Clear odorless puddle around my dog?

 Urine can be clear and almost odorless, especially if the dog is drinking lots and piddling often.  Try a piece of white tissue in it to see if it stains yellow.

 There is no color at all.  A white tissue stays white.  (?)

Wierd question but hows you dogs mouth and teeth? Does your dog curl in a ball to sleep with her head tucked by her tail?

The dogs age makes me wonder how her dental health is, because if thier is a abcess or mouth pain then dogs can sometimes drool profusely to the point of puddles. Ive seen this at the vets when I was caring for the older dogs, thier saliva puddles would be clear and watery and they curled in a ball as they slept so it looked like it was from thier rear end but really it was because of an abcessed tooth.

Best of luck, hope you girl is fine and make a vet visit to rule out UTI or weak bladder muscles from age.

 Nope.. Teeth and gums are excellent!   Perfect in fact.  Very white teeth - very bubble gum colored gums.  No she doesn't sleep in a ball but prefers to lay out pretty much straight.  Hard for me to think of her as being old.  I have four dogs - one of which is working on seventeen!! 

Good Job! sounds like you take good care of her.

It could be a UTI or her bladder sphincter is weak, Has she been spayed? Older spayed females can get weak bladder sphincters from just advanced age or hormone inbalances. Feamles dont have to be spayed to have that issue but its more common in them. Theres homeopath routes and regualr medicines the vet cna prescribe you, but when my old gal was having bladder issues in her old age I used "leaks no more" and it did seem to help! Cut wheat from her diet to if possible. <3

What medications is she on, and how old was she when she was spayed?

 No medications - ever.  Never had any issues with her.  She was spayed at about - not sure - six months or so?  The picture is Kit - taken just this past summer.  Very healthy looking dog - although a lil overweight!  :o) 

We were just outside playing frisbee.  Cold out there!!

Terry -- almost surely a UTI -- with some dogs the ONLY way you can tell they have a UTI is if they start drinking TONS.  Does she come right in from being outside and go drink?  Check with everyone who fills the bowl -- is there a major run on water lately? 

Now ... don't let the vet blow it off -- sometimes they may simply try the "strip test" which simply shows so many infection cells per unit ... and if the dog is drinking like there's no tomorrow then the urine just shows as too dilute and not much infection (because they're drinking SO much it makes the urine SO dilute it just doesn't show).  But THEN they can get all worried that the dog "isn't concentrating their urine" and want to do a TON of kidney tests.

SO ... you're way ahead of the game if you think about how much water is being drunk BEFORE you go -- and how long it's occurred.  Rather than have the vet make you do a ton of REALLY expensive tests -- ***ASK*** for the vet to send a urine sample out to a lab -- THAT will show not only the specific gravity but it will detect ANY infection at all and crystals or stones if there is any sign of it.

In other words -- the EASY answer here is UTI.  Just be prepared for the question of whether the dog has gradually increased their water intake recently ... it can save you a TON of money in tests  when a round of antibiotics may simply rectify it.

Some dogs tend to be more like we humans.  Because infection **burns** when you go, they will simply stop drinking so they don't have TO go.  But that produces a really dark, stinky foul urine -- and sometimes they won't even be able TO void -- but a few drops and a few steps, a few drops and a few more steps -- straining all the while.  BUT some dogs are actually smart enough to realize that if they drink LOTS then the burn is less so they may run an infection for a good long while -- gradually drinking SO muich that they can't hold it -- particularly if they are sleeping or relaxed.  If it was vaginal or rectal trust me -- it would smell foul.  But urine can be almost like water if the dog is drinking A TON. 

 POST VET APPT UPDATE:

OK so basically heres how it went.  (Wife went - not me / I may call the vet for some clarification)

Kit was so happy friendly and playful with the vet and technicians and showed absolutely no symptoms of anything.  They did do a "Complete IH Urinalysis" and it came back clean.  (Her ph was a tad low but that was it).  Bottom line is that they think that she may be the beginning of a bladder infection that was caught very early (But wouldn't the urinalysis then come back un-clean?).  He also said that border collies are somewhat susceptible to loosening up as the get older as they can have excess calcium (?).  The Dr was really unconcerned as Kit was incredibly playful and without any symptoms.  He did give Kit an antibiotic (Simplicef 100mg) that she is to take as a precaution but that's it.  They said they could do xrays and blood tests and xrays but that probably would not be necessary unless she continues to have episodes after completing her medication.  So! 

For kicks and comparison:

Office visit:  $60...  Urinalysis:  $36...  Simplicef (qty 20) :  24.57...  Pharmacy fee (??):  $18...    Grand total $138.57   

Hopefully this passes (for Kit) as quickly as it started!  

*raising eyebrow* I told you this is the type of thing they tend to try to find 'extra' things to charge for.

If the vet truly did a real "urinalysis" it should have gone out to the lab and you would KNOW if there were things like crystals, stones, etc.  Excess calcium in the diet (or a bad balance between calcium and phosphorous) contributes to things like struvite or oxalate crystals -- but if you have the beginning of those it SHOULD show. 

Pharmacy fee?  That's a new one -- what are they doing - charging you for putting up the meds??  (strange).  Simplicef is essentially a highpowered version of cephalexyn -- not the typical drug I'd expect them to use for a UTI. Amoxyl ... or even Clavamox - it's a anaerobic bacteria usually (no oxygen required) so it's one of the 'cillin' drugs typically.

did the vet really say begining "bladder" infection rather than UTI?  They ARE different -- a bladder is in ... well, the *bladder*.  A UTI is an infection of the urinary tract (the tube that goes to the outside from the kidneys, then bladder).  Bacteria will cling to the walls of the urinary tract -- but an actual bladder infection is something more serious.

You never EVER can tell a dog has a UTI just by virtue of how they act.  Most of them don't act "sick" at all -- and particularly not one that is drinking a ton of water to dilute the burning. 

If your vet is talking about spay incontinence -- that doesn't usually start with PUDDLES of clear liquid -- no ... that comes on gradually and is more leaking NOT "puddles". 

Rather than the xrays, etc. -- about 5 days after she finished the meds I'd ***ask*** for a "culture and sensitivity" - it should be about $90.  They have to do a sterile draw (either a cathether or an aspirate directly from the bladder) to culture the urine and find out IF any bacteria remains.  THEN they take whatever bacteria grows in the petri dish and they divide it up and "kill" it with various antibiotics.  Then YOU get a report -- literally they'll list like 4-6 antibiotics and which will kill it and which won't do so well.  But this way you identify the specific bacteria AND The best drug to treat it. 

Typically you can use the cephalexyn/Simplicef type drugs for skin infections NOT UTI's -- you *can* use them but typically you have to use them longer to get them TO kill a UTI. 

Sorry -- I have SO "been there done that" with UTIs it's not funny -- both me and at least four of my dogs (past & present) have had UTIs -- Billy presently is ON Baytril for a persistent UTI -- they **have** used cephalexyn on Billy for UTIs but ONLY because he's had IMHA and it's a way of using a lesser drug that hopefully won't tick off his immune system.  But it also did NOT kick his this time so we had to rachet it up to Baytril.  But a urinalysis typically will go out to a lab and be back "tomorrow" -- but it's pretty comprehensive and will tell you everything from whether there is ANY infection present, but also any crystals, casts, etc. and the specific gravity of the urine. 

I'd ask them **specifically** how they got a real urinalysis back SO fast -- or did they use a strip test.  Yes, a urinalysis SHOULD be about $35 ... but you should have gotten a printed report back.  If you go to some vastly huge fancy practice they *might* have enough of a lab inhouse but honestly that's pretty rare (and that would be exactly why I don't go to a practice like that - I want to see THE vet I want to see every time, but that's me).

 Hi! 

Of course I appreciate ALL opinions.  That is what this board is all about!  Thanks all VERY MUCH.

As an update - for whatever reason(s) Kit has stopped her leakage. (Leakage is a bad description - was more like a dam breaking.)   I "guess" the Simplicef is doing its' job.  And yes - Callie - you are certainly right that Simplicef's primary use is skin infection but is also used for urinary tract infections.  I wasn;t real happy about the $18 "pharmacy fee" but I guess I can justify it being that they do have a lab on premises.  Here is where we went  http://www.creaturecomfortsvet.net/  ...  It is nice that they are in position to tell us immediately what the urine analysis is.  We will see if Kit remains stable in the days ahead - and for the benefit of others that may be facing this same issue I will report what occurs as we move along.

Have a GREAT DAY ALL!!

TerryD

  It is nice that they are in position to tell us immediately what the urine analysis is. 

If you really *got* a full urinalysis I would wonder why there was even any question of how calcium is processed -- the only time calcium becomes problematic is if it is in excess enough to create crystals ... in which case they should TELL you.  Unless they didn't test for it (in which case that was a pretty danged expensive "urinalysis" that didn't tell you much at all).

To explain why I said what I said ... "that sort of vet is never my choice" --  you think you're taking them to 'the best' but often it's simply the most adept at income opportunities.  I've learned to choose a  *vet* (not a practice) that I can develop a relationship with and who knows MY animals.  I don't want a thousand tests to tell me something (and trust me -- I'm the one who will spend hundreds of dollars at the drop of a hat for semi-annual bloodwork like I did Thursday as long as it's going to be comparative or tell us something) -- but I want that vet who is an extremely good diagnostician who is familiar enough e with MY dog(s) to say "hmm it could be ____ or ____ but given this dog's history let's take a better look at _____"

When we caught Billy's IMHA 4 years ago it was when i went to the vet and said 'You know ...he's thrown up bil twice in the past 2 weeks maybe only as much as the size of a quarter -- but he's avoiding the water bed which is VERY unusual for this cuddle-junkie!!  Can we do bloodwork?  I am worried."  And my vet says "You know Mrs. K ... if ANY one else came in and said their dog had sicked up a tiny bit of bile twice in 2-3 weeks I'd think they were over-the-top but YOU know your dogs and if your gut says something's off we'd better check" -- and his hematacrit was 20 (instead of 44-50) and it was the ONLY warning we got of IMHA.  But I like having that relationship with a vet that I can truly trust and never feel like I only got half the story.

And ... *sigh* I readily admit that I'm the sort of guardian that makes some vets nervous (or I make their blood pressure go up) because I'm hands on enough at THIS point to know enough WHEN to worry.  *sigh*

But "urnialysis" rather than "strip test" sounds fancier but it should tell you WAY more than what you got to be honest.  So at the risk of sounding like a know-it-all (which is not my intent) I wanted to explain I guess. 

An antibiotic SHOULD work like that.  And *grin* for whatever it's worth -- I have three dogs ... TWO of which are prone to UTIs -- so how do you know among 3 dogs who's drinking a bunch?

You put the bowl in the most central part of the house and the adult humans make sure they tell each other when they fill up a bowl ... AGAIN.  And we use a danged clear Anchor-Hocking 2 quart bowl with measuring lines on the side as a 'water disk'.  But dang -- when we hear slurping from around that corner we count tails as they exit and we then know who's drinking TOO much cos the water level in the bowl just went down a cup at one slurp from a 30 pound dog.  LOL.

It's helpful to know before the proverbial "dam breaks" -- trust me -- sometimes it's as if we all oughta buy stock in Bounty!!