Help!!

wrat · Post by **wrat** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:11 am

It started last night at around 3am Denali started making a fuss in her crate ( never done this before )
Not wanting to reinforce the behavior we ignored it..after about 15 min she stopped...this am we let her in the backyard and she started squatting to pee way to much like 20-30 times in a few minutes...hmmm..she seems ok though..strange..so I take her on her walk and she squats to pee and Im pretty sure there was blood in it..she is at the vet now and we are waiting to hear.....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:50 am

Wow, I am not sure what it could be but my thoughts are with you........keep us updates!!

kiwani · Post by **kiwani** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:31 am

Urinary tract infection? Foul smelling cloudy urine, painful frequent urination, fever.

sixchows · Post by **sixchows** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:49 pm

Don't take this the wrong way but if she has never made a fuss in her crate during the night why not get up and check on her? Is she still a pup that you are training?

My chows never bother us unless they either hear something we should know about or one of them isn't feeling right.

In time you will also notice differences in their bark. Zim almost speaks! Sounds crazy, I know. If he is in the yard and I open a window he will come running to the window. I usually only have to say "what's up, Zim?" and he will go into this long converstaion of different pitched sounds while he tilts his head back and forth or looks off in another direction as if he is telling me to look that way too. If he sees my son who is 14 look out the window to listen, the whole tone changes! He will look at my son and the sound becomes much more serious! If he sees my wife join us, he stops! It's funny because she spends the most time with him and he "talks" to everyone but her! He is the only one that does this. The others will wimper or cry a little like they want attention and then just run off if they see us at a window.

Zim is the chow in my avavtar and he was doing it when I took the picture until he saw me point the camera at him, then he just stopped and stared at me.

Post by **Zhuyos mom** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:35 pm

Wrat, hope all is well with Denali. Please keep us posted. Just to pass on a little experience, next time, check on her - like sixchows mentioned, especially since this was the first time this behavior happened and listen if her vocals are different than her normal "let me out because I smell a critter". The change in vocals are a tell tale sign something's not feeling right.

Sixchows, my chows all speak! I don't think you sound crazy at all. Zhu even says "harrough" to visitors who knock on the door. Our visitors get a kick out of it because it sounds so close to "hello". When they get miffed at me and they turn their back for their "harumpf", they grumble word-like grumbles. It's real charming. My friends are always amazed. I figure they do that because I'm very vocal with them. I talk to other dogs, but they just stare at me. When I speak to my chows, they reply back.

Judy Fox · Post by **Judy Fox** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:48 pm

That sounds like a urinary infection and can be very painful. Mabel went through a period when she was younger - about 2 yrs. I think, when she had three or four all after each other.
I would suggest you get her to the vet - a course of antiobotics will do the trick. I don't normally like to give antibiotics but the infection has to be got rid of.
Poor little love - Mabel was quite distressed.

sixchows · Post by **sixchows** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:55 pm

Lou
Yeah the others make all those grumblings too as a response. But Zim always go off with these long stories.

Wrat
Sorry for hijacking the thread. Hopefully it's nothing serious and the vet can clear it up quickly!

wrat · Post by **wrat** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:18 pm

back from vet who thinks it MAY be a uti but wont know till the results from the urinalysis come back...
got some antibiotics..hopefully thats all it is!!!

Jeff&Peks · Post by **Jeff&Peks** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:14 pm

Not wanting to reinforce the behavior we ignored it.

See what i mean about those dumb dog trainng books.

Like the others said in time you will know the meaning of the differant grunts, barks and noises untill then if your Chow is fussing at night take a look to see whats going on.

Having to hold his urine for along time may have coused the problem also and theres no way to let you know he has to go out locked in a crate.

Post by **kingalls** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:39 pm

Shiloh was just recently treated for blood in the urine. If it's early enough then the antibiotics should take care of the problem. When the vet took a sample of her urine he said there was an unusual amount of blood in it. He said that if the antibiotics didn't resolve the problem then they would need to do x-rays, etc. Fortunately, the antibiotics took care of the issue.
Unlike Denali, we didn't know Shiloh had a problem until she happened to squat during an evening walk and at the same time Mr. N decided to sniff the same spot she was trying to tag. Well, she peed on him and with him being white - well, it was quite obvious she had blood in the urine.
Many purple get well kisses to Denali!
Karen

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:48 pm

We went through a 4 month stint of reaccuring UTI's with Chewie. Their easy to treat but they also can get severe very quickly. Make sure that Denali is able to go out as often as possible.

Chows are relatively consistant in their behaivor. If they act differently make sure you check and see what's wrong!

Good luck and I hope she feels better! Let us know the results of the test!

Mandy

kiwani · Post by **kiwani** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:20 pm

After the antibiotic treatments, if she can keep her urine more to the acidic side, bacteria won't be able to multiply. Once the bacteria get a foothold, they change the urine pH by making it alkaline. It then becomes a breeding ground. You can use pH test strips to gauge this.

Vitamin C acidifies urine (not ester-c), and cranberry powder capsules keep the bacteria from attaching themselves to the bladder wall.

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:23 pm

The cranberry powder worked for us too. We just put it in his food... no problems after about a week of that!

kiwani · Post by **kiwani** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:33 pm

On another topic, I recently read that cranberry powder also prevents bacteria from sticking to teeth, so that would be a good alternative scrubber for dogs with plaque problems.

Post by **kingalls** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:47 pm

is the cranberry powder available in most health food sections? is this very detectable in the food? Shiloh is very keen when it comes to smelling something different in her food...I've never had to give Mr. N anything he didn't like but he analyzes everything I give him.

Thanks! Karen

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:01 pm

I got the cranberry powder at a health food store and I think you can get it at GNC. You can also buy cranberry tablets at walgreens and crush them up. I've done the tablets with Chewie and he actually chews them up. Doesn't seem to mind the taste... but he'll eat anything! If they are picky, I'd try mixing it in with something - it's actually soluable in water to some degree. Maybe a wet dog food mix or some tasty mushy treat (like liverwurst) would be a good mixer.

kiwani · Post by **kiwani** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:02 pm

I think the cranberry capsules are widely available, and you can just smother a capsule with soft cheese or liver paste to make it palatable if there's a problem.

Some pet supply shops might have the small jars of loose cranberry powder with additional herbs and vitamin c for the bladder. It's made by Solid Gold. That one tastes like a sour cherry and hay flavor.

wrat · Post by **wrat** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:09 am

results are in Denali has a "raging uti" thats the vets exact quote..she is on antibiotics and hopefully will be ok

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:55 am

Poor girl. That is a painful problem! Like I said before, make sure she goes out a lot and has a lot of water available. When Chewie's UTI's were bad, I would get up every 3 hours at night to let him out. It's not fun but it's REALLY not fun for her! Good luck and purple kisses to her from Chewie and Cayenne!

Mandy

Judy Fox · Post by **Judy Fox** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 3:21 pm

Poor little girl!

But the antibiotics should sort it out. However, keep a close eye on her one the course is over as it might flare up again and need another course.
I don't like giving antibiotics but uti have a nasty habit of coming back. As I think I have already mentioned, Mabel had a very nasty do about three years ago and needed, I think, three lots of antibiotics.
Once this course is over, keep having a little look at her rear end - if she gets blood in her urine again, you will see evidence of it on her little private bits and also on the fur immediatly round. Check for a few weeks - indeed it is a good idea to carry on checking. I do with M & M - then if it started again, it does not get chance to get too painful.

kumathechow · Post by **kumathechow** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:58 pm

i don't know if it's a dog thing, it's common in cats, but they can develope crystals in their urinary tract which will cause blockage and bloddy urine. her urine stream would be a "drip" and not a steady flow. if that's it, it should be treated immediately, because the bladder has no way to empty and could cause damage to the kidneys. i do know that it's more common in male neutered cats, because of the small uretha, but i'm not sure if it affects female dogs. you may want to research it though.

kuma and i wish denali a happy recovery. *purple kisses*

ngraham · Post by **ngraham** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 6:22 am

Poor Denali.

As a human I have had UTI's and they are extremely painful, so I am sure she is not feeling good either. Both Koda and I hope she makes a speedy recovery.
Purple kisses to Denali

wrat · Post by **wrat** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 8:42 am

thanx to all!!