Possible UTI? Can I wait to see vet until tomorrow?

[Shari Becker]

Hey everyone,

For the past week or so, Lexi has been lifting one leg when she pees, but she was otherwise acting totally normal - eating, drinking, playing. Yesterday she was went to the park and played hard. When she got back, she slept for hours and hours, and had an accident on her bed. We thought this was a little strange and watched her for other signs of malaise. She ate her dinner. Played hard with my inlaws who were visiting, but then she had another accident overnight. My husband said she seemed to crouch to pee and not pee a few times on her nighttime walk. My questions are:

1) Does this sound like a UTI?

2) Should she go to the animal hospital or can we wait for the vet tomorrow? She's still in very good spirits. Just tired again today... Am expecting more accidents, too.

Thanks!

[Rebecca bratter]

Yes should go to the vet tomorrow, she may have a UTI or she may have a leaky sphincter, that's what my girl has.  If she plays really hard and drinks a lot of water, she just literally leaks while she's sleeping and/or resting, she doesn't even know it and she's not emptying her bladder since she still rings her bells to go pee outside.  She had this since she was a pup.  Depending on how much water she has, she leaves puddles in her wake, sometimes on the bed, and she has been house trained from 12 weeks so she's not having accidents.  We now have her on something called PPA that tightens the sphincter muscle and it stops the leaking. Although I'm not sure I want to keep her on this for the rest of her life.   She did have a UTI at some point but she never had any accidents with a UTI, she was aware that she had to go and would ring her bells to go out constantly.  Observe Lexi overnight, see if she is leaking while sleeping.  Keep towels under her for tonight.  If it's a UTI you may be going out a lot  during the night.  Tomorrow your vet can diagnose for sure  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think Lexi has a leaky sphincter, you would have seen signs of that before now. I do think she may have a UTI. 

The lifting one leg is nothing to worry about, a lot of females do that, and both males and females start it when they are older; even male puppies don't start lifting a leg until they are older.

But the accidents and the difficulty your DH reported do sound like a possible UTI. 

I certainly think you can wait until you can see your regular vet tomorrow. In the meantime, make sure she has access to plenty of water. If you have any cranberry capsules, those may help, or you can even add a little cranberry juice to her water. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree. I think the capsules probably are much more concentrated than the juice in water.

[Shari Becker]

Thanks everyone! I will call the vet tomorrow morning. For now, we are just taking her out every two hours to be safe. Will probably try to take her out at late as possible tonight, too. She tends to jump into bed with family members in the wee hours of the morning, and I really don't want her to pee on a bed if I can avoid it...

[Shari Becker]

Thanks everyone! She has a double UTI. Ecoli and Staph/Strep, but the Staph is raging. We began our meds today. The vet thinks she gave it to herself with all her allergy season itching and licking... So, in a day or so, when the meds kick in we will need to tackle her itchiness a little more seriously. Thanks for all your support! Means a lot!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I hope she feels better soon. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

ME too.