Dealing with Your Dog's Bladder Inflammation (Cystitis)

Yeah, that's Alvin - cutest Bichon Cockapoo ever. But today the tail hangs between his legs because he's not feeling too great.

Three days ago, about 6 P.M., Al started peeing every few minutes. Since he's usually a thoroughly housetrained dog, we became concerned.

Onto the Vet Hospital
I understand this sounds like overkill, but why did we take our fur baby to THE HOSPITAL so fast?

Here's 3 good reasons:

• The problem persisted for several hours.
• His vet's office was closed.
• Frequent urination is totally out of character for Alvin.

Diagnosis 1
After keeping him overnight, doing a urinalysis, scoping his bladder, taking x-rays and doing an ultrasound, the hospital released him the next morning. Diagnosis - urinary tract infection treated with antibiotics. A very pricey uti.

Diagnosis 2
He was still experiencing frequent urination but now it was bloody. And the dog was vomiting his food.

Less than 2 days after the problem started, we were in the vet's office. He had urine test results from the hospital test. No infection.

He attributed the blood to the scoping, gave the dog an anti-nausea and an anti inflammatory shot, prescribed an anti inflammatory drug, and basically said we had to wait until the swelling subsided. The reason for the inflamed bladder was unknown. Maybe stress or a bladder immune reaction.

Trust me - an inflamed bladder is not a happy condition for dogs and their owners. Be prepared to clean up a lot of messes.

Three days after this ordeal started, we are beginning to see a longer time frame between trips outdoors to pee. We all need sleep!

Is Surgery In Your Dogs Future? Get Help With These Tips

Here's my new article about dog surgery.

Hope it helps!

Ten Tips for Successful Dog Surgery

Tips For Post Dog Knee Surgery - What If Your Dog Is Still Limping?

What if your dog is still limping post knee surgery?

Alvin's Case
Pretty boy Alvin, the Bichon Cockapoo, was still limping and hopping a month after ACL tear surgery DESPITE the fact that we had followed the vet's instructions to the letter. That included exercise and restricted activity.

Major concern 
We were concerned that six year old Alvin would not walk normally again. The dog was way too young to risk limited mobility, so off to the vet we went.

We visited a vet who had not done the surgery. Granted, this was due to scheduling, but it was the right thing to do. She recommended two actions - get the dog on Dasuquin with MSM and get Alvin into physical therapy. Apparently, Alvin had developed a hopping, limping habit to relieve his knee pain.

So, if you have a dog who is still having an issue several weeks post surgery:

1. Please see your vet first. 
2. Ask about PT inn your local vet hospital. See my prior posts for what's involved with doggie PT.
3. Ask about supplementation like Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM Soft Chews, Small/Medium Dog, 84 Count.

What if you are cash poor? 
The vet visit is mandatory. Don't mess with your dog's long term health and activity levels. The last thing an owner wants is to sentence a dog to lifetime disability when it's possible to avoid it.

See what your vet says about supplementation. Dasuquin is about $50 a package and lasts about 3 months. That's $50/84 = $0.60/day. Amazon sells it much cheaper than the vets office (see link above).

See what the vet recommends in place of PT. If you can do water therapy yourself, try it. Be careful not too push too hard or he will re-injure the limb. Also, be aware that some dogs do not like water. Alvin hated the water tank (his video is in prior posts) and whined the entire time he was in it (up to 20 plus minutes in the last session).