying the hypoallergenic diet. Switching foods frequently can cause gastrointestinal problems, like vomiting and diarrhea. So sorry that she is having all these problems but it sounds like she needs some more veterinary care. You could take her to a veterinary dermatologist if your vet is not able to diagnose and treat.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Dermatitis and urinary tract infection may be eventually related if an infection is present. Bacterial infection can potentially cause these signs and antibiotics may be required for long time in Ellie's case. Generally speaking, I do not think that switching food or natural remedies will be effective at this time. Switching food very often can make her sick as well, causing gastrointestinal upset. Have you ever tried antibiotics? What kind of diagnosis your veterinarian gave ? Please do not hesitate to write on the forum more question to receive more specific answers and discuss further the problem. Hopefully we will be able to help Ellie!!

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    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 21st, 2017

    This is suspicious of ringworm (a fungal infection of the skin). This could also be due to a yeast or bacteria infection. Mange would look much different, so I am not suspicious of that being a cause. This would also be unrelated to her food. It's best to get it diagnosed by a veterinarian, because ringworm can spread to different parts of the body and can spread to people. Also, the more involved the infection, the longer it will take to clear. For now, I recommend washing your hands anytime you touch Lola. A puppy having a UTI for seven months is abnormal and very concerning. This along with the skin infections could indicate that there is something wrong with her immune system. In either case, Lola needs more diagnostics and more treatment, so taking her to a vet as soon as possible is strongly advised. If your current vet has not been helpful, then you should consider taking her for a second veterinary opinion. I hope that helps and Lola gets better soon.

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This is suspicious of ringworm (a fungal infection of the skin). This could also be due to a yeast or bacteria infection. Mange would look much different, so I am not suspicious of that being a cause. This would also be unrelated to her food. It's best to get it diagnosed by a veterinarian, because ringworm can spread to different parts of the body and can spread to people. Also, the more involved the infection, the longer it will take to clear. For now, I recommend washing your hands anytime you touch Lola. A puppy having a UTI for seven months is abnormal and very concerning. This along with the skin infections could indicate that there is something wrong with her immune system. In either case, Lola needs more diagnostics and more treatment, so taking her to a vet as soon as possible is strongly advised. If your current vet has not been helpful, then you should consider taking her for a second veterinary opinion. I hope that helps and Lola gets better soon.
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