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Urinary issues

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • E

    I've got a 15.5 year old spayed basenji who's been having some potty issues.

    Essentially, whenever she wakes up from sleep, she'll pee nearly immediately- often on her bed/couch/etc, otherwise nearby. (Likely unrelated, but she then licks it up.) She doesn't appear to be leaking urine in her sleep, just experiencing frequent and urgent urination. It seems to have gotten worse in the past few months- at first I chalked it up to Chicago's bitterly cold winter and her not wanting to go outside, but the weather is getting milder now and the issue is maintaining.

    We ran a urinalysis a few weeks ago, did 14 days of Clavamox, followed by a full CBC, Chem, T4, and followup urinalysis. Those results came back yesterday, and my vet's comment was that the only thing that was remarkable was how GOOD her bloodwork looked- liver looks fine, and no significant kidney issues (BUN and CREA were normal). Urinalysis showed nothing questionable, WBC was normal, everything looked fine, save for the T4. She's been on thyroxin (.1 mg BID) for probably 8 years, and her bloodwork suggested that we should bump up that dosage. Vet has her at .2 mg BID now.

    He also prescribed Proin (1/2 25 mg tab BID). We've started on that, and I recognize that it's likely too early to see results, but it's frustrating to be dealing with urine everywhere (especially as I'm in an apartment, without easy access to a washer/dryer). Does anyone have additional suggestions? Tests we might run, supplements to try, alternative therapies you've had success with? Acupuncture? Corn silk tea? Would building more hind end muscle help? Magical dog foods? I'm contemplating switching her back to a raw diet to see if that makes a difference, but will wait until we give the Proin sufficient time to kick in.

    She's old and creaky, but keeping her on glycoflex and salmon oil keeps her pretty comfy- she's still walking 2-3 miles per day and swiping tissues from the trash can whenever she gets a chance.
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  • R

    Weight issue

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    @Rebel - Full blood workup including full Thyroid panel (full panel no just what the normal vet workup that is not a full thyroid panel)... as they say make sure that he is in good health. Also what are you feeding him? How much total are you feeding a day? Also with reducing food, add veggies to his food to fill his belly... green beans are good to use... I use Cauliflower and Broccoli... Note also that low normal is typically too low for Basenjis.
  • R

    Eating Issues

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    DebraDownSouthD
    The FDA can only do what the laws allow and if the govt is controlled by lobbyist, well.... But this isn't the place for politics so I'll leave it at that. I am very sorry about your horse. :( With meat.. it's particularly red meat that research is linking to cancer... early research shows amount is a big factor (recommendations from 4 oz a day to max 18 oz a week), but who knows. Processed meat is the worse, and I saw some headline (didn't bother to read since I like my beef shortly after it stops mooing) that well done steaks more carcinogenic. For the world, reducing red meat is good for the environment and health. I was reading a study last week on red meat and joint inflammation. Studies the last 15 years actually only have general connection, but that most do is a pretty good indicator. I had a doctor tell me to stop all red meat and milk when I was a teen and experiencing joint pain. It helped, but back then, no internet and not much access to current research. Here we are 45+ years later, and still no strong proof and some show that reducing carbs with increased LEAN red meat actually decreased inflammation. However, we then get this Science Catch-up. Red Meat And Gut Inflammation: Harvard Study ... https://thehealthsciencesacademy.org/science-catch-up/science-catch-up-28/ Jan 18, 2017 - Red meat and gut inflammation: Harvard study. According this new Harvard study involving 46,500 participants, eating high amounts of red meat daily might be a risk factor for gut inflammation and the development of diverticulitis. << So no one has absolute proof, but my money is on reducing red meat is more likely to be healthier than not. I just don't rule out all meat (ie fish and fowl) as getting enough protein is pretty hard and we don't have enough hard research for ME to go vegetarian. But I'm open to it and glad you are having success.
  • Anne-MarieA

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    nobarkusN
    @tanza: These kinds of problems are not uncommon when your Basenjis start to reach their "golden" years. You might want to try him on Dr. Dodd's liver cleansing diet. http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Liver%20cleansing%20diet.htm Many have used it and had great results regardless of what you find out the issue might be. Good Suggestion Pat as I had an older B with liver issues in 2008 and that diet brought it down into normal range.
  • barklessk9B

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    tanzaT
    You know, at his age (and in my opinion) any elder dog, the goal is to get them to eat and keep them eating… so I don't stress out about kcal's too much particularly since I use Vit Supplements.
  • ramseycleaR

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    tanzaT
    @ramseyclea: I didn't know incontinence was one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. So, I'm kind of glad to hear that. I know the weight gain and low energy level are definitely symptoms (I suffer from hypothyroidism myself). I will tell the vet to do the ful panel. Thanks for all the advice! This is such a great resource! There are many things that can be a result of low thyroid…. maybe not directly connected, but a off shoot of the condition. My OJ was loaded with hives... and regardless of what we gave him they would come back over and over... finally tested his thyroid and it was very, very low... put him on Soloxine and never another hive.... so while hives is not generally a symtom of low thyroid, the fact that it lowered immunities in other respects, hives popped up.... Not saying this is the cause... but again her age is pretty young for this problem, IMO. So best to rule out other things before moving on to hormones... and again I would still not rule out a UTI
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    wizardW
    If she's loosing hair then it sounds like it might be something more than just stress-of-an-intruder. The stray could have brought something nasty along. Maybe there's mites or something. I would take both to the vet.