Urinaid Chewable Tablets

These tablets are a supplement and so do not have any listed side effects like a licensed medication would. Any possible side effects would be rare and related to an intolerance to one of the ingredients, which may show as vomiting or diarrhoea. The sign you describe seems to be your dog straining to urinate. I strongly advise seeing your vet for this as a priority it could be a sign of the underlying urinary issues flaring up. It is very important to see your vet urgently if you are seeing no or very little urine being passed.

The 'before meals' part means the supplement is best given on an empty stomach. The stomach will be most empty before a meal. It should not cause any inappetance, if your dog is eating less than normal then I advise consulting your vet to ensure there are not any other causes to this.
It is worth noting that if your dog is diabetic then try to give the supplement around meal times rather than significantly away from meals. It may cause a slight ride in blood sugar levels and insulin will need to be onboard for this, which I assume you give at meal times.

Urinaid is great at supporting bladder problems such as damage, infection or inflammation. However this sounds like it could be urinary incontinence or that your dog needs to urinate more often than normal. I advise contacting your vet for advice on this as there could be an underlying cause behind it.

The ingredients within Urinaid will start working within a few hours of dosing but the resultant effect of reducing any bladder related signs can take a few weeks to be seen. This varies greatly depending on what the cause of the bladder issues are and I advise discussing a treatment plan with your vet if you do not have one.

This supplement helps support the bladder and can help against urinary tract infections, however it will not reduce crystals in the urine. These are related to excessive amounts of certain minerals in the urine. Prescription urinary diets are usually required to do this, I advise discussing which are appropriate for your dog with your vet.

Urinaid is essentially a herbal product that is very safe. It is usual for dogs to stay on this supplement long term and in fact many do without any side effects. It is perfectly acceptable for your dog to take 1.5 tablets a day for the rest of her life and it is indeed likely to help prevent further UTI's. I would continue on that dose rather than reducing it to get the maximum desired effect.

This is basically a herbal product and it can be used alongside the other products you mention. There is a slight overlap in the ingredients but this is not a problem.

If the cystitis persists despite what you are doing, then it would be worth your vet performing a culture and sensitivity test on a clean urine sample, with a view to a long course of antibiotics. Hopefully this will not be needed, but sometimes it is the only way to eradicate a urinary infection. Persistent infections can possibly go on to cause kidney problems so the balance of risks can fall towards supporting the use of antibiotics.

I agree with you about the image. It is just a bad choice of photograph used on the website and has nothing to do with the product actually sold. I have just changed the website photo to one which I think is a bit better. I can assure you though that the quality of the image is not connected with the actual product supplied

This tablet can be broken up and mixed with food or liquid to help if required. You can break it up if you need to.

It would be fine to give your dog one Urinaid tablet per day, along with the other supplements you are using. It is difficult to predict how much benefit you might get from this, but it would be safe and it seems reasonable to do all that you can. I hope things go as well as they can.