11 Year Old Neutered Male (poodle) Peeing a lot.

[JessicaR]

That's what I am going to do. I didn't even like the way he handled him. Not that he was rough but he didn't even talk to him. I know that sounds silly but, even though there are two or three vets at the other vet that I take him to, they all relate really well to their patients. On the "plus" side, I just called my groomer back and she said the her vet likes this guy...but she doesn't.

You know what, it doesn't sound silly to me at all. I'm the same way. For what ever reason you werent happy. I trust those instincts every time. My vet relates to my pets in a positive manner too and I am at ease when they are.

I will be keeping Jude in my thoughts. Hope all goes well and it turns out to be something simple. He sure is a beautiful boy and I love seeing his pictures when you post about him.

 

[minkydog]

Well, I am a little annoyed, but its my own fault. I had an appointment at a local vet for the canine influenza because it was close, convenient, and I didn't anticipate a problem and my SIL likes this guy. Rather than cancel that appointment and make an appointment at the vet that we ALWAYS go to, except in a blizzard, I kept the local appointment. Once there, I told them about the frequent urination and so we took Jude outside and got a spec. It looked slightly brown (blood?) He got weighed and hadn't lost any weight. He feels good. He gets the shot and the vet draws the "senior profile". All good so far. I asked about the urine. He said that the specific gravity was low so he's drinking a lot. I asked about anything else and he said he was sending it out. I made an appointment for two weeks for the second flu shot and was told to call tomorrow for the lab results after ten. I will. Then I got home and wondered if they dipped the urine for blood. I had specifically asked if anything else was in the urine, not sure why he didn't mention blood at the time. I called the office and asked if they dipped it for blood and glucose. No glucose present. It was a moderate for blood. I told them that tomorrow I would like a copy of his blood work and they said that they will give it to me.I called my groomer because she hears a lot. She told me that this guy is not only expensive; he was about 50% more than my vet would have been, but likes to have patients coming back. Now I have two issues. The blood in the urine could be a UTI. And the second issue is, I don't know how confident I will be with this guy's recommendations since he told me that he is building a 24 hour animal hospital across the street. If there is anything in the blood work to be concerned with or if he doesn't address the UTI and rule out an infection, I am taking the blood work to my vet where I do have confidence. It wasn't a good idea to not go there in the first place. I spent twice as much money as I would have and feel no confidence at all.

Sounds like you need a second opinion on Jude. He's an old pup and stuff starts going wrong. I think you'd be more confident if you could hear this news from a vet you trust.

BTW--Minky says to tell Jude he's sorry. Minky is an old gentleman Standard, too, 9-1/2 now. We went through a scare like this a year ago with him. Had to collect the urine, send off the tests. I was just beside myself with worry. Everything came back normal. The vet said he's just drinking a lot(and peeing alot.) So far, no changes. We're hoping for the best with Jude.

 

[DawnCt1]

Sounds like you need a second opinion on Jude. He's an old pup and stuff starts going wrong. I think you'd be more confident if you could hear this news from a vet you trust.

BTW--Minky says to tell Jude he's sorry. Minky is an old gentleman Standard, too, 9-1/2 now. We went through a scare like this a year ago with him. Had to collect the urine, send off the tests. I was just beside myself with worry. Everything came back normal. The vet said he's just drinking a lot(and peeing alot.) So far, no changes. We're hoping for the best with Jude.

Thank Minky! Jude says Hi. I have a plan C, which I have implemented. Jude's breeder and previous owner, who loves him dearly is a vet. I don't like to call her with routine stuff but I know she would want to know about this. I talked to her DH and he gave me her cell number. I left a message and I am sure she will call back. No doubt when I get the blood work, she will want to review it. If he thinks he needs an antibiotic tonight, she can help me with that.

 

[Jockaroo]

I don't know your dog's past history, but it is possible that the office is wanting to grow a culture to see which antibiotic the infection responds best to. When I experienced this, the urine was a sterile draw directly from the bladder. It took several days for the culture to grow. You do need the correct antibiotic.

You do need to note if your dog is drinking more than normal. Since you suspected seeing blood, and the urine at the vet had a brown tinge, there is a good chance this is a UTI--very painful for your old guy. When my dog had UTIs she needed to urinate very frequently, but also drank more.

Things to watch for on the blood panel:
Elevated BUN and/or Creatinine--kidney problems
Elevated Alkaline phosphatase--possible Cushing's Disease

Changes in the specific gravity of urine can show with either of these. Other things the urine will test for: protein (kidney problems), glucose (diabetes--think you mentioned this is OK), Urine Cortisol/Creatinine Ratio (a screening test for Cushing's), blood (infection).

I hope you will get a good report. It is critical when your dog gets older to make sure you have a vet you can trust. I faced so much with one of my dogs--she had Transitional Cell Carcinoma (bladder cancer) and her cancer medication sent her into kidney failure. Kidney failure is a horrid beast and I hope you will never face this. If caught early, your dog's quality of life can be maintained and extended. Good luck and keeping fingers crossed for your Jude.

 

[ZachnElli]

My dog recently had surgery for bladder stones and she had lots and lots of them (they gave them to me!)! And it started the same way, frequent urination and brown blood. They first treated her with antibiotics assuming it was an infection. I took her back two weeks later because she still had blood in her urine. They did an x-ray and her bladder was filled with stones. She had to have surgery, but she is all better now! She gets her stitches out this week. I hope Jude is ok. I sure was freaked out.

 

[DawnCt1]

Jude's previous owner, breeder and who also is a vet got back to me last night. She said to wait until the lab work comes in and send it to her, via email. I can actually get the lab and the hospital and she can see it on line. She said that it could be bladder stones, also prostatitis, something that the new vet ruled out because he is neutered. She said that Jude was "intact" until he was seven and it could easily be prostatitis. I will call after ten. Maybe they can even email me the labs.

 

[RunningGirl]

Very similar to our dog's symptoms. Turned out she had bladder stones, which had to be removed surgically. She is now on special dog food to prevent them in the future. Had to be diagnosed with an x-ray.

 

[Brit17]

How is Jude doing this morning? ... I hope he's doing better and you get some definitive answers today ... Get well soon Jude ...

 

[DawnCt1]

How is Jude doing this morning? ... I hope he's doing better and you get some definitive answers today ... Get well soon Jude ...

He looks tired, but thats about it. He doesn't seem sick or uncomfortable.

 

[DawnCt1]

Here is the update! Blood work looks excellent. Everything within normal parameters. Urine. Elevate ph. WBC's elevate. Some crystals. He has a UTI so I am picking up 10 days of antibiotics. Lets hope it is that and not stones.

 

[glitterkittyy]

Can your regular vet look over the bloodwork paperwork? That might at least give you a sense of whether or not there is cause to worry.

 

[DawnCt1]

Can your regular vet look over the bloodwork paperwork? That might at least give you a sense of whether or not there is cause to worry.

I am going to fax or email it to his previous owner who was his breeder and is a vet. She LOVES Jude and would confirm it if he were getting good treatment.

 

[glitterkittyy]

I am going to fax or email it to his previous owner who was his breeder and is a vet. She LOVES Jude and would confirm it if he were getting good treatment.

I am hoping for good news for Jude. Please let us know how it turns out. You're doing all the right things!

 

[Jockaroo]

I just want to mention that you may wish to have a follow up urine culture once he is off the antibiotics. My little dog needed multiple courses of antibiotics to clear her UTIs--one took 3 months of antibiotics, but she had a compromised immune system and bladder cancer by that point. You want to make sure all the bad bacteria are destroyed.

Also, I don't know how frequently your dog has taken antibiotics, but you may wish to add a probiotic supplement to his diet during the course of medicine. I've found this very helpful for my dogs. Good luck and hope Jude is back to normal very soon.

You may find some information in this article helpful--it discusses some of the findings in Jude's urine:
http://dog-care.suite101.com/article.cfm/canine_urinary_tract_infection_and_struvites

 

[DawnCt1]

I just want to mention that you may wish to have a follow up urine culture once he is off the antibiotics. My little dog needed multiple courses of antibiotics to clear her UTIs--one took 3 months of antibiotics, but she had a compromised immune system and bladder cancer by that point. You want to make sure all the bad bacteria are destroyed.

Also, I don't know how frequently your dog has taken antibiotics, but you may wish to add a probiotic supplement to his diet during the course of medicine. I've found this very helpful for my dogs. Good luck and hope Jude is back to normal very soon.

You may find some information in this article helpful--it discusses some of the findings in Jude's urine:
http://dog-care.suite101.com/article.cfm/canine_urinary_tract_infection_and_struvites

Thanks, that was an excellent link. Answered a lot! I feel so relieved that it is a UTI rather than systemic disease. Now that his blood work is done, I may get his teeth scaled next month when he is over this.

 

[RunningGirl]

Here is the update! Blood work looks excellent. Everything within normal parameters. Urine. Elevate ph. WBC's elevate. Some crystals. He has a UTI so I am picking up 10 days of antibiotics. Lets hope it is that and not stones.

FYI we (and the vet) first thought it could be just a UTI on our dog. She did improve some with the antibiotics. But it never really "cleared up" which was when we had to do the x-ray and found the bladder stones. (Her blood work did improve, but not totally clear up.) Just keep an eye out, esp for blood in the urine.

 

[DawnCt1]

FYI we (and the vet) first thought it could be just a UTI on our dog. She did improve some with the antibiotics. But it never really "cleared up" which was when we had to do the x-ray and found the bladder stones. (Her blood work did improve, but not totally clear up.) Just keep an eye out, esp for blood in the urine.

I have to say, that I give it about a 50/50 chance that it will resolve completely. I think its unusual for any male to get a UTI spontaneously, but I suppose it can happen. I won't be surprised if he has bladder stones.

 

[ZachnElli]

FYI we (and the vet) first thought it could be just a UTI on our dog. She did improve some with the antibiotics. But it never really "cleared up" which was when we had to do the x-ray and found the bladder stones. (Her blood work did improve, but not totally clear up.) Just keep an eye out, esp for blood in the urine.

Exact same thing with my dog. I thought the blood had cleared up out of her urine only to come back bright red.

 

[luvwinnie]

ANy updates?