Neyla's Test Results

[NeylasMom]

So the results are all in - culture was negative , urinalysis about the same - blood, RBC, some WBC, spec gravity slightly lower at 1.020, blood work indicated increased creatinine and BUN, not enough to be causing these insane problems supposedly, but elevated nonetheless. My vet consulted with my oncologist and they are still insistent this is a cystitis issue. We are supposed to have an abdominal ultrasound to look for tumors on Thursday. In the meantime, I am starting her on Baytril as one last shot in the dark tonight. If by some chance we see improvement in the next day or two, then we'll cancel or postpone the ulstrasound. Also some concern that elevated BUN could be indicative of a gastric ulcer starting so we're starting carafate today as well.

 

So, in the meantime, we're continuing to fine tune our methods for managing her incontinence. I'm going to go out tonight to pick up the cloth washable diapers from Petsmart and just give them a try. Does anyone know what size would be appropriate for a 60 lb petite female?

 

Also, some people suggested adult incontinence pads over the doggie ones. How do these fit into the diaper, is it possible to do it comfortably for Neyla?

 

Last question (for now, ha! ) - a friend suggested I teach Neyla to potty on pads on our deck rather than having her have to do the stairs so many extra times (we live in a 3rd floor condo). So I was thinking I would get disposable pee pads to put out there and see if I can get her to go there. If she takes to it, I might look into a dog door that could be installed on my patio door and just have it open onto an x-penned area of the deck so she can go out when I'm not home.

 

Does anyone have any other/additional suggestions? Something else I could do on the deck to encourage her to go, while still being easy to clean up? I can't just let her go on the deck as it's wooden slats with small openings in b/w so it would soak in and drop on my neighbor's deck. I know this is kind of out there, but I have gotten so many creative suggestions on GT that I have to ask.

 

Thanks.

[Guest kelli123]

I think its a great idea of trying to get her to go on the deck

I would get some pee pads and put them either on a big rubber type rug or a tarp. the Pads should soak up the urine but incase she missed the tarp would catch it. Hold the tarp down with some blocks or something so it wouldn't blow away.

I would catch some of her urine and put it on the pee pad on the deck and take her there when you think she has to go and maybe if she smells it she will use it . I was using the large human depend diapers with my girl cut a whole for her tail and they seemed to work good . They have elastic on the thigh area and waist. Great ideas on your part i hope they work

[teri_d]

my friends daughter lives in la an "rents" a little thing of grass for her condo's deck - you might look into that - she has a little "holder" - then the rental company brings a rolled up grass to fit the holder and a baggie for the used grass and some disposable gloves to carry out this task. i believe there are different plans for rental, but she gets fresh grass every week - is there anything like this in your area? just an idea --

 

edited to add -- we're pulling for you sweet neyla!!!

Edited November 30, 2010 by teri_d

[Batmom]

If she'll go on the deck, head on to Home Depot or Lowe's and get 1-2 of the big plastic pans you put under a washing machine. Best check the size of your deck first.

[NeylasMom]

See, I knew it was worth asking my insane question! You guys never fail to come through for me. I actually thought about whether I could buy little squares of grass, but then thought that wouldn't work b/c eventually it would be pee soaked. Who knew there would actually be a service for such a thing?! No idea if we have that in our area, or how to go about finding out though.

 

Love the ideas of putting something under the pee pads too. I like the pan idea simply b/c I think that would be easier to wash off in my tub, if I get one that isn't too big.

[EllenEveBaz]

Inspiring her to pee on whatever you choose on the deck -- maybe get another female dog's urine (maybe a friend will "catch" some for you) and pour it on the pee pad or whatever? Something to stimulate her marking instincts?

 

Just an idea -- giant baking tray for commercial kitchens?

 

Hugs to your sweet Neyla.

[Batmom]

If they don't have the pans (they ought to), could just get some 3' x 5' rubber backed doormats -- would help hold the pee pads in place and keep things from soaking through. On a good day you can find those for $15-$16 apiece.

[Guest kelli123]

If you use a tray you have to make sure it doesn't slide around on the deck. That might scare her. And if she is like mine they like to spin around and do weird stuff be fore they pee or poop so what ever you put down needs to be big so she has enough room. If you cant get the grass shovel some dirt up or pull some grass your self. ( buy some Sod) And put it on something . Maybe get some strangers dog poop Just for starters. I so hope this works for her. It will be so much easier on her and you then going down 3 flights of stairs.

[KF_in_Georgia]

A vinyl tarp (WalMart sporting goods department) might be best on your balcony. If you need to clean it, you can roll it up to carry it inside, and you can rinse it off in the shower. If you do the pan-method, you might have to dump urine from the pan, and that could be awkward on the 3rd story.

 

If you go with a grass set-up on your balcony, here are a bunch of Google links. In the right-hand column is one entry that says "Dog Grass On Your Balcony."

 

Regarding fitting Neyla with any kind of diaper: try wrapping her at home now with a towel. Just wrap her up, mark (pin) what might be extra fabric out of the way, and fiddle around until you've got a goodish fit. Then unpin her and measure your towel to see the measurements you'll need. Almost any diaper-type wrap will have dimensions on the wrapper, so if you have measured Neyla first, you should have the info you need. You can scout out doggy diapers online to see what sizes are available. (If you don't have anything to measure with at home, just remember that a sheet of regular letter paper is 8.5"x11"--measure with that to get a good estimate.)

 

Regarding getting her to pee on puppy pads or balcony grass or whatever... Good luck. My boy will pee on puppy pads (or off them) any time he pleases. My girl? Rather than pee on a pad, she'll hold out until her back teeth start to float. There's a scented spray you get buy to spray on puppy pads. Sam ignores the spray and pees; Jacey ignores the spray and doesn't.

 

ETA: If you go with a pan for her to pee in, maybe put a tarp under the pan. My girl is famous for peeing in the road when she thinks she's peeing in the grass. Neyla might pee on the deck, thinking she's peeing in the pan. The tarp will protect against bad aim.

Edited December 1, 2010 by KF_in_Georgia

[Guest azlorenz]

See, I knew it was worth asking my insane question! You guys never fail to come through for me. I actually thought about whether I could buy little squares of grass, but then thought that wouldn't work b/c eventually it would be pee soaked. Who knew there would actually be a service for such a thing?! No idea if we have that in our area, or how to go about finding out though.

 

Love the ideas of putting something under the pee pads too. I like the pan idea simply b/c I think that would be easier to wash off in my tub, if I get one that isn't too big.

 

I think I've seen the grass in a box thing in some catalog but it was artificial turf that you could just hose off.

[cleptogrey]

If they don't have the pans (they ought to), could just get some 3' x 5' rubber backed doormats -- would help hold the pee pads in place and keep things from soaking through. On a good day you can find those for $15-$16 apiece.

 

how about fake grass? a friend w/ a really old corgi did the fake grass and it worked! so if you can catch some peespill it on the grass which is on top of the mats...you got it made! i don't remember the names of the companies that manufacture it, but she found them on line. and they withstand rain and can be hosed down.now it's a matter of her being able to get out on deck as needed.

 

opps, did not read the post directly above...yeah the fake grass works!

Edited December 1, 2010 by cleptogrey

[duncan41]

Has anyone tried tinkletrousers.com?

[robinw]

Potty Patch

 

Porch Potty

[MaryJane]

One note, someone mentioned using Depends which will work but, I would probably not use them starting out especially if you are not home to monitor. The disposable adult diapers use a gel material to soak up the pee and I'm not sure what would happen if a dog ingested this material - it could be toxic (plus it's really tough to clean up because it's like little tiny pieces of jello). Maybe start with washable diapers with 100% cotton inside with a plastic outer-covering and if she doesn't tear them up then consider using the disposables. You can buy the washables n-line and it takes about a week to ship.

[NeylasMom]

We tried the cloth diaper with the Simple Solution heavy pad stuck inside last night. Pretty much a fail. She wasn't bothered by them, which was a good surprise, but they didn't stay on tightly enough to be effective. I'll try again tonight with the legs fastened more tightly, I'm just afraid of doing it too tight and having it dig into her legs.

 

I also did a lot of potty station research last night. Those ones Robin linked to (thanks Robin) are quite expensive, but they gave me good ideas and a source for grass so I think I could make my own with either real or artificial grass for a bit less. Still, it wouldn't be cheap so I think I'll wait until we hopefully have some answers from the ultrasound to order anything. And in the meantime, I should probably try just having her go on pads out there.

[seeh2o]

When Sheila was having incontinence problems I found some amazingly great (and cheap at $8.52 each) reusable bedpads, and they are brand new...not used fro a hospital with suspicious stains. I kept her in the kitchen/bathroom and just lined the floor with them. They are 34" x 52" and you just throw them in the wash. They absorbed every drop and kept the wetness away from her if she, sadly, laid down on the area (she was blind and couldn't see where she had gone. They were a godsend. They have always arrived overnight, though I've never ordered them sent overnight. They are cheap enough that I bought several sets so I could always keep the floor covered while washing a soiled set.

 

JRS Medical Supply, Invacare Resuable Bedpads

 

Best of luck to you and your sweet girl.

[NeylasMom]

Sweet! It took a little calling around, but I found out that the Home Depot across the street from my office still has some small (2'x5')pieces of sod left for around $6 each. Probably going to be a little unwieldy for me to get it upstairs (he said it weighs 20 or 30 lbs), but I can get a friend to help if needed so I'm going to run over and buy a piece. I think I can use a crate pan from one of my XL crates as the basin to catch the liquid and I just need to find something to lay the sod on so the liquid doesn't sit in the sod, but I'm thinking HD will have some rubber mats or kids flooring or something that will work.

 

I tried the pads this morning and Neyla totally didn't get what I was looking for so I'm thinking we can start with the sod and then when/if the sod dies, she will have the hang of it and I can switch to artificial grass, which is more expensive. Heck, I might start training Zuri to use it so at bedtime in the winter I don't have to make that trip outside.

 

When Sheila was having incontinence problems I found some amazingly great (and cheap at $8.52 each) reusable bedpads, and they are brand new...not used fro a hospital with suspicious stains. I kept her in the kitchen/bathroom and just lined the floor with them. They are 34" x 52" and you just throw them in the wash. They absorbed every drop and kept the wetness away from her if she, sadly, laid down on the area (she was blind and couldn't see where she had gone. They were a godsend. They have always arrived overnight, though I've never ordered them sent overnight. They are cheap enough that I bought several sets so I could always keep the floor covered while washing a soiled set.

 

JRS Medical Supply, Invacare Resuable Bedpads

 

Best of luck to you and your sweet girl.

Thanks. We are already using these and while they do a pretty good job, they don't keep her dry when she has the big accidents. It does make cleanup easier for us though.

[Guest ChasesMum]

poor sweet girl...

[Guest LindsaySF]

Sophie has a diaper from Petsmart too. It needs to be *tight* or else it sags and won't catch the liquid. The leg holes have elastic in them, as long as they aren't cutting off her circulation or anything it should be fine. I also prefer human incontinence pads to go inside, they are thicker and bend better. I didn't like the pads at Petsmart. Good luck.