peeing/drinking problems..

well.. tis is going to be long but my bf and I are at our wit end here and we need some help.. we got Capone, our male bassett hound almost a year ago froma pet store.. I know our first mistake.. anyways.. at first he was great!! Then after a little timewent by he started peeing all over the house.. not like a normal puppy.. like 20-30 times a day.. and he was always thirsty.. we took him to the first vet.. she said he was retarded... yes.. those were her excat words. Then she said it was probally a behavioral problem.. but she didnt do any tests, she didnt even touch him!

So we continued on this way for months.. we try to with hold water, he gets drinks but doesnt have water all day.. He could easily drink a 5 gallon bucket of water a day if we let him. He drinks he pees.. he drinks he pees.. Now we both work, and need to sleep so we acnt just sit outside in a chair all day long so he drink and pee.

So we go to another vet, he tested his urine, blood, his kidneys, liver, heart. He got the whole testig thing done. He had a small bladfder infection so they gave us 7 days of antibiotic. We noticed a change instantly!! He was like another dog! He didnt have huge fits for water, he only drank here and there, and peed occassionly. It was really amazing.. but after a few weeks went by it all started again.. We have tried three different antibiotics, all for longer and longer amounts of time. The vets arent sure what to do anymore, he cant stay on antibiotics forever, because he will become immune to them.

So, here we are. We just dont knwo what to do.. Capone is strting to have serious behavioral problems now.. we crate train him at night now every few hours he starts howling and barking like hes being murdered. we cant sleep..the neighbors are complain when we are at work. I HATE to have to think about getting rid of him.. he is like our child.. hes part of our life. We just dont know what to do.. no one can give us any advice.. We thought we would come here and see if you guys can help us


Sarah & Chris

Wow... it sounds like you are having real problems with your dog.

Just curious... what food do you feed?
If you feed dry, do you mix with water?
Is he neutered?

Do you feed tablescraps? Not speaking of appropriate scraps, but processed foods or salty foods?

Do you withhold water for extended times? Like during the night and during working hours? I know if I withheld water for 3/4 of the day, my dogs would probably drink and pee a large amount during the evening when I am home. Also a dog showing crystals or reaccuring infections should not be withheld water. Sugar Levels? have they been checked?

Also, the repeated use of antibiotics could cause your body to become resistant to them... not an immunity.

I am sure you will get more advice, and personal experiences. Good Luck, and I hope you find out what is causing these problems.

Oh. My. Gawd. You've been through quite a bit and your poor dog!!!

First, that initial vet needs to have his/her license revoked. That's ridiculous.

Second, this is all a bladder infection for sure? Is there a specialist you can be referred to? Do you know why these other antibiotics aren't working? It all seems a little odd. Maybe a different vet/third opinion is in order?

And third, for the crate training and howling. I really think that with all the other problems you guys are going through it might not be a good idea to force your dog to stay in a crate. Especially when he is already having such issues. You don't need the stress from your neighbours especially since your pup probably picks up on that. I know you are trying to keep him contained and help with the house training but he's sick. He's obviously not feeling well. It sounds like you must be getting up several times during the night. So stressful all around. Maybe you can keep him in a playpen type situation? Or put the crate in the bedroom with you (if it isn't already) and put the play pen around it so he's not so stressed or contained. It'll slow down potty training for sure but with his condition I doubt you have a lot in your favour right now. Does he make it through the night very much?

I really do feel for you. You obviously love your dog and are doing the best you can to help him so kudos to you! If it was me I'd keep going to different vets until I found one that worked. Maybe a holistic one? What kind of food is he on? I know there are foods out there with cranberry in it which helps with bladder infections... or maybe those are just for cats. I'll have a look in a minute. <sigh> I wish I could help more!

Are they sure it is just a bladder problem? Because the thirst and excess peeing makes it sound like diabetes.

Did they ever check your dog for diabetes?

it does sound like diabetes, here's something I found
http://papa.essortment.com/caninediabetes_rkvf.htm

You need to talk to your vet about psychogenic polydipsia. I have had 2 clients with this, both who have gotten considerably better with proper water rationing and lots of supervision/training to alert to the door or doggie door training.
This is not hopeless at all....

Let me try to answear everyone. Yes he is fixed.. we dont need any puppies..lol.. he only eats dry dog food we feed him original Beneful, our vets suggested this for him. We hardly ever give him scraps, but if we do it is a small piece of whatever kind of meat we had for dinner.. But this isnt very often. He gets a dog bone occassionaly, but again not too often.
He is up to date on all his shots, im not sure if this has anything to do with his problem. the first time we went to the second vets i brought a urine sample with us, and they gace him ammoxicilain.. 1 tablet once a day. It was 250 mg a day for a week. The second time i brought another urine and fecal samples, he was given 2 tablets of ammoxicilian. 500 mg a day for a week. The third time, they took some blood, all his levels came back within range.. I was specifically told he does not have diabtes. tHey gave him ciprofloxin 250mg twice a day for ten days. This happened at least two more times afterwards.
We arent able to keep his crate in our room, it is too big..lol.. so we let him have the run of the house, we got up this morning and he had peed everywheres!!! We are replacing the carpeting in the living room anyways.. but it was pretty gross. Usually speaking he doesnt last more them 1.5 to 2 hours at a time in his crate.. or if he does he just pees in there and lays in it. Oddly wnough he isnt bothered by it at all. He soils his toys and his blankets, I thought dogs wouldnt do this but he does. I ahve looked for a hollistic vets around us and there doenst seem to be one that i can find..
Thanks so much for all your help and replies. Its wonderfull to know were not crazy, and hes not just retarted.

Sarah & Chris

Boy it sounds like he is really having some problems. I wish I had something to add that might help but I don't. I just wanted to tell you that I feel for what you are going through. Maybe you should put something on him like a belly band or panties to help with the excessive urination until you can figure out what is wrong with him.

I'm bolding this because I'm not sure that you read my post based on your response.......

Did you call around to see if any Vets. in your area were familiar with psychogenic polydipsia? This is something that MOST Vets will have at least heard of and can help you with a management plan.

I can't stress enough how much his symptoms sound like this is exactly what he's dealing with.....poor guy.

hi, yes i asked the second vet about the disease you mention. He said he didnt think it was that, he thinks it is a re-occurring uti. I honestly think there getting tired of hearing me. There are other vets within the practice perhaps i will try to make an appointment with one of them.

Sarah & Chris

I think at this point, since the vets aren't really helping him, I'd be looking for more of a specialist/vet school type of thing.

Certain antibiotics won't help certain bacterias/infection they may not have pin pointed just what the infection is, and used the proper antibiotic.

I would definately search for a specialist, they aren't going to cost much more than a regular vet, and will most likely cost less in the long run with a quicker more precise diagnosis.

I also frequent this board
http://p069.ezboard.com/fhealthforumfordogsandcatsfrm14

a vet posts answers.

Good luck, poor poochie
diane

I wish I could convince you to stop feeding Beneful. It is really not good food. In fact, it's awful.

I agree with the food comment. You'd be surprised what feeding a quality food can do for a dog. Things like help fight infections and overall health

Please consider going to this site and checking out ingredients that are good and bad in dog food. Then you will understand.
www.dogfoodproject.com

I agree with the food and I'd moisten it . Do you have a vet school near you ?? I feel your vets are letting you and your poor dog down ! Please keep us posted !

sorry, i have been away for a few days, i was feeding him some kind of brand from the pet store, they said that he had to have it.. but it was very expensive and he always had diahreha.. always.. what kind of dry food do you reccommned using, that wisnt like 20.00$ a pound? What would you moisten the food with water? or maybe that gravy dog food stuff? I have seen that on tv recently?

Sarah & Chris

Who said he needed to have this food, the vet? Was it Science Diet? If the vet says he NEEDS it (for a health issue)then I don't think their is much you can do unless you talk to dog nutritionist or other vets who actually know something about nutrition and see if they recommend something.

A really good food at a low price is Canidae http://www.canidae.com/

here is the store locator so you can find a place that sells it near you http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html

Yes add water, you can add wet food if you want, it's great for more protein. Keep in mind that if you saw a commercial on TV for dog food there is a 99% chance that the food is junk and you should not feed it. If you go to the food section of the forum you should learn what foods we like.