House Trainined Greyhound Peeing In The House

[Guest houndmom05]

Hello all. I have a 6 year old male that has previously been a pretty good boy, but is now peeing in the house pretty much all the time. He's wearing a belly band with a pad 24/7 right now as I'm tired of cleaning up. However, he still invariably ends up peeing through it at least twice a week. He's had a rough few months lately, which have probably contributed to the situation.

 

I got him as a foster in February, adopted him in March, and got another foster shortly thereafter. He is one of two of my own greyhounds and I still have the foster. They are all spooks. The foster goes to our GPA office most Saturdays to meet people and has left us for several days here and there when I've taken my boys on vacation. George is pretty insecure, and I feel that he doesn't quite get sometimes that he is in his "forever" home.

 

This summer he was diagnosed and treated for a UTI and he is all cleared up from that. Approximately a month and a half ago, he started acting depressed and down, the peeing continued, and I had gotten to the point where I just did not know what to do. I have contacted our animal communicator and am still waiting to hear from her. In any event, he has been unhappy for some time.

 

Last Thursday he managed to get bit by one of the other greys. It was an accident, not a fight. He managed to jump into a mouth and had to get stitches and staples in his front left foot. While at the vet's office, they discovered at least one source of his misery - a cracked canine. On Monday he had this canine extracted. While they were in there working on that, they found yet another source of some misery - a nice groove/trench in his tongue from said broken canine, which now also has stitches. My poor, sweet boy is just plain miserable, and the peeing continues. He is on a soft diet for the next several weeks, no toys, lots of meds, etc. etc.

 

My GPA rep has now suggested the possibility of a condition called "tying up" as a possible cause of the peeing in the house. He is, without a doubt, a complete stress ball even on his good days. The least little fly at the window causes him to jump up and bark furiously. He is very high strung, more so than my other two spooks. Going on walks are tedious as he rarely knows which way to go and never walks in a straight line. Muscle tension is by far and wide not outside the realm of possibility. Any thoughts or advice anyone might have would be most welcome.

 

Thanks in advance,

Houndmom

[TheFullHouse]

Have you tried giving him some Melatonin to see if it calms him down a little? Poor guy, must be awful to feel that stressed all the time. If that doesn't work, I'm sure you could find some anti anxiety drug that may help. I think I'd have him checked again for a UTI, sometimes you can get them cleared up just to have them return. It may take a longer course of antibiotics.

[greyhead]

Lots of hounds have their UTI's reappear after everyone thought they were cured.

 

How often do you have fosters and how long do they usually stay with you? It doesn't sound like your guy feels real secure. Maybe he needs some meds of some kind to help him relax. And perhaps if your other dog all your fosters are spooks too, he doesn't have any greyhound to model for him how to be a relaxed greyhound? But it also seems likely that he's afraid of being shipped out like the fosters. And now he has to worry about being bitten too.

 

I'm so sorry for all you've both been through. It sounds exhausting. Hope you find something to help.

Edited October 28, 2010 by greyhead

[Guest Stripeyfan]

I'd maybe get another UTI check too, just in case. Hope you can sort this out soon.

[GeorgeofNE]

A UTI can SEEM to be cleared and not. Trust me...I've been dealing with a mystery infection for a long time now!

 

We got it "cleared up" and the peeing stopped for two years--but that was after 14 weeks on Baytril!

 

Now it's back...and my dog has had an ultrasound, x-rays, at least his 10th urinalysis, more blood work...it's all normal! Someone suggested he might have a mycroplasma infection, so now we're treating with Doxycycline for 8-12 weeks.

 

It might be worth trying the antibiotics again--but a different one.

[Guest xraychick]

I know this sounds weird, but my CAT..i know cat, did the same thing. He was having pee issues, and was given anti biotics and said he had a UTI, but still peed in the house not litter box. So, finally we took him to a different vet, and they diagnosed him with a blocked urethra. They had to keep him for several days, and cath him and give him IV fluids and anti biotics. But he was blocked up and it was painful for him, so he went all over the place. This could be the issue with your baby grey. Males are more subject to these problems than females, since their urethras are longer.

 

Other than that, it could just be behavioral. He was sick for a while and got used to going in the house. I know when our grey gets sick or an upset tummy he goes in the house. But normally he is very good about only doing his biz outside.

 

contact your vet or maybe find another vet to get a second opinion. I am glad we did with our cat, it saved his life.

[Guest Adrianne]

I agree with having him checked for a UTI. If that's clear, I think I would try medication for his anxiety. I don't say that lightly, but like someone else said, it has to be just miserable for him to feel so stressed all the time. He really may not feel secure, especially with your foster leaving most Saturdays and for a day or two here & there.

 

I hope you find out, and I hope he gets some relief.

[Sambuca]

Does he seem to be drinking more? Or is he still drinking the normal amount? If he's drinking a lot more you may want to get him tested for diabetes and cushings.