Furbaby potty issues

kateisgreat

Backstory- we moved out of our house 3.5 weeks ago, and drove 3 hours to stay with MIL for a week in the country. While we were there my dogs got their annual checkup and were fine.  Then we drove 6 hours to our new home, but I had to kennel them for 3 days before we got into our house. Apparently the previous owner of this house had a dog that peed on the carpet (which is now pulled up). My girl pup was marking little spots in the house while the carpet was still down, but was very hesitant to pee outside- I'm assuming she thinks she got into trouble for going to the bathroom at all and not just for going in the house. Typically she only pees once or twice a day, and will pee for what seems like 5 minutes straight, but lately she has been only going once a day or every other day. She's shy about going to the bathroom on a leash, so I let her roam the yard off-leash, but have to keep a close eye on her because there isn't a fence yet. When I take her out she just stands next to me and won't even set foot in the grass even if I walk out in the yard. She will only go potty for DH. This also results in her being kept in her crate more than usual because I'm not letting her roam the house and pee/ poop everywhere. So basically if she doesn't go potty for DH in the morning, she has to stay in her crate all day, aside from my futile attempts to get her to potty during the day. 

Tonight she peed in the living room, and it was pink. Obviously I'm going to take her to the vet, but I'm not going to an emergency vet tonight. It doesn't seem like a bladder infection to me since she has been peeing less frequently, even before there was blood in her urine. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Could she have gotten something at the kennel even though that was 2.5 weeks ago? I was thinking it might be from stress and/or from holding her pee for so long, since I am the primary caregiver around here and she won't pee for me. I'm thinking the issue with her holding it will resolve itself once we get a fence put up (hopefully this weekend) because then she can have her privacy and it will take me out of the equation. 

amarissa85

She may have a UTI which may have made it seem like she was marking but when a dog has a UTI they really can't hold it. My husky had one when she was younger and literally would go to the door but couldn't hold it long enough for me to get there and would pee. If she wasn't close enough to the door she would just pee. See what the vet says.

girlmama83

If my dog was urinating blood, I would at the least be calling an emergency vet if not taking him.

WildRumpus

Could be a kidney infection. Ditto PP about trying to take her temp. The emergency vet isn't fun, but if she's sick, you don't really want to wait. Poor baby

kateisgreat

amarissa85 said:

She may have a UTI which may have made it seem like she was marking but when a dog has a UTI they really can't hold it. My husky had one when she was younger and literally would go to the door but couldn't hold it long enough for me to get there and would pee. If she wasn't close enough to the door she would just pee. See what the vet says.

She was definitely marking when we had the carpet- i'm 100% positive of that. I was wondering if she could have giver herself a UTI from holding it for too long though. She didn't start holding it like that until I scolded her for going in the house. DH stayed out late a few nights so she wound up holding it for nearly 3 days this week. And now she's peeing blood...

rfrazier611

Sometimes if they have a bad enough UTI they CAN'T pee so they just fill up and become excruciatingly uncomfortable.  Or she could be holding it in on purpose if it hurts her to pee at this point.  I'd take her tonight since there's blood.

BlondieBia21

Agree with PP- I'd at least be calling the emergency vet to ask. Does your vet have an after hours line? Mine always has someone on call..

girlmama83

rfrazier611 said:

Sometimes if they have a bad enough UTI they CAN'T pee so they just fill up and become excruciatingly uncomfortable.  Or she could be holding it in on purpose if it hurts her to pee at this point.  I'd take her tonight since there's blood.

This... poor pup.

adnama36

I'm a vet tech...if it were me, I'd have a vet (ER vet or your regular vet) look at her by tomorrow.  Urinating every other day is really worrisome, and if her urine is bloody too...something is definitely up.  You said it takes her a long time to urinate...is she producing a nice full stream of urine, or is it kind of trickling out?  Does she strain at all when she is going?   I'm worried about some kind of urinary obstruction.

MitsB707

Definitely take her to the vet ASAP. Uti's are no joke. Have you tried the nature's miracle spray that you spray where you want the dog to pee? It's really not normal or good for them to only pee twice a day.

amarissa85

Holding it for too long may have started it. That is a common cause of a UTI. In any event a vet visit is in order.

kateisgreat

I have never gotten anything but horrible care from an emergency vet, so I really don't feel like blowing $500 when I'll just have to go to a normal vet in the morning. After some of the experiences we have had, I think making it through the night with a UTI would be less traumatic than going to an emergency vet. I will try and find DD's thermometer though since she won't let me take her temp rectally anymore, I may as well use it on the dogs now. 

My cat got a UTI and peed blood when we renovated our old house, and the vet said it was from the stress, which is why I was thinking this could be a similar situation. 

kateisgreat

adnama36 said:

I'm a vet tech...if it were me, I'd have a vet (ER vet or your regular vet) look at her by tomorrow.  Urinating every other day is really worrisome, and if her urine is bloody too...something is definitely up.  You said it takes her a long time to urinate...is she producing a nice full stream of urine, or is it kind of trickling out?  Does she strain at all when she is going?   I'm worried about some kind of urinary obstruction.

She's always taken a long time to urinate, I always assumed since she only went twice a day. It's a VERY full steady stream, like gallons of pee at once. No straining. 

I'm going to take her to a vet first thing in the morning, I'm trying to read reviews online now to find a decent one. 

TurtleMomma

Stress can definitely contribute to a UTI, especially if she's in a new environment and doesn't know where its appropriate to pee.

I recommend you get on the phone first thing in the morning with whatever vet you choose and see if you can drop her off first thing (unless they can see you immediately). They will need a urine sample and having her at the clinic gives the staff the opportunity to get a naturally voided sample from her (meaning they don't have to stick a needle in her and suck it out of her bladder).

JBrooks315

Don't have any advice but TP's for your furbaby. Hope everything will be okay for her.

sparks4stp

adnama36 said:

I'm a vet tech...if it were me, I'd have a vet (ER vet or your regular vet) look at her by tomorrow.  Urinating every other day is really worrisome, and if her urine is bloody too...something is definitely up.  You said it takes her a long time to urinate...is she producing a nice full stream of urine, or is it kind of trickling out?  Does she strain at all when she is going?   I'm worried about some kind of urinary obstruction.

I agree. I'm also a vet tech and I'd worry about a stone or something. I used to dog sit for a chow that wouldn't let me near her the first day I was there and the only way she could go outside was on a lead or she would bolt. She would always end up getting a uti from holding in her urine. I'm guessing your dog is having the same problem if its not a stone. I would take her in today. Good luck!

kateisgreat

@turtlemomma Thanks for suggesting I drop her off! I want to save her all the stress I can and I think having the urine removed from her may have been a little traumatic for her. 

Not surprisingly, she didn't pee when I took her out this morning (but I was ready to catch a sample if she did). I dropped her off right when they opened, so hopefully she pees soon and she can get started on medication. And hopefully we can get a fence up soon so she can get back to her normal potty routine of peeing in private. 

Lisacombs86

It sounds like the UTI has turned into a kidney infection. Once they move onto that point they won't pee at all because it is so painful. Your pup definitely needs to be seen ASAP to start some antibiotics.

kateisgreat

sparks4stp said:

I'm a vet tech...if it were me, I'd have a vet (ER vet or your regular vet) look at her by tomorrow.  Urinating every other day is really worrisome, and if her urine is bloody too...something is definitely up.  You said it takes her a long time to urinate...is she producing a nice full stream of urine, or is it kind of trickling out?  Does she strain at all when she is going?   I'm worried about some kind of urinary obstruction.

I agree. I'm also a vet tech and I'd worry about a stone or something. I used to dog sit for a chow that wouldn't let me near her the first day I was there and the only way she could go outside was on a lead or she would bolt. She would always end up getting a uti from holding in her urine. I'm guessing your dog is having the same problem if its not a stone. I would take her in today. Good luck!

Thank you for posting this. I don't think she has a stone because she hasn't had any issues peeing for DH, and will pee her normal bucket-full for him. I just wish he was at home more so he could take her out. She's had a fenced yard her whole life and could come and go as she pleased, so I'm sure it's stressing her out even more to have to go potty when we take her out. 

She went 5 times just last night, as opposed to her normal twice a day (she has been going twice a day for her whole life), so I think the UTI is just starting. She's been at the vet for a few hours now, so hopefully I will hear something soon. 

adnama36

kateisgreat said:

sparks4stp said:

adnama36 said:

I'm a vet tech...if it were me, I'd have a vet (ER vet or your regular vet) look at her by tomorrow.  Urinating every other day is really worrisome, and if her urine is bloody too...something is definitely up.  You said it takes her a long time to urinate...is she producing a nice full stream of urine, or is it kind of trickling out?  Does she strain at all when she is going?   I'm worried about some kind of urinary obstruction.

I agree. I'm also a vet tech and I'd worry about a stone or something. I used to dog sit for a chow that wouldn't let me near her the first day I was there and the only way she could go outside was on a lead or she would bolt. She would always end up getting a uti from holding in her urine. I'm guessing your dog is having the same problem if its not a stone. I would take her in today. Good luck!

Thank you for posting this. I don't think she has a stone because she hasn't had any issues peeing for DH, and will pee her normal bucket-full for him. I just wish he was at home more so he could take her out. She's had a fenced yard her whole life and could come and go as she pleased, so I'm sure it's stressing her out even more to have to go potty when we take her out. 

She went 5 times just last night, as opposed to her normal twice a day (she has been going twice a day for her whole life), so I think the UTI is just starting. She's been at the vet for a few hours now, so hopefully I will hear something soon. 

I'm so glad to hear that she's been peeing!! And the lack of straining makes me less worried too. A UTI is so much easier to deal with than some of the other possibilities! Keep us posted!