My Biewer is Wetting His Bed..UTI or Incontenence?

[JuneBugs Momma]

Noticed just this week that after waking up my pup in the mornings, his bed is wet. He is not crated and never has been, for he sleeps in my bedroom in his own bed. I thought it was because we were allowing him to drink to late at night. So on Wednesday, I took up his water around 7pm and let him out around 9pm. Hubby let him out around 4am, when he gets up, and the bed was dry. So I experimented. Last night I took his water up around 7pm and let him out. Then I let him out again around 9pm. I then let him out again around 10:30pm just as a precaution. Now, this morning, hubby had to get up extra early for a meeting (3:30am) and guess what,,,Junebug's bed was wet. I decided to call the vet today.


The vet told me to bring in a urine sample so I did. I waited for the results and the vet asked me some questions (what made me think he might have a UTI, etc). The vet told me his ph levels were fine as well as his protein (to detect stones, crystals, etc) but he found a very little trace of blood. He put him on a course of antibiotics along with an anti-inflammatory. The vet mentioned that it could also be the start of incontinence but he is a little young for this. The vet said to go the course and if he is still doing it after 2 weeks of treatment, we might have to start him on meds for incontinence.


What are your thoughts? Advice? Personal experiences? It is greatly appreciated!

[lillymae]

You say the vet thinks he's a little young for incontinence, how old is he ? Hopefully it's just a bit of a UTI. As far as incontinence I personally prefer Phenalproponalamine (sp) versus the hormones as the hormones can cause bone cancer. In humans the Phenalproponalamine can cause stroke but there is no evidence of this in dogs.

[Wylie's Mom]

How old is he, is he a senior? Hope this is just a minor UTI...

[JuneBugs Momma]

I got him from a rescue so they are estimating between 5-7 yrs old.


He slept last night on a very fluffy, old, white towel last night. If I continue to wash his pet bed everytime he has an accident, I am afraid it will fall apart. This morning when I woke up, he did not have an accident so it has not been constant.

[Nancy1999]

My guess is that it's an infection or even a stone. Withholding water will help neither. While this is going on, I put a washable pee pad and a few old towels as his bedding. I'm surprised that the vet even suggested incontinence since there was a trace of blood, with bladder infections and or stones, that's usually all there is, a microscopic trace of blood. The antibiotic will take care of infection, but not stones, and if he's still urinating in two weeks, I'd want to do further tests for stones as well as diabetes.

[JuneBugs Momma]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

My guess is that it's an infection or even a stone. Withholding water will help neither. While this is going on, I put a washable pee pad and a few old towels as his bedding. I'm surprised that the vet even suggested incontinence since there was a trace of blood, with bladder infections and or stones, that's usually all there is, a microscopic trace of blood. The antibiotic will take care of infection, but not stones, and if he's still urinating in two weeks, I'd want to do further tests for stones as well as diabetes.

I was very surprised that he mentioned early incontinence also but again, when he said it he also agreed that he is to young for that but it cannot be ruled out (I'm guessing because there were no signs of crystals & all over protein & ph levels are normal).


I'm also curious as to why he prescribed an anti-inflammatory on top of the antibiotic?


This is night #2 since being on the meds and another dry bed

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by JuneBugs Momma

I was very surprised that he mentioned early incontinence also but again, when he said it he also agreed that he is to young for that but it cannot be ruled out (I'm guessing because there were no signs of crystals & all over protein & ph levels are normal).


I'm also curious as to why he prescribed an anti-inflammatory on top of the antibiotic?


This is night #2 since being on the meds and another dry bed

Bladder infections can clear up very rapidly once an antibiotic has started, hope he continues to be dry! A well trained dog, HATES to wet his bed.

[lillymae]

How is this baby doing now ?

[JuneBugs Momma]

He has not wet the bed for a couple nights now, but, yesterday I noticed that he pee'd in the kitchen late morning. See what happens and thanks for your concerns.

[Nancy1999]

Mine pee in strange places occasionally, and I'm don't think they have anything physically wrong, but peeing in their bed is a whole different story.

[margaritaville]

Sorry, I'm a little late to this thread. Since he seems to be getting better, it may have been a UTI. Stones and UTI can test positive for blood also incontinence if due to obstruction.

Anyhow, when I had a Bichon that was incontinent due to IBS, stones, bladder surgery and neutering he wore a belly band during the day. At night I had put his bed into a large garbage bag then added a sheet and pads so that I didn't have to wash the bed part everyday. Just washed the sheet and pads.

I hope he continues to do well.

[JuneBugs Momma]

He continues to do well. The urinalysis can become confusing. Vet said there was a very small trace of blood but then when one of the vet techs called yesterday to check up on JB, I questioned the study a little further (because vet mentioned possibility of early incontinence). She said yes, there was a trace of blood "AND ALSO SLIGHT PROTEIN". Now when I heard that, it concerned me. Then the vet tech told me that when there is blood in the urine, protein levels also go up slightly because it is reading the blood cells at the same time.
So as of right now, he is doing well. Vet ruled out stones because there were no signs of crystals or sediment in the sample. I guess the only way to know is to wait it out. If there is a stone, only way is an ultrasound and that is way outta my price range.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by JuneBugs Momma

He continues to do well. The urinalysis can become confusing. Vet said there was a very small trace of blood but then when one of the vet techs called yesterday to check up on JB, I questioned the study a little further (because vet mentioned possibility of early incontinence). She said yes, there was a trace of blood "AND ALSO SLIGHT PROTEIN". Now when I heard that, it concerned me. Then the vet tech told me that when there is blood in the urine, protein levels also go up slightly because it is reading the blood cells at the same time.
So as of right now, he is doing well. Vet ruled out stones because there were no signs of crystals or sediment in the sample. I guess the only way to know is to wait it out. If there is a stone, only way is an ultrasound and that is way outta my price range.

Did your vet say an ultrasound was the only way? I'm not sure that's true.

Dogs with bladder stones may have blood in their urine and may urinate frequently, passing only small quantities each time. Often, they will strain while urinating, holding their body in the urinating posture for much longer than normal. They may lick their genital area more than normal. Some dogs with bladder stones may show no signs at all, and the stones are discovered while palpating the abdomen during a routine physical exam.

In other cases, the diagnosis of bladder stones in dogs is made or confirmed with abdominal x-rays. Most stones are radiopaque, meaning they show up on the radiographic film as obvious white circles or shapes just as bones do. A few are radiolucent, where the x-ray beams pass right through and therefore, they do not show up on the finished film. To confirm the presence of these types of stones, a special dye is passed into the bladder and it outlines the stones in the x-ray. With this method, we see a white area (the dye) with a black hole in the center (the stone). Bladder Stones (Urinary Calculi) in Dogs