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

[Stella]

My Chase is 4 years old, he is a neutered male.  On a couple of occasions recently I have noticed that he has peed in his sleep.  Not a whole pee, just a small amount.  Has anyone else had this happen with their doodle?  I did a search but all the other discussions seemed to refer to puppies.

Also, he is a multigen non-shedding doodle with a mostly curly coat.  I have noticed recently that he has got patches where his coat has gotten really thin and wispy, you can almost see his skin through and his skin appears to be quite dry.  (We do heat with wood in the wnter which does dry your skin out).  But, I find it strange that this is only occuring in patches.  Any ideas??

I don't know if this coat change is related to his peeing in his sleep or not, but thought I'd mention it anyway.

Thanks guys.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

This actually happened with Meg last night, she was having a puppy dream and suddenly lost some urine (poor hubby was sitting on that end.:-) ).  We think the dream caused it but will be watching this thread to see what you find out as well.

[Stella]

Blood work came back normal.  The vet says that coat changes are really hard to diagnose unless it is obviously a skin condition, which it isn't.  So, we don't know what is causing the hair loss.  My husband asked if it could be stress related, which the vet said could be a possibility.  Chase is very much my husbands dog, and he has been working away a lot lately, which means the dogs are home alone a lot more.... may be he is stressed about that??

The urine sample showed he may have a UTI and crystals in his urine.  I have neard of female dogs having crystals, but never males.  Has anyone had experience with males dogs having this problem??  He has to go back today to be catherterised to get a sample direct from his bladder.  She also mentioned x-ray to rule out calcium deposits in his bladder.  She recommended antibiotics and to change his food to veterinary food.  My husband is taking him back for the testing and we already discussed that we will not buy veterinary dog food!!  However, I was wondering if there are any dietary recommendations from your guys here regarding crystals in the urine - supplelents, or things to avoid.  We feed Acana dog food, rotating through the different flavours, so he is already on a pretty good food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There have been some discussions in the FG about diet and crystals, and the concensus seemed to be that they really have no relationship. I'd have to go back and do some more research on the cause of the crystals to be sure. But you are right not to buy any Rx food. If they're putting him on antibiotics for the UTI, be sure to give yogurt or a good probiotic, too. Not at the same time as the antibiotics, separate them by at least two hours. And don't buy Fortiflora from the vet.

I'm glad the bloodwork came back normal. Did they run a full thyroid panel?

 

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Not a male dog but a male cat with crystals in his bladder back in the 1970's so my memory is somewhat foggy but I think it was ash related and he was on a low ash diet (an Rx food from the vet, but times were different then).  It got so bad that he had surgery on his bladder to remove the crystals.  I would have to put a strip of litmus paper under him when he peed to check the ph of his urine frequently.   Don't know if this is the same as Chase's problem.  Just my experience. 

[Stella]

So, $450 later for another urine test and x-rays of his bladder, the diagnosis is a UTI and we have antibiotics.  My husband ended up getting into it with the vet because he refused to buy the food she was trying to sell us.  She got all huffy with him and basically told him we weren't following her advice.  He told her he was sick of them trying to sell us dog food every time we go and that he considered it to be inferior to what we were feeding already.... that did not go down well!!  Sooo, maybe it is time for a new vet?  I like the vet techs there and we have always had good care for the dogs, but they really push the sales side of things and we always politely decline.  I guess my husband went beyond politely declining and it wasn't well received!

[F, Calla & Luca]

If she has no idea about the comparison of what you are feeding and what she I'd recommending and she cannot give you good fact based reasons why the food she pushes is better, I'd say a new vet is a fine idea. I wonder if there are any vets that don't sell this junk. Certainly they don't have to be pushy about it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think that all of us need to read Nicky's response to the vet tech when they tried to sell her Rx food for Boris, and memorize it. It was logical and non-combative, and basically leaves the vet or the tech with no sensible argument in response.

My vets still continue to sell the Rx foods, but they know my feelings and don;t push me, and none of them has ever said that I was not following their instructions or that not using the food was harming my dog. I truly believe that they don't say that because they know it isn;t true.

[F, Calla & Luca]

But why don't vets who are informed stop, in good conscience, selling the stuff?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think there are very many who are informed. Even the clinical nutirion textbooks are produced by Hills. The brainwashing is amazing, the influence is widespread. People who formerly worked for Hill's are teaching in veterinary colleges. More and more I hear of vets who have been told by the company and the sales reps that they are the only ones who test all of the products, that their products are the only ones that are nutritionally adequate, etc. One vet told me that the Rx foods are safer and never have recalls. She truly believed this. Yet it's a fact that the 2007 recalls included some Rx foods. If I know that, why didn't she? Because the only sources she trusts for information, or that she knows at least, are the Rx food companies.

[F, Calla & Luca]

But some vets are informed and don't change.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I just have not many who really seem to know what is in the Rx food or how it helps.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And, these days, everyone is worried about money, even people with advanced degrees. They have mortagages and taxes and kids to send through college. According to Marion Nestle, in many vet practices, the sales of Rx foods brings in more profit than seeing and treating patients does.