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Post by antichrist on Mar 31, 2009 11:20:32 GMT -5
So my puppy (6 months old this week) is still not house broken. This has been pissing me off, because I take him outside, he pees he gets told he's the greatest dog on earth, comes inside and pees again which pissed me off.
Yesterday I took him to the vet and he has a bladder infection, it's so bad there may be permanent damage done. Why didn't I pick up on the symptoms earlier? How long has it been there? Why didn't I put two and two together? It's not normal even for a young puppy to have to pee 10 minutes after he's peed once. I know there weren't any other symptoms. Even his breeder saw him a couple of weeks ago and thought he was looking healthy and happy.
I'm feeling like a horrible mother right now.
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Post by Death on Mar 31, 2009 11:27:43 GMT -5
Don't beat yourself up over this. If only our pets could actually speak to us things would be so much easier.
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Post by machiavelli on Mar 31, 2009 11:38:06 GMT -5
What She said, Younglings tend to have very weak immune systems so it's not like you've caused the B.I. I don't have a dog anymore ( ) but I remember him being very stingey with his urine, peeing every 2 minutes at every attactive smelling pole, hydrant or lawn on the block. I doubt it would be an easy sign to pick up.
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Post by Caitshidhe on Mar 31, 2009 11:43:42 GMT -5
*hugs Antichrist* Don't be so hard on yourself! The only reason you see the bladder infection so clearly now is because hindsight is 20/20. In the absence of other symptoms, that's a pretty easy thing to miss. Machiavelli is right--I've known dogs, boy dogs in particular, who save up their pee so they can piddle on every single solitary square centimetre of ground on the entire neighbourhood.
*more hugs* You're not a bad mother! I hope the baby is okay. Give him some snuggles from me.
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Post by Sandafluffoid on Mar 31, 2009 11:56:51 GMT -5
Oh come now, how does that make you a bad mother?
From the symptoms you describe I wouldn't have said anything was wrong, and I doubt anyone who hadn't been trained in animal medicine would have. A bad mother would be someone who now said "I don't want a sick dog" and threw it out. But you clearly care about him and really feel bad about it, and that's how any good mother feels in this sort of situation.
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Post by Bojangles on Mar 31, 2009 13:51:53 GMT -5
Antichrist, please don't beat yourself up about this. Sometimes the best of us don't notice these kind of things. I'm sure if your puppy could talk he would tell you you're the most wonderful mommy ever.
And from what I know about puppies it isn't all that weird for them to pee often, sometimes if they are happy or scared or excited about something. Don't feel bad for not picking it up.
You are so not a bad mom.
Give him lots of hugs from me.
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Post by Old Viking on Mar 31, 2009 13:51:56 GMT -5
If a pet is off his feed or acting in an unusual manner you can infer that he might be ill. But you'd have to be super-perceptive to pick up quickly on the symptoms you described.
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Post by deliciousdemon on Mar 31, 2009 14:02:16 GMT -5
And i'd say you have true patience. A lot of people give their dog to the human society by six months if behaviour like that continues. You really stuck with your pup--I hope he recovers completely!
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Post by antichrist on Mar 31, 2009 14:13:03 GMT -5
Well he's not at the marking stage yet. That's going to be fun, housebreaking all over again.
I guess because I've known about this having to piddle repeatedly for a while now, and I just assumed it was an annoying habit he had gotten into. I also wondered if I had somehow backwards trained him to pee on the floor when he wanted to go outside.
He's on antibiotics for two weeks, then I have to take a urine sample in for retesting. Which involves following him around the yard while he tries to pee and sticking a container under him.
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Post by caretaker on Mar 31, 2009 15:04:30 GMT -5
:0
*Clings to AC*
For the longest time, our cat would throw up (awesome for my emetophobia ><) daily. We had his blood tested and he got examined, and the consensus was "sometimes cats throw up". It wasn't until it got really bad that the vets finally did an exploratory op (and a massive blood clot from the wound almost killed him that night) that they discovered he had inflammatory bowel disease. The family and the vets spent a long time kicking ourselves because all of us missed it.
I really recommend googling dog behaviour, and signs and symptoms of illnesses. I've watched the kitty like a hawk ever since, and if he so much as sneezes, I hit the net until I know what to look for in case he's sick. You can't help missing some illnesses, but you can learn what to watch for in future. For some reason, it also helps with the guilt. Don't ask me why xD;
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Post by antichrist on Mar 31, 2009 15:25:45 GMT -5
{{{{everyone, esp caretaker}}}}
I went through that with a cat about 10 years ago. Actually put myself into bankruptcy trying to figure out why she kept puking. Finally turned out to be cancer and she was PTS anyway.
Even the vet was surprised that it came back positive (he didn't feel anything on the initial exam). As I said, the antibiotics, and special food to lower the PH of his urine. Today he's only had one accident in the house, and I think that was because I'm sick and not paying as much attention to him as I should be. I have to do some research and figure out where he got it from. I may have to change food on him.
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Post by trike on Mar 31, 2009 17:01:16 GMT -5
(((((((AntiChrist))))))) When our puppy got her first period it seemed to be spotty and go on for a long time. One vet my dad called said that it was normal for her first time, but shortly after Christmas it was apparent that she was in pain (after we were thinking how lovely it was that our one 1/2 year old puppy had behaved herself so well over the holidays). She ended up having to get her infected uterus removed, it should have been the size of my pinky but it was the size of a fist when they removed it.
These things are hard to catch, and at least your baby is doing ok now.
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Post by Vypernight on Mar 31, 2009 19:21:05 GMT -5
Been there. When our dog dumped on the carpet, I chewed him out, which was wrong enough because I was stressed from work and I took it out on him. When he suddenly started dumping blood, I felt like the crap he left on the floor. I felt so guilty that, after we took him to the vet at 3 A.M. and found out it was an infection, I spoiled the $#!+ out of him (damn-near literally) for the next 2 weeks.
A year later, it came back, and they said it would get worse because of his age so we had to put him down. I still have that feeling, like a big jagged rock in the pit of my stomach.
As Cat said, hindsight is 20/20, but it's hard as hell not to feel guilty. You sound like a great mother, and that you're doing you best for him. I hope he recovers.
My thoughts and best wishes to you both.
Take care,
Jay
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Post by Death on Apr 1, 2009 11:07:50 GMT -5
(((((((AntiChrist))))))) When our puppy got her first period it seemed to be spotty and go on for a long time. One vet my dad called said that it was normal for her first time, but shortly after Christmas it was apparent that she was in pain (after we were thinking how lovely it was that our one 1/2 year old puppy had behaved herself so well over the holidays). She ended up having to get her infected uterus removed, it should have been the size of my pinky but it was the size of a fist when they removed it. These things are hard to catch, and at least your baby is doing ok now. oh the poor thing
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Akage
Full Member
Existentialist
Posts: 207
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Post by Akage on Apr 1, 2009 11:13:15 GMT -5
((((Anti-Christ))))
At least you caught it in time to hopefully do something about it-- spoil the puppy rotten.
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