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Emma is leaking...again

16K views 156 replies 34 participants last post by  MercyMom 
#1 ·
Emma, who is 7 months old, has been on cephalexin and ketoconazole for an ear infection. After 1 week of this treatment, she developed incontinence. There are little droplets of urine, like a trail, following her. This happens on and off throughout the day. She appears unaware this is happening, and does not seem to be in pain.

At the vet visit, a urinalysis was normal, an ultrasound showed no stones and a rectal exam, all normal. Other than this, she appears healthy and happy. The vet is stumped and so am I.

Thinking back, this happened before. When she was 13 weeks old, she was on antibiotics for a GI infection, and developed the same symptoms. The issue resolved itself after a couple of weeks. At that time, we thought she had regressed on her potty training or was too excited.

This is not just puppy excitement or submissive urination. Throughout the day, she has periods when her bottom is wet, and trailing urine.

I am very worried.
 
#106 ·
Have only just found your thread and I am so very sad to hear what you are going through with your beautiful little girl Emma.

We lost our 3 year old golden Daisy 10 months ago to congenital renal failure (link to story is in my signature) so can totally understand how heartbreaking this is for you. Unfortunately Daisy's condition did not have any of the typical symptoms of a dog in renal failure and after lots of testing we only discovered what she had wrong with her when she had lost the majority of her kidney function.

As Sally's Mom has said, it is all about management of Emma's condition now. She is a young, strong girl so will have lots of fight in her! Take it a day at a time, and I'm sure with the help of your vet you can get her on the correct diet and medication to keep her kidneys functioning for a long time. Will keep checking your thread for updates and will offer any advice that I can.
 
#107 ·
I thought managing Emma's condition would be fairly simple. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. I was told that she needs lower phosphorus because of her condition, and she needs higher phosphorus because she is still growing. I am not sure what is optimal. And, her blood phosphorus level is elevated, 7.7.

At this point I haven't found a high quality commercial diet that can meet her needs. I was thinking I can cook for her, if I know exactly what she needs in macro as well as micronutrients. However, I don't know that. It seems to me the majority of the recipes I have found online have a significant amount of empty calories.

This is scary and frustrating.
 
#108 ·
Dr. Dodds at Hemopet was wonderful helping me manage Morgan's kidney problems. She had a diet for this and helped with supplements and blood work. You might want to contact her, she's always happy to help.
 
#113 ·
Good news is Emma's incontinence has disappeared. Although I don't have the culture results back, I assume it was the infection causing the incontinence. :D

On recommendation from folks at the k9kidney group, and a holistic vet I consulted, I am giving Emma D-mannose to prevent infections. I know human females take this supplement for the same purpose. I hope it works for my little Sweet Pea.

The folks at the k9kidney group also recommended waiting to change Emma's diet until her kidney values are tested when she is infection-free, because her values may come down, and the nutritionist recommendations are based on those values.

Her kidney panel will be checked in 4 weeks, and hopefully her values will normalize...I have this crazy hope that even though her kidneys look malformed, they still can do what kidneys do. I base my hope on the fact that she has had a normal development and doesn't really show symptoms of kidney failure.

Please hope and pray and send good thoughts our way. They really help.
 
#115 ·
Little Emma is in my thoughts and prayers. I wish you all the best.
 
#124 ·
I was just looking at her puppy's photos yesterday, she is so precious!
Keeping sweet Emma in my prayers.
 
#126 ·
Sweet and beautiful Emma. I hope so much that the kidney panel will lead to good news. So glad her culture came back showing no more infection.

One source of information you might find useful is : DogAware.com Health: Kidney Disease in Dogs

Loads of good vibes for your sweetie. All paws and fingers crossed.
 
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#129 ·
Thank you for asking. I have never paid so much attention to a dog's rear end in my life!

We noticed a tiny amount of wetness and leaking, and started her on DES (estrogen, basically) to see if that helps her not leak...since the leaking increases the chance of infection.

She was on DES daily for 5 days and was absolutely dry. We decreased the dose to twice a week. And yesterday, she leaked a LOT. We gave her another dose and are checking with the doctor to see what he wants to do.

Also, on the 8th she gets another urine culture and kidney function test.

She looks good, healthy, happy, active. We went for a 4 mile hike on Thanksgiving, go for daily walks, and she chases the ball and zooms every day! We are taking tons of pictures.

Ann
 
#131 ·
Thanks for the update. So glad you got to go for a 4 mile hike with her on Thanksgiving, I bet she really enjoyed it. She must be feeling good in herself to be so active and doing zoomies, which is good news!

I see that you said you've got another kidney function test today, we know how you must be feeling - we had to keep running them every couple of days for Daisy. Praying that you can see some improvement in her numbers. Let us know whenever you get chance. Sending lots of hugs to beautiful Emma!
 
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