Weimaraner urinating blood for months. PLEASE HELP!

brainchildillustration

Warning: This e-mail is long but please read everything. We really need help.

Our two-year-old, female, neutered Weimaraner has been urinating blood since the middle May of 2008 and we don’t know what to do.
We have had multiple tests done on her and no one can give us any concrete answers as to what is happening. We just want her to be healthy again and now we’re desperate, so we’ve turned to internet forums for answers.
After bringing her to our vet, he’s tried multiple approaches at diagnosing the problem without any prevail.
Here is what we have done:
1st- Brought her to the vet and had a urine sample taken and sent away to be tested. Nothing
2nd- Thinking that the problem may be some type of infection (urinary tract infection, bladder infection) our vet prescribed multiple different antibiotics over a period of time. A total of 4 separate antibiotics. Nothing.
3rd- We had blood tests done on her to see if they could find something abnormal. Nothing that stood out as an abnormally high or low rating, all the numbers seemed to be pretty consistent to a healthy 2 year old dog.
One thing that was good… After having the blood tests, we did find that she is producing enough blood to sustain her life, although she was loosing blood during her urinating. That was a little bit of a relief.
4th- The next step was to see if she had kidney stones. So, we had her x-rayed. The vet found nothing.
5th- Thinking that something in her environment may be effecting her. We removed all the flowers and dug out all the bulbs in our back yard. We also changed her food from Beneful dog food to a holistic dog food called Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and stopped giving her dog treats. Still NOTHING.
6th- The vet recommended that we bring her and have an ultrasound done to look for any mass that he may have missed with the x-ray. The test came back and they found nothing.

At this point our vet is stumped. He says that the next step is to do a blind surgery. He wants to cut her open and look for anything that looks out of place. Then if he finds something abnormal from this point, he will address it.

I’m not sure that this is the best solution. She eats normal, plays normal, and acts like nothing bothers her at all. Yet she still urinates blood.
I suppose, I simply want to know what is wrong with her before she goes to surgery. I mean, what happens if he cuts her open and finds nothing?

I am desparate. She’s a great dog and we want her to be with us for many years to come. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of where we should go from here?
Please, Please HELP.

pugmom

Were all the steps done by the same vet?......if not could you get a 2nd opinion?....not that there is anything wrong w/your vet but a "fresh" perspective could find something that was missed....

brainchildillustration

Yes, everything but the ultrasound, has been done by the same vet.

I'd love to find someone new to help us out but, I need to first know that they have some idea of what may be wrong.

We've already spent hundreds of dollars on the tests that we've done and really can't afford to do all these tests again.

That's why I've been posting in online forums to give me a better idea of what may be happening.

If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Thank you everyone.

Also, thanks for the suggestion pugmom.

Patt

I would go with a second opinion. Are you near a vet teaching hospital? I would set up an appointment with their specialists. Take copies of all the tests, x-rays that have already been done and see what they recommend.

Good luck and keep us updated.

craven.44

What kind of antibiotics was she on?

brainchildillustration

She has been on these antibiotics, in this order:
1st- 20 pills of 50mg Vitiman K + 500mg Cephalexin
2nd- Another dose of 500mg of Cephalexin
3rd- 100mg of Doxycycline
4th- Another dose of 100 mg of Doxycycline
5th- 960mg of Smz-Tmp
6th- 500mg of Chloramphenicol
7th- Another dose of 500mg of Chloramphenicol

GreatDaneMom

i dont know personally. but ill give you the best suggestion i can. gather all your information and contact Cornell University. they are THE BEST! ask if you can fax the info over to them and have them look at it and tell you what they think. they usually will do this for about $40. they really are amazing and can give you direction as to where to go with this.


Cornell is where we take all our racehorses to have surgery, look at x-rays and odd bloodwork. also we are having them look at our harlequin danes hip x-rays soon as she has moderate hip dysplasia in the right hip and we want the best solution for her as she is only 1yr old, and the best doctors for her.

Willowy

I just saw an article in JAVMA about a spayed female dog presenting with vaginal bleeding, no infection. I only skimmed the article, and I can't remember what they called the disease, but a total vaginectomy was necessary. Try to get an issue of the latest JAVMA, maybe your vet can lend you a copy.

Helena

Hi
We had exactly the same problem with our eldest girl. After the ultrasound was inconclusive although the vet thought she saw a shadow on the bladder [very scarey] she suggested doing a cystogram, much more thorough than a ultrasound scan. They inject dye which shows everything up in minute detail. The cystogram showed there was no tumour or mass [great relief] but just outside her bladder was what they called a "polyp". Apparently these little polyps can be self bleeding so rather than the blood coming from an infection in the bladder or kidneys, it was coming from the polyp. As it was not doing any harm, it was decided to leave it - for the time being. The cystogram also showed that her whole spine is fused and her hips are not so good.

I would recommend you discuss a cystogram with your vet rather than go for surgery just yet. Your little girl's problem may be something similar to ours.

Helena

Ginny01OT

My female westie was urinating blood--an ultrasound showed a bladder tumor--we had her on meds for two years before she went over the rainbow bridge---I think a second opinion is the best recommendation

PugsRule

I am dealing with the same situation. My 8 year old pug has been peeing blood since right before Memorial weekend. It started out of nowhere. At first the vet treated it as a UTI, but the blood in the urine was not stopping. They did urinalysis, blood work, endoscopy, ultrasounds, x-rays and neither the vet or the specialist could tell me what was wrong. I started seeing a hollistic vet and changed his food from Nutro to Wellness. I took him off all flea/tick and heartworm medication, I have stopped getting him vaccines and I put 6 different kinds of herbal tonics and supplements in his food to help his bladder/kidneys. Nothing has worked. My dog acts completely fine, great appetite, same temperment, same energy level, absolutely no other issues. I am so frustrated by having 3 vets tell me that they cannot figure out what is wrong with my dog. I don't want him to go through surgery, especially because nothing else is bothering him and he does not seem to be in any pain whatsoever. I feel like I am going to end up spending my whole life saving on this mystery illness. The only improvement we've had is 3 days after visiting the hollistic vet and starting the kidney tonics he had a couple of days of clear pee, but then it was not consistent and went bad again. Last month we had a whole week of good pee and I thought he was healed, but know it has come back worse then ever. I never thought I would spend so much time, money and energy on my dogs urine. Have your vets given you any ideas to what it could be? Have you had any good days?

PeppersPop

Ok...... am I missing something here????

You've got a dog who is urinating blood, but not enough to endanger her life, who is eating normally, playing normally, and isn't in pain..... and your vet wants to cut her open????? Is he insane?

GET A 2ND OPINION!!!

The urine test... there's no way that the results could come back and be "nothing." The presence of blood, the type of cell, the amount, and state of cells (hemolyzed vs. not) provide information about potential causes and location of bleeding. If the sample showed no blood cells, then you need to look at the dog's diet for foods/substances that can cause urine discoloration. I would suggest asking your vet for a copy of the results.

Also, your post makes it sound like she's only had one urine test. If so, then the urine test needs to be repeated. It might also need to be done with a catheter or with a needle through the bladder wall to make sure that the sample isn't being mixed with vaginal discharge. Urine can be falsely negative if it isn't in the bladder for long enough before the sample is collected and it can be falsely positive if it comes into contact with the body on its way out of the urethra. The best time to collect a sample is in the morning after the urine has been retained in the bladder for several hours.

If you do decide to take her for surgery or other invasive procedures, please make sure you are doing it for the right reason (making the dog feel better vs. making yourself feel better). It is scary not to know, but it doesn't sound like her health or happiness are jeopardized.

This is bothering you much more than it is bothering the dog. There's nothing wrong with that... I would be extremely worried too. I just want to point out to you that the majority of your post was about your dog being healthy. She is eating well, playing well, has normal urine test results (though I don't really understand this given that she was being tested for blood in her urine), normal blood work, normal imaging, and most importantly, no pain.

Hang in there and please let us know what you find out.

Best wishes,
Sid

brainchildillustration

Okay guys, here is what we've come up with in the last week or so.

As suggested by you guys and by our vet, we began to look into bringing her to the nearest teaching school for veterinarians in our area. The best school that we have near us, is on the campus of Michigan State.
We called Michigan State to find out about the procedure that they would take to find a solution to her problem.
Here is what they said:
They first have a student examine her and give an experienced vet their opinion. If the experienced vet feels the students diagnosis is accurate, they move on with steps to try to fix the problem. If the students can't diagnosis the problem, they go through a series of tests to try to find the best solution to fixing the problem, IF they can find the problem.

Now, although we want her to be looked at by the top of the line doctors... They say that on the low-end of costs for them to have a look at her and try to fix the problem, it's going to cost us between $700 - $1000 dollars.

We are not fortunate enough to have money like this put away, nor are we able to afford other bills, on top of the current bills we pay.

Now we're stuck.

I believe that the next best step for us to take is to follow the path that Helena took with their dog and have a cystogram performed on her.
Our vet has actually already tried this procedure once without any success. Apparently, he was unable to get the catheter inserted and was forced to bail on the test.

So that's where we are guys.

We are going to try to find a reputable vet in our area that has a good amount of experience with this procedure and hopefully it will give us the answers we are searching for.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and concern. Everything that all of you have said was taken to heart and greatly appreciated.

We'll be sure to keep everyone updated as we receive any new information.

Patt

I wish you and your dog the very best. I hope you find answers soon.

Many ((hugs)) and positive thoughts for both of you.

Good luck!

Kristy

Hi There,

We are having the same problem with our male Weimaraner. He's going to be 2 this coming April. And he's been peeing blood off and on since we got him neutered (at the age of 9 mos).

He's been to the Vet 3 times now. Just like in your case, there is no obvious cause.

We've done the blood testing, urinalysis, ultrasound, xray...although there was no infection, the Vet prescribed an antibiotic just to be safe.

The first time around the urine returned to its normal yellow color before the antibiotic was finished. This time, however (3rd time), the urine remained red after he finished the Cephalexin. So the Vet prescribed Enroflaxacin.

His behavior is totally normal, he's a happy dog.

After discussing possiblities with the Vet, we are thinking it might be that the kidneys that are bleeding. Possibly due to a genetic disorder...we believe our precious little boy is inbred.

Unfortunately the blood in urine has been going on for close to 3 weeks now and we haven't determined what exactly is causing the problem.