My 12 year old basenji has been straining to pee, and leaking pee nonstop. When he has to go out he cant even hold it, by the time he gets to the door hes dropped his urine, most of it….often there is blood visible.
The vet first said it was a UTI, antibiotics for a week and no results.
Went for a second urinalysis and the vet says he has a staph infection.
(
)
He ruled out kidney stones. He tells me we are going to put him on THE ATOM BOMB of antibiotics...orange pill cut in half...fed once per day on a full stomach.
I start the administration of the pills....then my boy stops being able to even pee a stream..he drips, then blood in the drips. When I take him to the yard he would walk around dripping for 20 minutes and resist if I try to get him to come in. He feels as though he has to pee obviously and its just not coming out.
I am so frustrated and upset because I feel like I cant help my little guy...Im now in the process of getting him scheduled for an ultrasound.
I asked my vet several times if this could be fanconi and he dismissed it and said that fanconi is very rare. Im bothered that he has never considered testing for it.
Basically Im taking him for care someplace else, as Im not sure my vet is able to tackle anything complicated....
My little guy is still behaving normally, personality hasnt changed nor has his interest in food. Still quite the little pig.
He is in pain however when he pees as at times he will groan very softly when straining.
Im at my wits end. As mentioned, Im waiting today to get in for an ultrasound for him. Any thoughts and or advice is appreciated.
(BTW, I took him off of the orange pills once I saw symptoms getting worse...today he almost peed a 'stream' again instead of drips)
Have you stripped tested him to see if he is spilling Glucose? You can usually buy urine glucose test strips at Walgreens or Walmart. You want Diastix by Bayer. If he is spilling sugar then find a vet who will follow up with blood gases to confirm Fanconi.
Sounds like you need a new vet..A vet should always listen to the owners, IMO.
Fanconi in b's still isn't as rare as we would like,
Good luck and let us know how your old fellow is doing…
Thank you, I will purchase one tonight. I brought this up to my vet and he laughed when I suggested I try the glucose test strip.
Yeah Sharon, I agree.
He wanted to give him a cortizone shot tonight and I said forget it…I just asked for the referral needed to get in quickly to the specialist/internist to get his ultrasound.
I feel like hes wasted enough of our time. My vet was great with him for years...in fact the only vet that my little guy wasnt terrified of...but its clear now that his strong suit was teeth cleaning and general health matters.
LRB, you are now doing the right thing by strip testing and getting an ultrasound, so good for you. Sadly, some vets are better with just general types of care. You might want to ask the specialist/internist if they know of a vet who is familiar with basenjis (or at least a vet they would recommend). They might not want to suggest anyone, but kindly let them know that your pet's health is of utmost importance to you. Here's hoping you get to the bottom of the problem and get you little man back on track.
Fran excellent advice. Little Red, do you know anyone who breeds/shows b's in your town? They would know a good basenji vet…maybe
I would not be too worried for fanconi - the symptoms presented do not match in the least. As for strip testing now - if you have too much blood in sample - you will not be able to accurately read the dipstick so I would not ut it atop my priority at this time.
First in order is get a new vet.
Second is get the ultrasound asap, or at most a bladder xray, to include the urethra all the way from the bladder to the head of the penis to rule out bladder stones in the bladder and/or in the ureter partially blocking him. The xray can also show a bladder tumor.
Third - get the urine cultured to find out if there is any bacteria, et al and to what antibiotics they are sensitive too. There is no reason a vet needs to just rx a random antibiotic when they have urine culture/sensitivities available. It is possible this can not be done currently due to currently being on antibiotics.
If he is unable to urinate - this can be a medical emergency so do not wait it out - urine can start to back up into the body and cause serious problems including death.
It is not always a good idea to arbitrarily discontinue an antibitiotic - this is what can cause antibiotic resistant bacteria and pathogens. I think it is just a coincedence that the new pill is being taken when the symptoms got a bit worse. I personally would put him back on until the speciailist tells you otherwise.
Good luck.
Thanks everyone…Linda, I cannot put him back on those antibiotics he gave me for staph. This was outrageous that every night he was waking me less than an hours time to go out and was drip peeing all over himself and bleeding. Yesterday was the first day off of them and today hes actually been doing slightly better.
I just had a return call from my vet earlier and he said that my B may have been having an inflammatory reaction (an allergy) to the antibiotics and as long as he is doing better in terms of peeing and more comfortable just leave the antibiotics.
I could never put off getting care when he was showing such serious health issues. Basically my vet is well intended and caring but just wasnt 'experienced' enough for this. During the call tonight he let me know that he faxed the referral to the internist this afternoon so I should be able to get him into the vet tomorrow or no later than Friday he predicted.
Yes Fran, Ive been searching for some time for a vet in this region that has experience with Basenjis and have found none. My neighbors have a basenji-hybrid of sorts that they brought back from Africa but they are new to the area.
I will definitely ask the specialist for a recommendation on a proper/experienced vet for my B in the future. My vet has been great but at this stage of my boys health he needs someone more basenji-experienced I guess.
Thanks again everyone.
Oh, I so hope you didn't think we were not supporting you. I can tell your every concerned and we want to help. I so hope these post came across as helpful and not
critical.
Hugs to you and your b.
Not at all, I didnt think you were being critical. I was just responding to Linda's advice on the antibiotics. I couldnt leave him on them even though it might be best practice,typically.
Thanks again
Dr. Tracy Leonard is in Beavercreek, OH outside of Dayton. She is a vet, and a Basenji breeder. That probably isn't toooo terribly far for you. The symptoms you describe definitely sound like a UTI involving either crystals or stones. I would follow through with the ultrasound for sure, even if his symptoms are getting better. As other have said, Fanconi is definitely not rare…but his symptoms sound more accute, and urinations problems with Fanconi are more chronic. But Fanconi dogs definitely get more frequent UTIs. Good luck, let us know how it goes.
Are you going to a specialist to have the ultrasound done? When my dogs need to see a specialist, I go to the CARE Center in Cincinnati. The website is www.carecentervets.com. I believe you do need a referral from your vet. I know they have internists, a neurologist, orthopedist and cardiologist. I think there is also an oncologist. They are also a 24 hour emergency clinic.
I have been to Ohio State but the last time I took a dog there, I thought it was pricey and since it is farther away from me, I had to take an entire day off from work. I was extremely happy with the care they gave my dog though.
I presently have three dogs that go to CARE, a 16 1/2 year old female, she was diagnosed last month with stump pyometra by CARE and had the surgery done by Dr. Leonard in Dayton, a 9 1/2 year old male who is having autoimmune problems but he may have to go to Ohio State for follow-up care, and a 3 1/2 year old male who was diagnosed by CARE with esophagus issues. I will be there next week as two of them have appointments!
My heart goes out to your boy. I do hope you and he get satisfactory results. and soon he'll be on the way to recovery. Please keep us posted - from experience of the other members I know we are all concerned.
Has he had a urine culture done? Perhaps he is on the wrong antibiotic for the type of infection he has.
Hello everyone. Thank you for your care and concern.
I was able to get a referral from my veterinarian to see Dr. Harris in Milford Ohio to get the ultrasound and we went in on Friday.
(They are very good with basenji's btw…she was very comfortable and knowledgeable .)
She did the ultrasound while myself and a vet tech held him and we saw clearly a HUGE cache of kidney stones in his bladder!....further, she showed me that there were quite a few that had lodged in his urethra which is why he was straining to pee. She said that he had a significant UTI which was causing the frequency in his urination...and that it came secondary to the kidney stones.
SO hundreds of dollars later, I went to a specialist/oncologist to give me a diagnosis that my general veterinarian could have given me had he stopped experimenting and just given Joey an xray to see the kidney stones.
So, my little guy is on antibiotics and we're planning to get him into surgery within the next few weeks to remove the stones.
Im so relieved and for such wonderful veterinary care I dont mind the drive to Milford or a higher bill. Seeing a vet that isnt giving answers and is seemingly just 'experimenting' not only is a waste of money but prolonged unnecessary suffering.
I hope that this message thread can be helpful to anyone else whos basenji has these symptoms and is finding no resolve at their vet.
Thanks again for your care and concern.
Oh, YeAAAAAAAAAAAA for knowing what is going on NOW and being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hugs for doing what you needed to do, so your b would be on the road to recovery.
Glad you got the answer….
but as Andrea said... it isn't too far to Beavercreek...
plan to start seeing Dr Tracy....
You will be happy you made the change!
While I am very glad you finally got your diagnosis I would like to say 100% of the blame does not lie with your country vet. You have to be your pets advocate and while you had a great start by seeking advice on this forum from experienced folks you faltered by not taking that advice and running with it in a more timely fashion. On 7/6 I wrote in part:
"Second is get the ultrasound asap, or at most a bladder xray, to include the urethra all the way from the bladder to the head of the penis to rule out bladder stones in the bladder and/or in the ureter partially blocking him. The xray can also show a bladder tumor."
It would have been in your right as your pet advocate to ask your vet or a second vet to do an xray. I have yet to see a vet refuse to add to their pocketbook. You could have had your answer >10 days ago and much less expensive.
Sorry if this sounds harsh but working in the vet field I see too often pets who needlessly suffer for all sorts of reasons cuz no one - the experts to the owners or the owners to the experts - is willing to speak up. Waiting 10 days to finally get an answer when stones were partially blocking him could have easily resulted in his death.
Good luck with your impending surgery. I asume they have him on a new diet to help diminish future formation, if not they should so talk to your vet re: it.
Sinbaje,
In fact your message doesnt sound harsh, it sounds insane.
My vet sent the oncologist the referral and based upon his symptoms and information given to her by my vet, determined that the 16th was an appointment date that was not "too late."
Dr. Harris is extremely well known for her expertise and I would assume far more knowledgeable than yourself.
I am in the business of caring for my basenji, not pontificating and placing holier than thou opinions on internet discussion boards.
Spare me your critique as I trust an oncologist veterinarian is far more suited to handle the health of my basenji than an armchair expert on a discussion board with too much time on her hands.
