Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, are a real problem in people with mobility and neurological disorders. Often, a bacterial infection is well-advanced before the person shows symptoms. And the consequences for a vulnerable patient like someone who is elderly can be dire.
Knowing that dogs have been trained to sniff out cancers, Assistance Dogs of Hawaii thought they could be put to use in detecting UTIs at an early stage.
They were right.
All dogs in a controlled study detected samples with between 90 and 94% accuracy, even in very diluted samples.
Read the full journal article here.
Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
DoggyMom.com 