Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Bad news at the vet today. Bosun finished his round of antibiotics and his situation seemed to improve from what I could see, but he still has the infection. They are trying another type of antibiotic now and if this does not work, then a urine culture will be done to see what type of bacteria is causing this. The big concern is that he has crystals in his urine, which I know can lead to more serious issues. Hopefully this second round does the trick.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Oh no :'( poor Bosun. I hope the new antibiotics help! Big licks from Harley and tummy rubs from me x
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour I'm sorry poor Bosun. :-\ A similar thing happened with my two but unfortunately they were given three lots of seven day course of antibiotics so it was six weeks before a urine sample was taken to be sent for cultures as they would be alright for a week after each lot of antibiotics. By then they had struvite crystals. I know the crystals were caused by the wrong treatment because when I first took them they checked the sample for crystals and there weren't any. . My dogs had ecoli in their bladder. Although ecoli doesn't need a specific antibiotic it needs a long course of treatment. I think it was three weeks so the usual seven day course is not enough to get rid of it. The symptoms improve but once the seven day course is over the ecoli develops again. This was one of the reasons I lost confidence in my vets and changed after 15 years. I perhaps over reacted but I wasn't impressed and there were other incidents. Crystals can cause problems but even after six weeks of infection the crystals my dogs had were small. It was treated with a special diet for three weeks. Hopefully this second course of antibiotics will do the trick and your vets sound more on the ball if they have already mentioned doing a urine culture. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Got back from the vet today with I think mixed results. 1. His inflammation seems to be cleared up (no white blood cell count in urine). 2. Crystal count is through the roof (I forget the ppm, etc. but the count was 5-15 crystals, where 0-5 would be cause for concern). 3 weeks ago no crystals, and 0-5 1 week ago. The crystal count is bad news as he is likely to form stones. The vet said there were two types of crystals that form stones, and that the type he has (I forget the name) is the type of crystal that forms stones that can be broken down and flushed out easier (good news???) They tried to do a urine culture but could not get any as he had just peed on the vet table. We have to bring him back Monday so that they can extract via needle or catheter some urine to do a culture on. This will rule out bacteria as a cause. If bacteria is not the cause, we will try adjusting diet to get the alkaline levels down and help prevent crystal formation. If that does not help, then its x-rays and or mri to see if his bladder lining has abnormalities. On a side note, a holistic pet store that is local here suggested that I feed my puppy kelp-based supplement while on antibiotics. Vet said that the vegetation in the supplement could now be causing the high alkaline levels and be contributing to crystal formation. Got him off that obviously now. WIll go back to the holistic pet store to let them know that their recommendation was not ideal (but still accept my responsibility for adding the supplement).
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Sorry to hear the problem is still ongoing ;( I would go and speak to the holistic pet store and let them know what issues you are having and that it could be caused by their product they recommended. Fingers crossed the vet will get a sample on Monday and will be able to get a better picture of what's going on x Big tummy rubs to Bosun x
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Sorry to hear this. When my two had crystals I read you could give cranberry. In other words vitamin C to increase acidity. I didn't as mine where put on a special diet and I would advice you get vet advice before giving any other supplements. Was it struvite crystals ? Has the vet given you anything for the crystals ? My dogs where put on royal canine urinary diet. This increases acidity and also increases the amount they drink so flushing the bladder. The only problem was according to royal canin the urinary diet doesn't sustain growth. They suggested sensitivity control wet food to get more fluid in them. However my vet thought it was important to have the urinary diet but mix it with their puppy food. I did, it worked and they grew. I do think if they haven't already your vet should give you something for the crystals. A simple diet can work scott had a lot of crystals. I hope you get this sorted soon. I know what it's like. Good luck for Monday.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Thanks folks. Looks like the Hill's Prescription Urinary diet is what is most readily available around here. The growth issue was one my vet brought up, and he will contact the manufacturer to ask for advice before using it on a puppy (otherwise I would have went home with a bag today). Might have to mix with puppy food as well. The only difference I could find (when I researched it a few days ago) is that the Hill's is low-sodium, so that it could be fed longer.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour I ment to mention this in my last post. Your vet may have told you and please excuse my descriptions I can't remember the technical words. When a pup is in the womb there is a little tail (for want of a better word) on the bladder which is how the pup gets rid of waste. Once born the bladder tail isn't needed and goes (don't know how ???). On rare occasions it doesn't go and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria causing constant bladder infections. This will probably be one of the things they will check if they need to x ray. However my vet said it was rare and she'd never seen one in a male only bitches. It's removed by an operation. It's fixable but lets hope the urine test shows up a pesky bacteria that needs a specific treatment. Strange to want that but it's the easy option. :-\.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Not sure if this is good or bad news. The urine culture came back with no bacteria at all. He just has high alkaline urine, and a lot of crystals. I have a couple of questions: 1. Addressed a bit already here in the thread, but any ideas on what I can feed him to bring his urine alkaline down? Vet says Hill urinary food might not be appropriate for a puppy (especially Labs) as it will affect their development. Using cranberries already and not much good. 2. Any ideas on the total typical cost of an xray? I am having a tough time finding the total cost (ie. any meds that accompany xrays, etc). I saw $1200 in one site I checked, and I find that hard to believe.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Can't the vet help with something to reduce alkaline levels? Are there appropriate drugs etc? The cost of x-rays in the UK can vary dramatically depending on the vet and the work involved (eg number of sites to be examined etc). I have certainly seen a range of £250 to £1500 ($400 USD to $2400 USD) - you'd have a ask vets for a quote for the specific procedure to find out, I think.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour What has the vet suggested they do about this ? As I've mentioned my dogs were on Royal Canin Urinary diet which I'm guessing will be very similar to Hills. My vet did tell me that it could slow down their growth but they would catch up. I rang Royal Canin who told me it wasn't suitable for puppies as it didn't sustain growth their suggestion was to feed their sensitivity control wet food. However as I've mentioned I mixed half and half urinary diet and puppy food. This worked. In three weeks all of Scouts crystals had gone and Scott's, who had more, had reduced enough not to be a problem. Wet food was suggested because you want to increase the fluid intake to flush the bladder. Reduced protein in the diet can help as protein can increase alkalinity. Unfortunately puppy food is usually higher protein because they need the protein for growth. Finding a wet puppy food with as low a protein as possible could help. Sorry I can't remember how old Bosun is but if he's over 6 months an adult wet food shouldn't do any harm. The people I get my food from reccomend switching to adult food at 6 months anyway. Adult food is usually lower in protein than puppy food so again that would help reduce alkalinity. You could ring Hills and ask their advice. Royal Canin were very helpful when I rang them. They should be able to advise a suitable diet to use for this problem. Personally as well as ringing Hills I'd be getting on to the vet. They should have given you something for the crystals and they will be able to tell you the price of an x ray. You could Ring around a few vets to compare prices of x ray but if they've sent you home with nothing to treat the crystals I wouldn't be happy.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Thanks for the suggestions folks. The urine culture results we not in until yesterday, and the vet said that they would contact me today after they talk to Hill's about a proper feeding plan, so I don't think he has been forgotten by the vet. I did suspect that our vet is in the expensive side though. We like to go there because they treated us so well when we had a very sick cat a few years ago and the techs in the office were so good in helping us with him (ie. letting my wife drop in unannounced and getting help 2-3 times a week force-feeding, no charge). BUt if this becomes a long-term thing (remembering that my insurance considers this pre-existing), I may have to start thinking about finances soon and start calling around.
Re: Change in puppy peeing behaviour Is it worth trying some cranberry supplements? I think they might be best for making the urine more acidic, but not sure if you are on a urinary diet that this wouldn't be a key element anyway.
