Dog with suspected urinary tract infection
Puppies usually have to go to the toilet every 3-4 hours (sometimes this works out to be every 1-2 hours when they are little) and especially after a meal, play or drink. And it is common for puppies to just urinate a little sometimes and other times it's a big gush. If it is UTI, unless it's a situation where she's got a blocked urethra (the outlet from the bladder), it's not something that is a life or death type scenario. The rule of thumb is that if she starts to go downhill and by this I mean losing interest in food, play, mopes around or starts vomiting, then it's time to rush her into your emergency vet. Crate training is okay but I need to ask you how often you leave her there on her own? How do you respond to her when she is whining? For most of us, we would respond to whining by telling them to keep quiet or if they whine long enough, would think, 'O maybe she needs to go out to the toilet' and therefore let her out. What you are inadvertently doing is reinforcing the behavior ie if I whine long enough, daddy/mummy will let me out. Rather what you are trying to do is to let her out after she's been 'good' ie not whining. It's tricky I know and inevitably you will end up with the situation that you have had where she's whined and you've ignored her only to find that she's pooped in the cage and you get overwhelmed with guilt and think, 'O maybe she was trying to tell us she needed to go and we ignored her.' These thoughts are non- productive so I think it's best not to resort to them and just start over. Gradually with time, she will learn that if she is quiet, she will get let out and whining is not the way to get around things. Just ensure that she does get lots of cuddles when she is outside, after all, they are a pack animal and they do by nature live in a pack and are not used to being put in isolation like that for long periods. As for the UTI, you can try to take her temperature but if she is running a temperature, she will usually act a bit off color and will not be engaging in rambunctious play. I would say watch her for another 24 hours to see if she is getting any worse - by this I mean her general demeanour (see above signs I've mentioned), if she is, then I would take her into the emergency vet. If you notice any change in the color of the urine eg blood stained, cloudy and strong smelling, then it would be wise to take her in too. Otherwise, it may just be that she's just a puppy and can't really control her sphincter yet. If you are still concerned, then by all means take her in on Monday just to put your mind at ease. |
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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