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Confused And Frustrated...


Guest RocketDog

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Guest RocketDog

So, some quick background. Rocket is coming 6 years old, always been a big drinker/peer, but starting this past May he began having infrequent episodes of incontinence where he'd start peeing in his sleep and wake up in a panic, seemingly unable to stop. After a few nights in a row of similar peeing episodes we took him to the vet and the urinalysis and culture showed nothing out of the ordinary. We declined Proin at the time and decided to see if he would continue having the accidents. He went several weeks without having an accident and we had hoped we were free and clear, but no, not so lucky. He started having the accidents again, but not frequently, and we just started making sure he had more frequent potty breaks in hopes that we could keep him 'empty' and avoid accidents that way.

 

When he started having multiple accidents per day this week I took him back to the vet for a full blood and urine workup, and compared to the bloodwork/urinalysis he had in March and the urinalysis/culture in May he didn't have anything different other than a marked decrease in his ability to concentrate his urine. I think the numbers went from 1047 in March to 1030 in May, and this week it was 1015. All his other results are within the normal ranges for a healthy male greyhound. Nothing points to diabetes, cushings, renal failure, unknown infections...

 

The vet still wants to put him on Proin, but I just have this gut feeling that there is SOMETHING funky going on other than incontinence. I have been researching all sorts of different disorders and none of them seem to fit him, since aside from the drinking and peeing a lot he's the same as he's ever been - very bald, slightly underweight, moderately active and always hungry. I just don't know what to do at this point, other than have him wear belly bands at night. I don't really have an unlimited budget for doing random tests, but I hate thinking that I might be missing something that could lead to serious problems for him down the road. I've though about asking the vet if we can do a round of antibiotics just in case he's got an infection that's flying under the radar, but other than that I'm at a loss for what to do next. Any suggestions would be most apprectiated!

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Did you try a round of antibiotics? Even if the vet doesn't think it's needed, it can't hurt and I would want to try that before putting him on proin.

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Michelle...forever missing her girls, Holly 5/22/99-9/13/10 and Bailey 8/1/93-7/11/05

Religion is the smile on a dog...Edie Brickell

Wag more, bark less :-)

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Guest FastDogsOwnMe

Always hungry, underweight (in spite, I assume, of feeding him more?), excessive thirst, and very bald... makes me wonder about thyroid. I really don't believe most Greyhounds have thyroid issues, but some dog.

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Guest RocketDog

His thyroid function is within normal parameters for greyhounds, and his physical appearance now is the same as it's been the three years we've had him so I don't want to jump the gun on medicating him for thyroid problems if it's not really needed. I will try and talk to the vet about possibly doing a run of antibiotics just to see what it will do...

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How's his weight? What is he fed? I wouldn't put him on Proin either. Round of antibiotics is worthwhile, as is blood pressure check (cheap and easy) and urine protein/creatinine ratio (also easy but not so cheap). Fingers crossed you can get to the bottom of things for your sweet boy.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Hi Faith, sorry you and Rocket are having this problem. Just wanted to let you know that our Shane did the same thing two years ago when he was 5-1/2. Testing for UTI, including a culture, didn't turn up anything. I think we gave him an a/b anyway, but that didn't stop it. But a few weeks after that, the incontinence did go away, seemingly on its own. He did later turn out to be hypothyroid, for whatever that's worth.Fast-forward almost two years to last winter when he was 7. We had him tested for TBD's and he was positive for Babesia canis. His overall deportment improved after treatment with Imizol. But his incontinence returned, mostly in the form of leakage both overnight and during the day. Urinalysis showed no UTI. He did poorly on Proin, so we stopped very quickly, and just relied on belly bands and frequent outs. Still had some lack of stamina that we'd associated with TBDs and, after talking to the doctor at Protatek and thinking his symptoms were consistent with Erlichia or some other TBD, vet decided to treat with doxycycline. She said if it wasn't another TBD, doxy cures "lots of other little things." After six weeks at 600 mg/day, we increased the dose to 800, as it may have been low for his weight (80 lbs). Suddenly, the incontinence and leaking have stopped!There's great difference of opinion on whether he had a second TBD or whether he has had a UTI of some sort. (Vet had initially said the incontinence was probably due to age. At 5?! I don't think so, or at 7 either!) But I just wanted to share what has been happening for us, for whatever it's worth to you. You have all my sympathy, and I hope you'll share with us whatever happens next, since we're basically in the dark here too! Mary

ETA: We also requested a special test to see if his handling of glucose indicated that he might be developing diabetes. Result was negative.

Edited by greyhead
Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13).

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Guest RocketDog

Thanks for the replies everyone. He is raw-fed, has been for almost the entire 3 years we've had him. He's always been a food-motivated guy, to the point where we have to crate him when we're gone because he figured out how to open cabinets and storage bins to get to food. He raced at 79-82lbs and maintained at 80 until about 6 months ago when we had a toe amp that left us unable to leash-walk him because it didn't heal very quickly. His stamina has dropped and he's dropped down to 75-77lbs but we attributed both the weight loss and lack of stamina to the reduced excercise and the heat, which he has never tolerated well.

 

The first two urinalyses were on FMU, the second was not 'true' FMU since he had had two accidents between 2am and our vet appointment at 9am. I did ask the vet about TBD's and she didn't seem to think anything on his bloodwork warranted spending the $200+ for the testing, but I might just have to push her and do it anyways. I spoke to her about cushings/diabetes as well and again she said that nothing aside from the pu/pd really made her think it was a possibility. The previous vet (there are two at the practice) agreed with her, although she was not as quick to suggest Proin. I am not comfortable with the idea of giving it to him, even if all we're dealing with is 'simple' incontinence.

 

This is all just so frustrating...

Edited by RocketDog
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<br />His thyroid function is within normal parameters for greyhounds, and his physical appearance now is the same as it's been the three years we've had him so I don't want to jump the gun on medicating him for thyroid problems if it's not really needed. I will try and talk to the vet about possibly doing a run of antibiotics just to see what it will do...<br />
<br /><br /><br />

 

...........but what about the rest of the description: bald, moderate activity and always hungry? Is that the same? One of mine has what I call cyclical incontinence; twice a year she leaks like a sieve. No one knows why. FWIW: I would try the antibiotics first, as if he had a TBD. Good luck and update when you can.

Linda, Mom to Fuzz, Barkley, and the felines Miss Kitty, Simon and Joseph.Waiting at The Bridge: Alex, Josh, Harley, Nikki, Beemer, Anna, Frank, Rachel, my heart & soul, Suze and the best boy ever, Dalton.<p>

:candle ....for all those hounds that are sick, hurt, lost or waiting for their forever homes. SENIORS ROCK :rivethead

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Guest RocketDog

He's always been really bald, and always been really intent on getting food (hence the crating - he can open the fridge, freezer, cupboards, storage bins...) and he's always done a few good laps around the yard during potty breaks and before injuring himself he loved the local coursing club's practice sessions, but he's not one that needs long, rigorous leash-walks to keep happy if that makes any sense.

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You do not need to spend $200+ for TBD testing. Have her draw the blood and there are several places to send it off for under $100. However, TBD wouldn't be my first thought tho.

 

If there is no way diabetes is in the picture I might agree with the vet that said "doxy cures a lot of little things" and try that if you don't want to do Pronin.

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Guest strwberrys645

I agree with treating for a UTI even if he is techincally asymptomatic. The only symptom of a UTI he might be having is the incontinence. At least it is a simple relatively harmless treatment and will let you rule out one more thing. My female shepherd mix has to take an estrogen supplement b/c of her incontinence (diethyl stilbesterol) and that took care of the problem for her. I agree it sounds like there could be something more going on here and wish you luck with your testing. You can always get a second opinion from a different veterinary practice.

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Will he eat more if you feed him more? If he's 5 or so pounds underweight, could be he really is hungry and perhaps filling up on water instead of food.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest RocketDog

We've upped his portions in the last few weeks and he has put on a bit of weight, but he's definitely lost muscle tone in the last 6 months. He doesn't look sickly, and he doesn't ACT sickly, other than the extra drinking and incontinence. And for Susan, yes, the accidents seem to occur only when he's asleep, but he always bolts awake when he feels it happening and runs for the door, leaving a trail of drips and puddles the whole way. I have belly-bands assembled but not sewn since my sewing machine picked a great time to seize up and stop working. Due to the holiday weekend I may not be able to talk to the vet, although depending on our next conversation I may take him back to our old vet for her opinion...

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Guest Spencers_Greyt

I just took Buzz in for a UTI and had a culture done. The vet mentioned that Buzz's urine is very concentrated which is an indication that he does NOT have diabetes. Maybe you need to have him checked for diabetes?

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