Recovering from surgery

[Kananga]

@renaultf1:

Regarding the anxiety…someone on here a while ago mentioned CFL lightbulbs as being the cause of her dog's anxiety (and that there were other cases of the same issue that could be found on the internet)...you know, the high pitched noise they give off. It could be something as small as that. You said you live in a condo...is it possible that the outdoor lights are CFLs? Or is there any sort of high pitched industrial noise that is just background noise to you, but he might hear really loudly?

Yikes. Our hallways all have CFLs (newer construction, of course it has CFLs :rolleyes:).

In my unit I use halogen floods. Outdoors I believe they are mercury vapor or metal halide. Not sure of any other background noise that he could hear that would be loud (to him).

The weird thing is it's not consistent. Every now and then he has these episodes.

[Kananga]

@lvoss:

If he continues to have incidents where he is peeing before he gets outside, then I would definately check for a UTI just to be sure.

Fair enough, I'll monitor anything else that comes up. Thanks.

[Kananga]

In regards to the CFL noise, if that is indeed a factor with anxiety, would a white noise machine help combat that problem?

Curious to know of possible solutions. I have always wondered about a noise-related factor causing anxiety. Never thought about CFLs.

[renaultf1]

It doesn't mean that CFLs are causing the problem…but I'm just thinking it could be a noise as small as that that seems big to your boy. So listen for small noises, buzzes, hums.

At our house we have CFL recessed lighting (and it makes a lot more noise than just the simple small ones in our lamps). It is like a soft high pitched buzz...but when you have multiples on at the same time, the noise is louder. I will also say that the noise changes based on the ambient temperature...colder - more noise, warmer - less noise. My b's don't seem to be bothered by it because they act no different if the lights are off or on.

Does the anxiety start in the hallways...or does it really seem to start once outdoors? Is he anxious in your apartment itself? And when you say he is anxious, can you describe the behaviour.

[Kananga]

@renaultf1:

It doesn't mean that CFLs are causing the problem…but I'm just thinking it could be a noise as small as that that seems big to your boy. So listen for small noises, buzzes, hums.

At our house we have CFL recessed lighting (and it makes a lot more noise than just the simple small ones in our lamps). It is like a soft high pitched buzz...but when you have multiples on at the same time, the noise is louder. I will also say that the noise changes based on the ambient temperature...colder - more noise, warmer - less noise. My b's don't seem to be bothered by it because they act no different if the lights are off or on.

Does the anxiety start in the hallways...or does it really seem to start once outdoors? Is he anxious in your apartment itself? And when you say he is anxious, can you describe the behaviour.

Well it does explain how he is hesitant to go to the door when it's time to go outside (the door to the hallway). He will always pause for a second before coming to me to put his leash on. I always wait by the door when it's time to go out. Sometimes he has refused to go to the door. He will peak around the corner in my foyer and then run back to the living room. It's not a playful hesitation either. It's without a doubt some sort of anxiety. There are probably a dozen overhead CFL bulbs on my floor.

He is sometimes anxious in my unit. The behavior is probably best described as him acting distracted, very concerned, etc. He won't be playful and usually just looks around. It's not common for him to be anxious inside my unit when I'm not leaving. Outdoors when he is anxious, it's the same behavior. Distracted, concerned, hesitant, etc. Sometimes he will jump up and back on his back legs trying to get out of his leash but that is not common.

I should note that I have been using a DAP diffuser in my unit for the last couple months. That has without a doubt helped, but it's not 100%.

[renaultf1]

Boy…this is interesting.

Are the hall lights overhead flood lights? Is he at least a little better once he is outside? The only way you could truly test the CFL theory is if you could somehow switch the hall lights off - I'm sure there is some sort of requirement in a condo building about lights being always on in hallways. Maybe ask your maintenance company if they would be willing to do it for a few minutes during a day you are home, just so you could possibly get your answer.

Another thought...is there carpeting in the hallway? If so, I'm wondering if there might be a scent issue with the carpet cleaning solution. Something that could permeate into your condo and that the dap defuser could be helping to mask a bit. The scent would change according to how often it was done which might explain why you don't have the problem all the time. Is there a plug in the hallway to outdoors that you could put another DAP defuser in to see if that makes a difference.

When you taken him away from the condo and is he less anxious when off the property all together?

[Kananga]

He is an interesting dog…

The lights are overhead, but I don't believe they are flood lights. Hallways are carpeted and we have a company come out and clean all the common areas once per year. But that is a thorough extraction. I don't think there is any solution that would be used other than that annual cleaning. I would say he's been more anxious outdoors. When he is having his episodes it seems like it's everywhere I go, on and off the property.

I originally thought he was simply just an anxious dog but he can really act normal most of the times inside my condo. He does fairly well around other dogs, acting interested in meeting them and never provoking a fight, although he (like the characteristics of the breed) tends to be aloof with people he doesn't know. I notice the hair on his back and neck stick straight up when he is around strangers. Never has he growled, showed teeth, or snapped at anyone. Strange environments for him also makes him anxious. That part is fairly consistent.

It's these episodes that he goes through is what's concerning. He is allergic to something, not food, and I haven't pinpointed it yet. I'm thinking it's seasonal. Perhaps the allergies make him anxious, although he's not pawing at his face when we're outside.

[tanza]

Raising hackles to strangers is pretty common for Basenjis…. all of mine have done that... past and present.

[Kananga]

@tanza:

Raising hackles to strangers is pretty common for Basenjis…. all of mine have done that... past and present.

That is a relief. I had known that basenjis in general are aloof with strangers, but the hair raising up had me concerned at times.

I might give the breeder a call today and get their input. Since they had him until he was 7mo old. Might get some answers on the allergy part as well.

[Kananga]

I'm taking him in to see the vet this morning. He urinated in bed early this morning. I had no warning about it either. I woke up and he was licking his legs/stomach and was sitting strange. Thats when I reached over and felt underneath him and it was sopping wet. He completely emptied his bladder (this will be fun to clean).

I feel bad for him but I'm quite certain now that it is a UTI. He was drinking more water than usual yesterday and I kept thinking it was all in my head. This was enough proof for me. I did give him a bath because he was laying in his urine. I know you're supposed to wait 10-14 days to bathe them to keep the incision dry, but it's been 8 days and i'd rather get him clean than leave him soaked in urine. I patted dry the incision area after his bath and applied some neosporin to hopefully prevent any infections.

He had an apologetic look on his face. I didn't give him any heat, I knew he couldn't help it. Poor guy.

Hopefully this isn't an infection related to the surgery.

[Kananga]

Ugh… sounds like they are trying to blame me for not getting him an e-collar. I was told it's probably an infection related to him licking the incision, but I insisted that he has not been licking the area and that an e-collar would have simply been destroyed or injured him.

How common is it for a dog to get a UTI shortly after being neutered?

[Basenjimamma]

Kananga,

I've got to tell you, I have had several dogs in the past and all of them been nutured. none of them wore E-collars ( I guess more like a cone collar), not because they would destroy them, but they would destroy my house with them on..still trying to run around like normal, with this huge collar on knocking everything in their path down. So we let them be with them, and they healed fine, and licked constantly, however I was told them licking is an OK thing, because their saliva helps heal the scar. Now biting is a different story, that is not OK. I just about a month ago had Luna, our non B spayed (she had a hard spay, she ended up having a false pregnancy and was still in heat, so she lost a lot of blodd and all) and she came home from the vet with no instruction for collar, only no biting aloud..licking was OK. I sure hope he will be Ok.

[Kananga]

Yea, I spent 3 full days with him after he had surgery (took time off work to make it a long weekend) and he ignored the incision the entire time. The only time he did not ignore the area is when he removed the scab, but even then he left the area alone after it was removed. There wasn't any bleeding, the incision progressively looked better, and I applied some neosporin on the incision along with tea tree oil around the area for safe measure. I had been monitoring him closely. I find it extremely hard to believe there was any excessive licking or biting over the last week. The scab being the only exception, but that was minor.

I just can't figure out how he could have gotten a UTI (if that's the case, which is starting to seem probable).

[lvoss]

I have never known a dog to get a UTI after neuter and I don't buy that licking his incision would cause one. Licking can cause swelling at the incision site but you saw no evidence of that. It is far more likely that the UTI is a separate issue from the neuter.

[Kananga]

@lvoss:

I have never known a dog to get a UTI after neuter and I don't buy that licking his incision would cause one. Licking can cause swelling at the incision site but you saw no evidence of that. It is far more likely that the UTI is a separate issue from the neuter.

When I initially read through his paperwork from his surgery, I noticed that they had used a catheter.

Any chance that could have been related? The symptoms starting showing about 4-5 days after surgery (urination issues, loss of control, etc).

I'm not trying to blame my vet, I'm simply trying to figure out how this came about. I know stress can be a factor.

[lvoss]

At this point, it is most important to get him treated. Some causes of UTIs don't show up until you get a urinalysis done such as urinary crystals. Stress often causes the urine pH to go off and that can allow crystals to form.

[tanza]

I agree with not buying that it was the fault of not wearing an E-collar… I never put one on my dogs for spay or neuter, nor did they ever get a UTI or infection .. nor to I buy that a little licking caused a UTI.... and yes, certainly a catheter would be a cause, IMO... But so many dogs get UTI's that it would be hard to pin point how/why... might just be one of those things that it happened so close after being neutered....

[Kananga]

@lvoss:

At this point, it is most important to get him treated. Some causes of UTIs don't show up until you get a urinalysis done such as urinary crystals. Stress often causes the urine pH to go off and that can allow crystals to form.

I dropped him off a couple hours ago. Only reason why I'm curious how it came about is because their first reaction was with him having no e-collar.

[lvoss]

That just sounds like they are trying to make you feel guilty for not following their rules which IMO is very poor behavior on their part.

[lvoss]

Also, just so you know just because they used a catheter doesn't mean it was a urinary catheter. Catheter is also what they call the tube they use to administer IV fluids.