This sounds like a medical problem to me. I'd see the vet right away. She could have a bladder or kidney infection or even fluid build up from some other problem, like maybe with the heart, that could cause her to pee like that.

She's going in today at 2:40. She had another accident last night not long after I posted. All over her bed in the living room. Just sitting there. In 2 hours she'd been outside 3 times and gone in the house twice. Though I couldn't tell how much, or if any came out when she was outside. It was dark and she was quick. So she may have just tried.

She made it through the night without urinating, and has so far gone out twice this morning, and no accidents. But we'll see at 3 this afternoon.

I'm glad she's going in. This sounds very similar to the problems we have had with bladder infections. Good luck!

Thats what I'm hoping it is, with how sudden it came on. Hopefully it's nothing worse.

Her bladder was empty, they couldn't get anything out. I made her stay in for two hours and have a big drink, but it didn't help.

So I will be chasing her around tomorrow with a shallow pan and a cup. I don't know how well that will work, but we'll try. She puts her bits right to the ground when she goes, and she's afraid of shiny things, haha.

But, we'll get it one way or another.

Other than that, her check up went well. She's doing good except shes a little tubby and needs to eat a little less.

Your vet should be able to draw a urine sample with a needle. Ask him about it if your dog is difficult to get a home sample from.

She tried with a needle. There was nothing in there. A loud terrifying yelp is about all that came out of her. Which is why she sent me home to do the dirty work myself. But if this doesn't work I will take her back in to try again with the needle.

First thing in the morning is when I have my greatest pee-catching success. Also it is the most valuable as far as checking urine specific gravity or concentrating ability of kidneys.

Glad she checked out otherwise OK. Hopefully a UTI is all it is, and some Abx is all it takes to clear up. Let us know how the adventures go.

Convienintly my boyfriend had to work 2 hours early today, and he's dropping off the urine sample. So I had to trudge around at 5:30am in the dark, with her on a leash. But, it worked! She was slightly perplexed when I shoved a tart cup under her and the noise scared her. But she did good.

There was definately SOMETHING in her urine. I'm assuming crystals. No blood though, and her urine is definately concentrated. Hopefully its still just a UTI and not stones.

How scary! I hope the vet can figure out what it is quickly and give you some medication for the poor monkey. I've had a few UTI's myself and it is a miserable thing to have! It hurts to hold it in AND it hurts to pee. Ouch!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Katie gets cranberry capsules twice a day. The human kind, and you can get them in drug stores or at Sam's Club or at Trader Joe's. She takes them to prevent UTIs that may occur because of some other medical issues that she has, and so far no issues. If you have a dog that is prone to infection, talk with your vet about this. Katie's neuro is a lot more wholistic than I ever expected and he recommended this for her.

Just got the call.

She has a UTI and needs antibiotics for 2 weeks. She's also got struvite crystals in her urine, so she needs a prescription diet for 6 weeks, to dissolve the crystals. In 6 weeks we re-test her urine and hopefully the crystals will all be gone.

Guess thats good news, however I won't be satisfied with the results until the re-test. I know theres the possibilty of stones and the PD not working entirely. So, we'll see. I'm just glad we can atleast get some antibiotics into her and make her feel better, atleast for the time being.

UGH. I am so frustrated with the reception at my vet.

I had requested a urine culture and sensitivity test. But that info didnt make it to the vetrinarian so I'm fairly certain they didn't do it.

My boyfriend went in to pick up the food and Abx and I told him to ask about the urine culture and sensitivity test.

So he did and the wench of a receptionist said she didn't know, vets were busy and she wasn't going to go bother them. He asked again nicely if she could find out because we really wanted it done, and she said "You'll have to call in" and ignored him after that. UGH.

On top of it, they sent home all these cans of food with no instructions on how much to feed her. And clavamox with NO information aside from dosage. No side affects, no nothing.

I'm not impressed.

Definitely get another vet. You'll be glad you did if emergency life & death stuff ever comes up in your life. (Also, you're paying for good care - your pets' AND your peace of mind.)

I'm not impressed either. Struvite crystals are almost always *caused* by urinary tract infections in dogs. Many common bacteria species in canine UTIs are urease-splitters, which result in high urine pH, which along with adequate urea in the urine (ie your dog eats protein), lead to the formation of struvite crystals and possible stones. But clearing the infection causes the urine pH to go back down to normal (slightly acidic), and struvites can not form in acidic urine. If Coda already has stones, then the food is a good idea. But the UTI should be cleared up quickly enough that she won't really need the special diet.

That said, if the diet is SD, that stuff is VERY calorie-dense. My Max is on it for struvite stones (in sterile urine, which is *extremely* rare). I had been feeding him canned Natural Balance and when I switched to the SD I fed him the same amount. At which point he promptly gained 10 pounds. He's a big boy, and 10# isn't all that noticable on him. But he doesn't need the extra weight with his arthritis. So now Max is starving (or so he thinks) on 1/2 of what I used to give him, volume wise. Another thing about SD is that it has a high salt content to encourage more water consumption. Max has been a drinking/peeing fool lately. You may notice that you have to take Coda outside more than usual if she is going to be on the SD. Good news is that the stuff works- I did a follow-up ultrasound on Max and he has fewer and smaller stones than when I first diagnosed him.

I have the Hill's clinical nutrition book. If the food is Hills SD, I can look up the recommended feeding guidelines if you give me Coda's weight.

About the C&S- yes, it is a very good idea to do one, although most people don't when it's the first infection. Either way is OK. But you can't run a C&S on free-catch urine. The urine has to be collected sterily and placed immediately into a sterile container. Otherwise you end up culturing all kinds of crazy stuff, and you never know what was really in the urine and what was contamination.

Not including information on the antibiotic is not a good idea. If you can't find info on it, I can copy from the Plumbs handbook for you.

Glad Coda is getting treated. She's going to feel much better in a couple of days.

Thats what I thought. There was no mention of stones, just the crystals. And I had read up a bit previous to finding out that they're usually caused by UTI's themselves. But at the same time I don't want to go against the vets advice and possibly make things worse. When I collected her urine there were A LOT of crystals.

I called and got the info I needed. And then 5 minutes later got another call from a different person saying "I was supposed to tell you XYZ when you picked things up"

They said to feed her 1 - 1 1/2 cans a day. Which seems like A LOT to me. Especially since I was told she needs to lose weight and to feed her less.

Coda is 11.4 kg (25 lbs) and needs to be about 22ish pounds. So if you wouldn't mind confirming this for me, meghane, I'd really appreciate it. It is hills SD. And it's going to cost me $100 to feed her for 6 weeks. $150 if I feed her 1 1/2. I've only been feeding her 1 can so far. If I'm feeding her too much, I'd like to know. For her weight, and my wallet!

And while it seems like a lot to me, she is acting like she's starving. However that could be because she eats inside now and she's not realising she doesn't get her normal food too.

Another thing too, meghane. I was told absolutely NO treats, no other food, no NOTHING but this food for 6 weeks. Is that true?? We don't give her cookies often as it is, maybe every few days at most, since she is over weight. But is she not supposed to have cookies for her weight, or because it'll screw up the diet?

On the plus side, she takes pills like a champ! She chews and swallows. Sometimes she doesnt even chew. And she begs for more, lol. I tell her its a cookie, and she's set.

I am considering a new vet. This time any confusion was caused by the receptionists. But there have been a few things in the last couple years that have made me iffy on them. No pain meds for surgery unless requested. This food now, which I'm certain she probably doesn't actually need.

According the the Hill's book, a 20# dog should get 1- 1.25 cans a day. My Max is 80# and according to the book he should get 2.5-3.5 cans a day, and I'm giving him 2 cans. I'd start with 1 can a day like you're doing and weigh her in a week. I was surprised how quickly Max gained weight on this diet. He acts hungry too, but he's a Lab and if you ask him, he'd ALWAYS say he was starving LOL!

That said, I was doing some more reading and found that I was actually being a little easy on your vet. According to latest research, the only indication for SD is struvite stones. A dog with a UTI and struvite crystals needs to be treated for the UTI, but not the crystals. The crystals may or may not persist after the UTI is cleared but that's OK because up to 50% of normal healthy dogs without UTIs have struvite crystals, and never form stones. The infection is what predisposes to forming stones, so if you control the infection, you should be able to prevent stone formation. Crystals are, in the words of my pathology professor, no great shakes (NGS). All this applies to dogs only; cats are WAY different!

It is easy to check for struvite stones because they are conveniently radio-opaque (unlike some other types of stones). So simple abdominal radiographs would determine whether or not she had stones. If the stones are small, she will more than likely be able to pass them on her own. Bigger stones would need SD management. The stones themselves, once present, cause irritation and can be a nidus of infection, so they do have to be treated when found. It's a vicious cycle- the stones only form when there is an infection, but they can perpepuate an infection and therefore more stones.

Many dogs that have had a single UTI resolve on Abx. It's perfectly appropriate to treat the first UTI with emperic Abx (not based on culture, just on the common bacterial causes). But if the infection does not clear, or if the infection comes back, then generally that's when you search for the underlying cause if one can be found. Usually the underlying causes are stones, upper urinary tract infection (kidney infection, prostate infection in males), conformation issue (hooded vulva being common), immunosuppression (steroid use, diabetes, Cushings, etc), or other things of which we will not speak because they are bad. But for now, assuming this is her first UTI, or at least the first one in a really long time, the choice of Abx is appropriate. You could either repeat UA or do a urine culture 5 days after finishing Abx to make sure the infection is gone. Or since Coda was nice enough to give you some clinical signs, you could monitor for return or persistence of clinical signs. Either way is OK. But if the signs return or do not 100% resolve, then you're looking for reasons.

I hope this helps a bit. It seems the last several years produced some new ideas about struvites in dogs, and it's taking some vets a long time to catch up. Personally, I would return the unopened cans of SD just prior to finding a new vet. Espccially since this isn't the only concern that you've had.

Hopefully Coda just got one of those UTIs that goes away with Abx and never has another. I'm sure she's feeling better already. Glad she's a champ at taking the meds. Let me know if you need anything.