Adult Dog Peeing in Sleep??? .... And Recent Coat Changes.... Update

[Stella]

Hi Guys,

I thought a few of you might like an update on the goings on with Chase!  He finished the course of anti-biotics for the suspected urine infection, and I started him on Cranberry capsules to try to help stop this from happening again.  Since then he hasn't peed in his sleep, but it was only happening intermittently anyway, not regularly.  We tested a third urine sample a week after he finished the anti-biotics and there were no crystals, no increased white blood cells (which there had been in the first sample) and the pH had come down from 8 to 6.  So, at least the test results look better.  We'll just have to keep watching to see if the peeing starts again.

His coat continues to look bad.  He has a distinct line at the base of his neck/ top of his shoulders where his coat changes from thick and curly to thin and whispy.  I am attaching a couple of pictures, one from last summer before all this started, and one taken at the weekend.  You can see that the areas where his coat is a slighty different colour (lighter and more gingery/ blonde) in the first picture match up to where he has hair loss now, which is weird.

 

It is hard to see in this picture just how thin his hair is (sorry I don't know how to turn the pictuer the right way around!).  The vet isn't too concerned, she recommended that we wait it out for a few months and see what happens.  His bloodwork was all normal, skin condition is good, so she feels we shouldn't be overly concerned.... just keep an eye on things for now.  As we live in Canada and it gets cold here in the winter, I bought him a lovely coat from Ruffwear to keep him warm!

So, we continue to worry about him but are trying to be patient and give things some time to see how it pans out.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Glad to hear that the infection is cleared up.  That is really weird about his coat.  How old is Chase?  Does he seem to be bothered by those areas?

[Stella]

He is four years old, so too old to be going through the puppy coat change!  No, he doesn't fuss with his coat, no extra scratching, biting, licking, no redness of his skin.  The vet said that in the absence of obvious skin pathology it is really hard to diagnose coat changes/ hair loss, which is very frustrating to us.  But, we also don't want to spend a fortune on tests that won't tell us anything.  We already spent almost $900!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm glad that the urine issue is better at least. I hope he continues to do well.

[Stella]

Interestingly, the sample that they took from his bladder didn't grow anything in the cultures.  Although everything else indicated he had a UTI.  He certainly responded to the anti-biotics, and we'll keep using the cranberry capsules to try to keep the pH of his urine down.

As for his coat, I am at a loss......

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Glad to hear the bladder situation is improving. But WOW that coat issue is incredible. I have to admit I would be concerned if it were Tara.  Is it possible or have you considered getting a second opinion? Just brainstorming...but do you use a spot-on topical flea treatment?  If you do is it possible this could be a reaction to it? I've never head of it happening on such a large scale but have heard about hair loss at the application site...but every dog is different... It looks like there is a dark spot on his tail too, is that another problem area?

Glad you got the coat for him...I'll bet it feels good to him to have that area covered when he is outside.

[Stella]

He was on Revolution all summer and fall for fleas, ticks etc.  But, there is no hair loss at the site where it was applied (between the shoulder blades).  We have used it for three years with no visible side effects. 

Yep, you are right he has a little area on his tail too.  It is so strange that it is in such distinct areas, I have never seen anything like it!  He is fine in himself, still the same crazy dog!  If he was acting unwell I think I would push harder for futher testing.  He is due to have his annual physical in April, so I thought we might wait until then and see what happens.  If it gets worse before then, or if he is off colour then we'll go back sooner.

[BG and Gavin]

Poor Chase.  The coat difference really is dramatic.  So puzzling.  Glad the UTI business is cleared up.  Could it possibly be stress related?  Any big changes at home?

[Stella]

That is definitely something we have thought about.  Chase is very attached to my husband, who works out of town and is often away.  In the last few months he has been away more than usual.  We wondered if he could be stressed about that?  Chase is generally a very anxious dog anyway, so it is a possibility.  I just thought if it was stress related it would be all over, not just localised to one area.  But, who knows!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're right, it would probably not be localized and so symmetrical if it were stress related.

[Christine & Camus]

Just a thought, did your vet do a skin scraping test for mites?

PS: Is that a dog face etched into your floor?

[Stella]

I don't think she did a skin scraping because he isn't scratching or fussing with himself at all.  Every possible nasty skin condition has gone through my head - fleas, mange etc etc but she didn't feel it was anything like that.

Ha ha, I went back and looked at the picture because I wasn't sure what you meant about the floor!  It is just a very old knotty pine floor in not great condition!!  But, I see that one collection of knots does look a bit like a dog face!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I really think a skin scraping would be a good idea. It's a very fast easy relatively inexpensive test. I'm not saying that he has mites, but I have seen a few cases of mange, and it does sometimes look like that in the early stages.