[MarieLovesChis]

Soo, I just want to start off with I already have a vet appointment for my dog but my vet is booked pretty far back so the appointment isn't for over a week. In the meantime, I can't help but stress myself out and try to find answers.

My 10 year old dog peed in the bed when I woke her up. I was a little alarmed but didn't think too much of it because she had only gone out once that day whereas she normally chooses to go around 4 times a day. I just figured that maybe she held it in too long. She typically chooses when she wants to go out by letting me know.

This was over 2 weeks ago and she has not had another incidence yet so it was forgotten. Fast forward to last night, and she has suddenly peed the bed again. This time she had gone out plenty of times during the day, even just 3-4 hours prior to it happening.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences with their dog or know what might be the problem. I know incontinence is not uncommon for older spayed dogs but I thought it odd that it isn't frequent and has only happened twice in an almost 3 week span.

 

[LeoRose]

Some spayed bitches only have a few incidents here and there, while other can leak almost constantly, and still others never have any leakage. You can talk to your vet about the best course of action to take.

 

[Kathyy]

What is the weather like? Is she popping her head out and refusing to spend 5 seconds peeing? Ginger will. So far she hasn't messed in the house but after having my first dog develop UTI and kidney disease and another dog show crystals in a routine urine check I make good and sure my dogs actually pee outside several times a day.

Keep the vet appointment for sure. I'd be sure she actually squats outside before bedtime from now on. Holding urine can allow crystals to form and worse. It can allow bacteria to take up shop on the bladder wall.

Sassy did have kidney disease and it did show up as an occasional wet bed before a blood test confirmed it. Treatment consists of management - a change of diet and making sure the dog gets plenty of fluids. She lived to be 17 years old and left us 3.5 years after diagnosis. I am sure the early detection helped keep her happy and active much longer.

 

[MarieLovesChis]

Good to know it could still be something simple like spay incontinence even though it's not happening often. She wasn't spayed till she was about 3 years old so maybe that's why it isn't as bad as it could be.

She definitely pees. She'll even pee in pouring rain with 30mph wind! Our yard has a sliding glass door so it's my routine to let her out and watch her through the glass. I usually don't let her back in until I see her squat for a while. I'll definitely start making her go out more often though as I want to minimize her chances of getting something like crystals and infection. Ouch!

Keeping the appointment for sure, she is scheduled for a urinalysis and full blood work. Fingers crossed it isn't something like kidney disease. So happy to hear your dog lived a long comfortable life with it though. Sometimes it's hard to remember these things aren't a death sentence when it happens to your own dog. Hearing about other dogs who live fine with these problems helps a lot though.

Curious, what kind of diet did your dog have to stay on, like what kind of restrictions? Just curious because when I was kid our dog had kidney disease and while I don't remember a whole lot from then, I do remember my mom was told to put her on a low low protein diet. Not too long ago I've heard that opinion has changed though. Yet I still see low protein diets recommended from time to time. I know this may be all irrelevant as her kidneys could be perfectly fine, but I do love to keep up with these things and I'm one of those people who likes to be prepared for everything. What a bummer kidney disease would be, I have a whole stockpile of dog food that I'm pretty sure would not be compatible with kidney disease

 

[Kathyy]

I didn't know about 'stale urine' until recently. Up to getting Ginger all the dogs were fine going out to potty so long as I went with them. If a dog is known to develop crystals or UTI the best way to go is force fluids so they have to pee a lot. Not fun but far better than the alternative!

She had a back nerve issue like degenerative myelopathy. To keep her muscles as strong as possible I chose to feed her high protein, low phosphorus. Since this was during the horrible melamine contamination of 2007 I cooked for her. Mainstays were a particular rice that's low phosphorus and chicken breast. She got twice as much calcium from eggshell as is usual to work as an antacid and to balance the diet also added minerals and vitamins. Phosphorus causes acid stomach and seems to hurt the kidney./ Meat is rich in phosphorus that's why low protein used to be the normal. Now the thinking is sick dogs have trouble utilizing nutrients and have higher then normal turnovers of some tissues so more protein is beneficial. Commercial kidney diets tend to be high in fat as fat has no phosphorus and is tasty, Sassy gradually stopped tolerating much fat so cooking for her helped there as well.

I gave the supplies I had left after Sassy died to somebody who gave normal dog food to the kidney dog plus subcutaneous fluids. The thing is kidney dogs stop eating because of the acid stomach. If dog is eating fine and is well hydrated I wonder? Anyway phosphorus is an essential nutrient and cutting back on phosphorus is only done after the numbers on the blood test reach certain levels mostly to keep the dog eating.

Old dogs are going to get sick. Your dog is too young for old dog stuff I hope. Get the vet's diagnosis before doing anything more then more fluids and potty breaks. Your sweet dog is giving you a clue that something is wrong and you are taking it seriously, pretty much the best thing you can do.

 

[MarieLovesChis]

Thank you so much for all of that information.

I still have to wait until the appointment to do a blood test but they said I could drop off a urine sample for the urinalysis whenever I collect some. I was able to get some this morning and dropped it off today and the vet said I should get the results tomorrow. Collecting her urine has enabled me to see that her pee is very dark yellow and smells strongly like rubber of all things. Not sure what that could be an indicator of. She does seem to drink a decent amount of water throughout the day. She drinks anywhere between 2-3 ounces of water from her bowl, plus she's fed 3 times a day and I have always added water to all of her meals. Time to just play the waiting game for the results.

And thank you for reassuring me I'm not being overly crazy for being concerned about this Most of my friends in person are not the biggest dog people and think I take things like this too seriously and that it's not a big deal.

 

[Kathyy]

People like that are apt to wake up one morning with a collapsed dog that needs intensive care. I'd rather spend a moderate amount of money now to avoid panicked decisions that will cost me big bucks.

Good job getting the sample. First morning pee should be concentrated, shouldn't it?

 

[Furbabeez]

Have a veterinarian check out your dog to rule out a urinary tract infection.

 

[MarieLovesChis]

Results for the urinalysis came back with everything within normal range, except she has a little bit more white blood cells in her urine than what is normal. The vet said this is typically a sign of a urinary tract infection and prescribed her antibiotics. I feel a bit more relaxed now knowing it isn't something too severe. Wondering if there are any steps I should take to prevent this from happening again. Water intake is good and she goes out pretty often, I know those things are important.

 

[Kathyy]

Unless it becomes something that happens a lot I think you are doing fine. Some people give cranberry extract or the active ingredient, mannose D.

To be sure UTI is gone have urine cultured so she's getting the best antibiotic for the bacteria causing the infection, a few days after the antibiotic course is finished do another culture to be sure it is really gone. The 2 times Sassy had one she needed 2 courses of antibiotic. The thinking is unless you do the second culture to know the bacteria is gone the dog will have UTI one after the other when really it was never gone in the first place.