Beagle puppy leaking, vet has ruled out UTI and other likely causes...any insight?

    • Puppy

    Beagle puppy leaking, vet has ruled out UTI and other likely causes...any insight?

    Hi all!
    My beagle puppy is 8-9 months old, and I got her 2 months ago. From the time we got her, she has had about one accident a day. I thought it was a housebreaking issue at first. 6 weeks ago she got spayed, and they found a urachal remnant that required them taking out a ton of scar tissue and taking off a small part of her upper bladder (though they said that wouldn't make her pee more or have more accidents).  We also found out at that time that she had a bladder infection, which we successfully treated. Now, 6 weeks later, she is sometimes having more than one accident a day, and she is dripping a bit right after she goes. We took her to the vet and they did tests...she has no new infection, and post-spay incontinence is highly unlikely. They are trying her on incontinence meds, but the next step is to test for ectopic ureter, a birth defect, which is also highly unlikely because she hasn't been dripping all along. I would love to avoid spending a fortune on a vet for diagnostics. Does anyone have any insight on this? I thought it was behavioral, but she seems to know that she should go outside, and the dripping is worrisome. Also, she doesn't drip all day, just about once a day, and she has NEVER had an accident in her crate, where she sleeps all night. It's so perplexing! Any insight whatsoever is greatly appreciated!!
    Best,
    MC

    • Gold Top Dog

    A few questions:

    1.  When you say "ruled out infection" -- how?  By a strip test?  They aren't reliable.  Have they done a sterile urine draw?  no crystals or stones?

    2.  Have you kept a diary of what the dog eats and when?  If this is tied to a particular time of the day I would be looking at food intolerances -- not typical with dogs but I wouldn't see how it could be completely insane.  For example -- I know bed-wetting is sometimes tied to "milk" and dairy products in children -- could it be something she's eating just prior?

    3.  Before you break the bank or put this dog on huge meds with a ton of side effects I would look into some alternative stuff.  I had a boxer-pit at one time that had all sorts of leaking issues  -- acupuncture and Oriental herbs can be incredibly helpful (and far far cheaper than run amok testing might be).  Socks had a huge urinary tumor and she leaked incredibly and one of the things that helped a lot was both acupuncture and an herb called Shishandra (which is similar in a way to how an antihistamine helps "suck up" moisture in the body)

    http://www.tcvm.com -- there is a locator on the left.  If you want some help figuring out how to choose a vet give me a holler.  DON'T just choose whoever is closest -- call them and talk to them and find out how much of their practice is TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine).  DO NOT go to the one token "holistic" vet who is part of a huge other practice.  Your really want that vet who practices TCVM all the time and who is well versed in herbs.

    I'm *NOT* saying to leave your regular vet -- I'm simply suggesting this as "complimentary" -- but it could prove to be helpful.  Sometimes they pick up on things that other vets can't see with 'tests' just because of the way they listen to how the blood moves thru the body.

    She hasn't been on any meds right? 

     

    • Puppy

     First of all, THANK YOU for your response.  I truly appreciate your time!

    To answer your questions:

    The vet did a sterile urine draw followed by an overnight urinalysis and four-day urine culture.  No infection, no stones, no crystals.

    We only feed her in the morning and at night, and we only give her dog food where the main ingredients are meat.  The only "treats" she gets during the day are pure meat jerky treats.  No dairy, no wheat/corn/soy.  However that info is good to know!

    Here is the history of her health since we got her:  First vet checkup one week after we got her revealed mange, whip worms, and Giardia.  We successfully treated those with cream and Panacure.  Second week she went in for a spay and they found the urachal remnant, and umbilical hernia, and a bladder infection caused by the scar tissue from the urachal remnant.  Post-op she had pain meds and Simplicef for the infection.  The Simplicef cured the infection, which was confirmed by another sterile urine draw culture.  They also found double ear infections, cured by ear drops.  She is not currently on any meds.

    She had about one accident per day from the time we brought her home.  At first we thought it was because she was scared of people and other dogs and would submissive pee.  However she has become far more outgoing and still does it.  We also thought it might be because there are other cats and dogs at my office that have had accidents, so she was smelling it on the carpet.  BUT, she has accidents at home, too, where there are no other animals...and I just moved to a new office space with a tile floor, and she still has accidents.  Most problematic is that in the last week she has been dripping after she has gone outside.  I don't know what prompts this, but it usually only happens once a day, either around 10-11 am or right before bed.  It's odd that she only drips once a day, and only in the last 2 weeks. Also, she seems embarrassed when she does it, but maybe that's just me projecting human emotions on her...

    I should definitely look into holistic vets.  There are some good options in the Bay Area.  The vet wants to put her on incontinence meds, even though it's highly unlikely that she would have post-spay incontinence so soon after the spay...

    THANKS AGAIN!!!