He is peeing all over the place!!

    • Gold Top Dog

    He is peeing all over the place!!

    We adopted Kenny last July and we were living in an apartment and we took him potty on his leash. In January we moved into a rent house. We haven't had many potty problems until this past week. He jumped on our bed and peed on our comforter, we found 2 spots in our office, 1 spot in our guest bedroom. Abouta  month ago he peed in his crate (he has NEVER done that) and he also went on our couch.
     
    We went to the vet a few days ago and the urinalysis was normal so our vet said it was behavioral. She told us the obvious stuff about shutting doors, monitoring him outside to make sure he isn't in pain when he goes, etc. But its not getting any better.
     
    His foster mom said he was potty trained when he was adopted and now this is happening. What in the world is going on and why now? Oh yeah, Kenny is about 2 years old.
    • Gold Top Dog
    You don't sound like you are convinced it's behaviorial?  Maybe if you are nervious it's something medical insist that your send out some blood work (Complete Blood Count and Complete Blood Chemistry).  We often do those two blood tests at work just for an initial overview of what might be going on if anything.  If everything comes back normal then you can at least rule that out.  I believe that information should also rule out any diseases like cushings (which I am not sure if occures often in younger dogs but does cause excessive urinating and drinking among other things) but am not 100 percent sure.  

    Is he asking to go out or is it just sneeking up on him and all the sudden he's peeing?  Is it a lot or just a little here and there?  The times you have caught him doing it was there anything specific going on in the house tha the wouldn't be used to?  Does it seem to be an involentary action like some dogs do when they get excited?  Well maybe this will help in none the less good luck!
    • Puppy
    Did you get the carpets cleaned before you moved in?
    • Gold Top Dog
    On the offchance....you aren't giving him any steroids, are you? Steroids made my dog Stevie totally unable to control his urination, much to his horrible embarassment. And I would also say that you should get a complete blood panel done. They way you describe the sudden onset sure sounds more like medical than behavioral to me.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Keva: I honeslty am not sure if I am convinced it is behavioral. However, there has been a few changes lately. My parent's cocker Missy did come and stay with for a few days and my parents gave us a bunch of old furniture so we have been moving that in and getting our 2nd bedroom in order so things have been a little different, but I don't know how that could have caused him to start acting this way. We might end up taking him back to the vet for that bloodwork but financially we are strapped b/c we just payed almost $1,000 in taxes, but we will do it if we have to. When we first got him he was a little submissive but not too bad. We tried bell training him at the apartment so he could tell us when it was time, but he doens't really do that here at the house that we just moved into. I have observed him drinking a lot of water, but it seems to happen when he has been crated for a while, or after he has eaten.
     
     
    Rainwater: We did not get the carpets professionally cleaned before we moved in. I wondered if maybe he was maybe smelling the former tennant's dog, but we have been in this house for 2 months so I don't know why he would start doing this now!
     
    Jeano: The only thing Kenny takes is a fish oil tablet which he has been getting since before we adopted him and his Sentinal heartworm medicine.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hmm...parents old furniture huh?  Do you ever take him to your parents?  If so does he have accidents inside there?  The only reason I am wondering is because my mother in laws female will mark all over our house when she comes over if we let her but does not ever go to the bathroom in her house?  And we have some of their furniture that she has tried to mark.  (and she's female...) I understand being strapped for cashola though but you might want to call your vet and find out how much it is to do?  It's easy for me to say because I get that nice discount from working at an animal hospital but usually the blood tests aren't that bad and you can (atleast at my clinic) just make a technician appointment to get the blood drawn which isn't half as expensive as seeing a doctor.  I am not too sure what Texas's rules on technicians is right off the top of my head but you really shouldn't have to pay an office visit for just a blood draw.
    • Gold Top Dog
    he did go to my parents house on occasion, but he wasn't ever in my bedroom (the furniture we recieved.) he did have an accident but it was usually a submissive incident. our vet says there was another gal who was more of an expert on behavior problems and that she could talk to her for me. maybe if i talk to her about what she found out i can see about some bloodwork costs. what do you think?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Make sure when you clean up accidents that you use a non-ammoniated cleaner, for starters.
     
    Next - a couple of questions:  watch him carefully.  When he pees does he race right in and GO DRINK?  I see that often  .... when one of mine begins to drink 'more' usually we've got a UTI on our hands.  Dogs are smart and they often realize instinctively that if they drink more it burns less to pee.  For us that's "learned" but for a dog it can be instinct.  Now some dogs will stop drinking ... and then the urine becomes really concentrated, stinky and will burn -- that's when you see them try to pee 5 times before they CAN.  But if a dog is drinking a lot to reduce burning, they can have to go more than normal. 
     
    This can build up very very slowly -- and you may not notice it. 
     
    Then, when the vet checks the urine it is so dilute that the "numbers" are skewed and not enough infection cells show to read 'bad'.  But it's only because it's dilute.  I've had MANY false readings on urinalysis tests.
     
    TRY:  add cranberry pills.  Give him 2-3 a day (if you feed dry you'll have to put the pills in braunschweiger, butter or something like ricotta cheese -- if you feed  wet/homecooked, then just empty the caps into his food). 
     
    Cranberry isn't going to 'cure' a UTI -- but it will reduce the alkaline nature and make the dog more comfortable, and it also helps the infection not linger in the system. 
     
    My vet understands me and trusts my judgment enough so that he will let me have antibiotic if I suspect a UTI.  Some dogs can take sulpha but usually now they prefer to use amoxyl or something.  But it can be the easiest way to attack the problem. 
     
    ALSO TRY:  let him drag a leash in the house and watch him like a hawk.  If you find an accident, put him where he can't 'see' you and soak it up with paper.  Take the paper OUTSIDE and lay it where you want him to go.
     
    Essentially I"m saying go back to housetraining 101, and re-affirm what he needs to dod. 
     
    I have to agree with you -- too many times I've had a vet say "Oh no, the numbers don't say it's an infection so it HAS to be behavioral".  I don't agree.  I've seen too many drink drink drink to try to cope with the infection and then the accidents start.  If it's dark and stanky then yeah, it's infection.  But if the 'accidents' you are finding are not horribly stinky, but more 'wet' than 'smell' then it's like an infection.
     
    Good luck.  Callie
    • Gold Top Dog
    not to totally contradict but dark and stinky does not always indicate a UTI.  I have had dogs with dark stinky urine that do not have a UTI but have some other sort of infection.  For instance my mother in laws golden had dark stinky urine but had an absessed tooth.  Remember the kidneys purify the blood and the bad stuff ends up in the urine. 
    The dip stick that is being read in house in most cases is not going to be 100%.  There are too many variables.  For instance a technician that is not familiar with color codes could read one incorrectly and, tadah you have no UTI.  Another factor is if the sample is too old then crystals form and it's no longer any good.  If it's not that old but has been sitting out (not in the fridge) it will also be no good.

    My pups urine smells horrible in the morning because it is so concintrated as a result of being in bed for 8 hours and not drinking.  The kidneys are still doing their job but there is less water being removed from the blood to dilute the impurities that are being removed from the blood. 

    If you are convinced there is something going on have the vet send a sterile sample out for a urine culture or bring them a very fresh free catch sample (no more than a half hour old) and have them send it out for a Urinanalysis.  From what you are describing at first I would have thought UTI as well but if you are not noticing any pain urinating and when outside it isn't extremely frequent (mine would squat about 5 or 6 times when we took her out when she had one and begged to go out constantly) and your baby isn't spending excessive time licking after urination then I would be inclined to say it's probably not a UTI based on what you are saying. Just a thought though. 

    I would wait to see what your vet says after she talks to the behavioralist especially if there isn't noticable disconfort.  You don't want to put your pup on any antibiotics if there is no UTI it may end up causing one...The most common antibiotic used is Clavamox and it's pretty strong and will wipe out all those good bacteria too!  The cranberry is a great idea though!  While you are waiting to see what your vet's friend has to say it's a cheap and healthy alternative to doing nothing! It defentally won't cure it if it is a UTI but it will defentally help control the bad bacteria in the bladder.  I also read that if they will eat asparigus that's good too!  Maybe suplament some plain low fat yogurt into his diet too as long as it has live cultures.

    I am far from a pro at this stuff this is all through personal experience and what I have learned in the past 6 months working at a vet clinic!