Uncontrolable Bladder

    • Puppy

    Uncontrolable Bladder

    I have a 4 almost 5yr old Pembroke Corgi for the last few months when we go on walks she will urinate 5-6 times in a half hour to hour period. This is very very unlike her. Normally it's once or twice.

    Then with her normal potty breaks 3x a day she is urinating more then once. In the last couple days we have found potty spots around the house. This behavior is so unlike her. When we find the spot, we find her in her crate. She knows she's not suppose to which leads me to the conclusion she can't control it.

     I dont know how common bladder/urinary tract infections are for dogs but I need some guidance/suggestions before I can afford to take her to a vet.

     

    Thanks

    • Gold Top Dog

    That certainly sounds like a UTI (not a bladder infection hopefully but a urinary tract infection).  It burns severely to release urine in such cases.

    Typically dogs fall into one of two categories -- some dogs are smart enough to know when they drink MORE it burns less to pee.  So some dogs will literally be at the water bowl every time they come in from voiding.  So even tho they may be voiding more often it may not have a horrible odor nor be super 'dark' -- but rather may appear almost odorless/colorless.

    Some dogs fall into the same category that most of we human women do who get UTIs frequently -- it burns SO bad that you don't want to drink ANYTHING because it hurts SO bad to go. 

    But then you get this huge bladder "pressure" (so essentially you feel like you gotta go ALL the time) so you may feel the need to void almost constantly which results in repeated attempts (like 4-5 or more times on a walk) TO go usually resulting in not voiding much, if any, at a time.

    Is there any blood in what you've found in the accidents?  This can happen easily. 

    She needs to go to the vet absolutely first thing tomorrow morning.  It's not "life-threatening" but it is extremely painful.  Pick her up and carry her in -- and if you can get her there with a relatively full bladder it will help the vet diagnose. 

    For me?  I hate to see them just do a strip test -- yes, it will tell if there is "infection" present but you don't find out anything else.  I would **ASK** to have them also send a urinalysis out to a lab -- then you find out if there are crystals, casts, etc (which can cause repeated UTI's etc).  If you gotta take the dog in, honestly it's better to find out ALL you can at one time rather than half-diagnosing the problem.  It may cost you an extra $30 to send the urine out *also* but it will tell you a whole lot rather than having to go back and repeat the whole procedure a month later.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Corgis are low to the ground, too, so it's not hard, squatting, to pick up bacteria. Is she intact? Around their heat cycles, everything is much more open, and they're more prone to them, then. My Chinese Crested got a mega UTI right after her first cycle, and my vet told me that it's not uncommon, particularly in puppies. All of my girls have had UTIs, though, at one point or another. I'd take her to the doctor, and have a urinalysis done.