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Can't Hold It Through The Night Anymore


Guest Krizzy

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We have had our grey, Hammer, for a year now. No problems with bathroom breaks (we let him out every night before we go to bed) until the last month or so. He has been waking us up in the middle of the night needing to go out. I noticed when I let him out, he was using the bathroom, (#1 and #2) Then more recently, on a Sunday, we left for a couple hours for church, we came home to poop in the house. That is when I realized it was a problem. That night, he woke me up to go out. I let him out and an hour later, woke me again, I thought he was doing it out of habit, told him to go back to bed, he did, after going poop in the house. The next morning when I found his accident, I called the vet. (I also want to mention that he had lost 4lbs) I took him in, and she did a stool sample and exam. She said that she found a lot of greens/grass/plants in his stool. She said he could have been eating it to ease his stomach ache. She found a lot of gas and fluids in his belly when she palpated him. She said that he had a lot of bad bacteria in his system, causing gas and diarrhea, which led to his weight loss. She put him on two prescriptions- one to firm his stool and then a probiotic to get rid of bad bacteria.

 

He has been on his prescription for about 4 days now. He seems to be doing a lot better. Solid stool and eating regularly. I also have been watching him when he goes out and he has not been munching on any leaves. He has been having a bunch of gas though. But in the last 4 days, he still wakes us up to go to the bathroom. The first 2 days, he went poop, the 3rd day, he slept thru the night without waking up to go out, and last night, he woke me up to pee only.

 

Finally, my question. I am wondering why he can't hold it through the night anymore? His diarrhea is pretty much gone. He used to sleep in later than us, and I would have to wake him up to go out. Now, it's like he can't wait til the morning to go out. I don't want to ignore him because if he has to go, he's got to go but can anyone give me a suggestion on whats going on? I will call the vet tomorrow and ask them but I just want to know if this has happened to anyone else. Did he get into a habit of going out at 3am? Does he need more time on the meds? Could he have a urine infection?? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!!

 

 

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Could be any of those things. If they didn't culture his urine before, you should get that done, to rule out a UTI. My feeling is that once his medical issue clears up, he will go back to sleeping through the night. He's only waking up because he has to go. Four days might be enough to address his diarrhea, but not enough to completely clear the rest of his symptoms. It can take up to two weeks for probiotics to repopulate a digestive system. Even if your vet found no worms in his stool, that does not mean he is free of them. Hookworms are very bad all over and can take several rounds of de-wormer to get rid of them finally. You might ask for some panacur for this.

 

If he is consistently going in one spot in the house, get some puppy pads and put them down to save your floors. Don't worry about him thinking it's OK to go potty in the house by doing this. He knows he's not supposed to, and is probably as mortified as you are.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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Guest kkaiser104

Could be any of those things. If they didn't culture his urine before, you should get that done, to rule out a UTI. My feeling is that once his medical issue clears up, he will go back to sleeping through the night. He's only waking up because he has to go. Four days might be enough to address his diarrhea, but not enough to completely clear the rest of his symptoms. It can take up to two weeks for probiotics to repopulate a digestive system. Even if your vet found no worms in his stool, that does not mean he is free of them. Hookworms are very bad all over and can take several rounds of de-wormer to get rid of them finally. You might ask for some panacur for this.

 

If he is consistently going in one spot in the house, get some puppy pads and put them down to save your floors. Don't worry about him thinking it's OK to go potty in the house by doing this. He knows he's not supposed to, and is probably as mortified as you are.

:nod When Winchester was really sick a few weeks ago and he couldn't make it for more then a few hours he was very upset. Definitely don't punish, and good luck!

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The three times he has ever went in the house was because he was sick and we weren't home. He is usually great with going out for the bathroom/holding it. So, when he does go in the house, I know there is something wrong.

 

I will ask about the urine testing (and the panacur) because, I don't know if it is just me, but I notice that his pees are longer than usual. I appreciate the responses! I may just be getting a little impatient, so I will wait until the meds are done to see if he can sleep thru the night.

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It's not impossible that bacteria get transferred between the back end and the urinary tract, either by licking (most likely), or leaking, or even by bedding. So picking up a UTI after the intestinal bacterial overgrowth/imbalance isn't a total stretch.

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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It's not impossible that bacteria get transferred between the back end and the urinary tract, either by licking (most likely), or leaking, or even by bedding. So picking up a UTI after the intestinal bacterial overgrowth/imbalance isn't a total stretch.

:nod Happens with humans, too. The only time I've ever had a UTI was right after food poisoning --> diarrhea. Ick! I didn't lick, I swear!!!

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Do a urine culture not just a test in the vet's office.

 

Definitely! The vet's-office view of Shane's urine was that it was entirely normal in every way. Finally did a urine culture, when he became floppy and unresponsive, and found an E. coli infection that then took forever to cure.

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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Intestinal bacteria overgrowth/imbalance wouldn't have anything to do with UTI except possibly insofar as diarrhea caused increased licking or spread the stool around more to where it could contact the urethra. Poop consists mostly of bacteria, none of which are friendly to the urinary tract, an area that should be sterile.

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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What is the difference between urine culture and a urine test?

 

He is doing a lot better. Since I started this post, he hasn't woke us up during the night. Although, now he has really bad gas. At night, sometimes it is like every 15 minutes.

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Urine test:

 

Usually refers to a strip of cardboard with several chemical pads on it. You dip it in the urine, pull it back out, wait briefly, then compare the colors of the chemical pads to a chart. It tells you things like @ how much glucose, protein, white blood cells, and red blood cells there are in the urine. There is a chemical pad for a substance produced by some -- but not all -- bacteria.

 

At some (most?) vets, the urine is also spun down and the sediment is examined under a microscope by somebody experienced. This is very important and should ALWAYS be done in addition to the strip test. ALWAYS. The vet or very experienced tech is looking for white blood cells, red blood cells, bacteria, crystals, etc.

 

 

Urine culture:

 

This is when a sample of the urine is spread on a petri dish or two and stuck in an incubator, to see if anything grows. If something unfortunate grows, then usually the lab will also do a sensitivity test to see what medication would kill the creepy critter. Urine cultures or "culture & sensitivity" are usually sent to an outside lab and can take 3-5 days. The outside lab and your vet prefer to do cultures from a sterile draw (needle into the bladder) but for a short-haired dog, a midstream catch into a sterile container is fine.

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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