Ozzy is suddenly weeing indoors.....

[piph]

Hi everyone.  Not been on COL for a while, so my apologies for only coming on when we've got a problem.
Over the last 4 - 6 weeks we've been finding very large puddles on several occasions indoors.  At first OH blamed 9 month old goldie Jess (it couldn't possibly have been his favourite boy Ozzy!!!  ) but her toilet training was very rapid and she has been reliable for a long, long time now.  Then I caught Ozzy in the act a week or two ago, doing an absolutely enormous wee in the middle of the kitchen floor, about 10.30 in the morning.  Of course, we blamed ourselves for not letting him out enough, and also we've changed our routine a bit so we don't take them for their walks until 11 ish, rather than straight after breakfast.  So we started to let him out at very frequent intervals.  Sometimes he'd wee and sometimes not.  Then I noticed he seemed to be drinking a lot.  Saturday was the final straw. He did a huge puddle in the hall, outside the lounge door, again at about the same time in the morning.  Then, when I got into bed that night, I found a very large wet patch - it had soaked right through a blanket, the duvet, the sheet, the mattress topper, and into the mattress!  Needless to say I was not amused, and it entailed us spending the night in the spare room.

Ozzy has always been very reliable, and we haven't come down in the mornings to any puddles, so he's holding it for a good 9 hours overnight.  So I'm puzzled.  I'm thinking that it's maybe a urine infection, although he doesn't seem to be showing any other signs of illness, still eating fine.  It's just occurred to me that when he had his jabs last week, the vet (not his usual one) took his temperature and said it was a little high, but she put that down to the fact that we had waited 20 minutes and he'd got over excited in the waiting room. 

Anyway, appointment made to see the vet tomorrow morning. However, I know I won't be able to get a urine sample, so hopefully one the the brilliant vet nurses will be able to.  Please all keep your fingers crossed that it's nothing too serious.

If it turns out it's a behavioural problem in response to having to share us with Jess, then goodness knows how we will deal with it.  I don't see why it should be though - we've had her since March!

[sodpot2000]

Fingers crossed for Ozzy. If not an infection the perhaps related to the age of Jess? Is she spayed or possibly coming up to her first season? Does he feel that he has to do lots of scent marking to keep the barbarians away? Just speculating.

[Anita]

How old is Ozzy? I'm sure the vet can investigate and find out what it is.

On getting a sample, I had to do it regularly with my oldie and got quite good at getting the vet bowl (compressed cardboard thingy) underneath at the critical moment, then a syringe to get it into the miniscule sample bottle supplied by the vet!

Keep us posted.

[phoenix]

Oh dear(says someone who to buy her own carpet washer).    I never had a problem catching wee, sterilise with boiling water and  just push a wide Tupperware type box or redundant baking tin under the aim.   Then transfer contents to sterilised jam jar (sterilised in oven for a few minutes.)
 
I bet Mary Berry doesn't know this recipe!
Good luck at the vets.

[piph]

Fingers crossed for Ozzy. If not an infection the perhaps related to the age of Jess? Is she spayed or possibly coming up to her first season? Does he feel that he has to do lots of scent marking to keep the barbarians away? Just speculating.

Jess is spayed, and no, it's not scent marking, I've seen him do that a lot outside and then he always cocks his leg and just does a tiny little widdle!  This is full-blown not being able to hold it any longer, and such an enormous amount, I've seen racehorses pee less!  And when he does it he just stretches out - no leg cocking!

[piph]

How old is Ozzy? I'm sure the vet can investigate and find out what it is.

On getting a sample, I had to do it regularly with my oldie and got quite good at getting the vet bowl (compressed cardboard thingy) underneath at the critical moment, then a syringe to get it into the miniscule sample bottle supplied by the vet!

Keep us posted.

No bottle to put it in - and he stops weeing if anybody gets close to him!  It seems that the vet nurses are the only ones he'll allow close to him while he wees.

[piph]

Oh dear(says someone who to buy her own carpet washer).    I never had a problem catching wee, sterilise with boiling water and  just push a wide Tupperware type box or redundant baking tin under the aim.   Then transfer contents to sterilised jam jar (sterilised in oven for a few minutes.)
 
I bet Mary Berry doesn't know this recipe!
Good luck at the vets.

If the vet nurses cant get any then we may have to try this method - but only if he's desperate enough not to stop weeing if I get close to him! 

[MIN]

I have used a soup ladle.  if you can not get a sample, take a note of whether it is normal pee or very diluted ( verging on water). my staffie started drinking a lot of water and peeing enormous lakes of almost water

[hoover]

I guess there's a chance it could be something like diabetes.  Do you have insurance in place?  If not may be an idea to consider before appt (although I think there may be a period of time on starting a policy where new conditions not covered, 24 hrs or something..) Anyway..as far as you know at the moment it is a behavioural issue not a health issue...

[Anita]

Let us know how you get on at the vets. It has made me laugh this morning reading the inventive ways we have of collecting samples! It is when you are half asleep catching the morning one when a neighbour passes by (apartment living!).

[Londongirl]

I guess there's a chance it could be something like diabetes.  Do you have insurance in place?  If not may be an idea to consider before appt (although I think there may be a period of time on starting a policy where new conditions not covered, 24 hrs or something..) Anyway..as far as you know at the moment it is a behavioural issue not a health issue...

I just changed insurers and the no-cover period was 48 hours.

[PennyB]

How old is Ozzy? I'm sure the vet can investigate and find out what it is.

On getting a sample, I had to do it regularly with my oldie and got quite good at getting the vet bowl (compressed cardboard thingy) underneath at the critical moment, then a syringe to get it into the miniscule sample bottle supplied by the vet!

Keep us posted.

I used to take my boy Wilf to park (I live near it anway) but knew the 1st thing he does is cock his leg to pee so I just presented a plastic cup and syringed it in to a sample jar (or any jar I've sterilised or just take the syringe with me to the vet). Anywhere you know they will pee when they 1st get there (walking them down the road or similar) is always useful - hey I give up on not being embarrassed any more by my dogs and their functions

Hope its something simple

[piph]

I have used a soup ladle.  if you can not get a sample, take a note of whether it is normal pee or very diluted ( verging on water). my staffie started drinking a lot of water and peeing enormous lakes of almost water

Yes Min, it's exactly that!

[piph]

Update:  There is definitely something amiss!  Even having done a huge wee outside the door of the vet practice, Steve the vet managed to catch a sample very easily this morning - he tested it and said that it was very diluted, almost water.  No glucose, so not diabetes, not kidney failure as they are working overtime, and probably not an infection as there is no blood or protein.  However, as it was so diluted then a miniscule concentration of protein may not show up, so has done a sediment test, but as yet no phone call to tell me to go in for antibiotics, so probably not.  He then took Ozzy away again to take some blood samples which he has sent away and we should have the results in a few days.  Could be hormonal (Cushings?) but there is definitely something inhibiting his kidneys from concentrating his urine.  Interestingly, he told me that drinking more is a result of the dilute urine, and not the other way around.  If his kidneys are not returning some of the water into his system, then he will become dehydrated and need to drink more.  Anyway, I'm a bit relieved that it's not behavioural as I'm not very good at sorting those sort of problems! We are just to continue letting him out more regularly than we used to until the blood results come back, so it's a waiting game at the moment.  Meanwhile I am reading up on all the hormonal problems that it could be.  Thank goodness for Petplan!

[Anita]

Thanks for the update - it may take a few days but then hopefully you will know what is going on. My sisters dog was diagnosed with Cushings about 12 months ago and she is doing fine - if a little on the plump side now due to the meds. One of my girls had kidney problems that as it was caught early, we managed well for about 5 years. We just got used to taking her out more until the meds had it under control.