After leaving the shelter, while driving to the park, Faolan urinated in my car. He has never done this, and it really surprised me. While driving home from the park, he urinated in my car again. At first, I thought that perhaps he was just extremely tired, having missed his morning nap.
Upon arriving home, I put him outside with Neeko and Bruce for a few minutes while I cleaned my car. When I let them inside, he promptly urinated in the mud room.
I baby gated all three in the back room, and left to run a couple of errands. I was gone for about 1.5 hours. Upon returning home, there was a puddle of urine in the back room. I cannot recall the last time Neeko or Bruce urinated in the house, so I blame Faolan.
After cleaning it up, I called the vet. I explained that we had just been in for a wellness visit that morning, but that I was fearful Faolan had a urinary tract infection, and explained what had happened. They stated I could bring in a specimen, without having to physically bring Faolan in.
When Les arrived home from work shortly after, he assisted me in collecting some urine from Faolan. I put the container in an iced lunch box, and off the vet we went.
They did a urinalysis on it immediately.
Surprisingly, it came back negative for blood, white cells, protein and glucose.
However, his urine pH came back elevated at 8.0. Normal pH for dog urine is 6.2-6.5 (http://www.acreaturecomfort.com/canineurineanalysis.htm)
Alkalinity in urine can be caused by a diet high in grains and carbohydrates. My crew are all raw fed, with only occasional grain-inclusive treats, so this is not the case. The vet, along with the website linked above, both state that certain bacteria can cause alkaline urine.
More alarming, his urine specific gravity came back VERY low at 1.005. By comparison, the specific gravity of water is 1.000. This means his urine was very dilute, and his kidneys are not concentrating it.
The pH and specific gravity of his urine have me very fearful of Diabetes Insipidus, also known as DI. I am a registered nurse, and sometimes knowledge is not a good thing.
As it stands, he is currently on a 10 day course of cephalexin. We will do a repeat urinalysis in two weeks. If his pH remains high, and specific gravity remains low, blood work will be necessary.
Paws crossed.
Wow that sure is interesting. I hope it's nothing like DI! I think I've only ever met one doggy with that before and she was just a puppy.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Diabetes of any type is no fun. It runs in my family and I know how difficult it can be to manage. I hope the cephalexin works!
ReplyDeleteI hope all goes well after your meds. Paws crossed!
ReplyDeletePaws crossed here too.
ReplyDeleteI'm a nurse, too - diabetes insipidus is a scary thought! Maybe a false U/A result? Fingers crossed for the repeat test.
ReplyDeleteI just found you... so I hesitate to say too much. However, your situation sounds very similar to one that we faced with our male Lab. He consistently had a very high urinary pH, low specific gravity of his urine, and accidents (all of this despite a grain-free diet). After many many tests, we figured out that, for some unknown reason, his body makes his urine too alkaline. One way to deal with it is with lots of vitamin C... but our dog refuses to easily swallow those pills so he's on a prescription med that keeps his urinary pH normal.
ReplyDeleteSo, if things don't improve with the antibiotic, there is a possible non-serious explanation and it can be solved fairly easily. I hope that he feels better very soon!
Paws crossed. Faolan's gonna be alright! Positive thinking and more postive thinking.
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