[DixieMae]

My Dixie Mae is 2.5 years old. Out of nowhere she has had a couple accidents while sleeping/napping. We brought her to the vet for tests. The vet said she has an elevated white blood count and lack of concentration in urine or low concentration. We did more tests and she was negative for leptospirilla, Cushings, and it's probably not related to her being spayed. I have to bring her a first morning urine and she will know more.

From everything that I have read, the only other thing it could be is kidney disease. I asked the Vet and she recommended not doing research because it will only scare me until they know more. But she is my baby and I can't help it. Does anyone know what else could cause this? I am terrified. She has no other symptoms or changes.

Also, if it is kidney disease, can she go on and still live a full life? Everything I have read says at best 4 years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[old-boots]

I don't necessarily see this as kidney disease if she really is just simply peeing in her sleep sometimes with a slightly (slightly or was is severe?) elevated white count. I had a SF Airedale that peed in her sleep for probably 8 years (was seen by the vet so, so many times and wasn't able to tolerate Proin for it bc of sensitive stomach) but she did not develop kidney disease until 12 and lived to 14 with treatment. I wouldn't jump right to kidney disease unless you are seeing elevated BUN/creatinine and/or presence of protein (albumin) in the urine. IMO with this limited information if she is spayed it could be related to that or she could have an infection ongoing. Especially after ruling out Cushing's and I'm assuming diabetes as well. Obviously it's not impossible that she is having renal issues but that's not where my mind goes in a dog so young without having more data from the lab. I'm a veterinary and human nursing assistant which is where I'm basing those thoughts off of.

 

[twyla]

Did they take a Sterile urine sample straight from the bladder called a cystocentesis, some infections cannot be detected in a a normal urinalysis.

 

[DixieMae]

I called the Vet to get more information. The diabetes test was negative as well. I forgot to include that initially. The Vet said her Gravity- not concentrating at all. The White Blood Cell count was slightly elevated, Creatine was upper limit normal and the Kidney values were upper end normal as well. Tomorrow we will do a first morning urine sample and hope that gives us more information. Thanks for your post as it made me feel a little better. Praying it isn't anything bad.

 

[DixieMae]

Did they take a Sterile urine sample straight from the bladder called a cystocentesis, some infections cannot be detected in a a normal urinalysis.

I am not sure what they called it, but they collected the sample through an ultrasound and injected a needle into the bladder if that helps.

 

[DixieMae]

I don't necessarily see this as kidney disease if she really is just simply peeing in her sleep sometimes with a slightly (slightly or was is severe?) elevated white count. I had a SF Airedale that peed in her sleep for probably 8 years (was seen by the vet so, so many times and wasn't able to tolerate Proin for it bc of sensitive stomach) but she did not develop kidney disease until 12 and lived to 14 with treatment. I wouldn't jump right to kidney disease unless you are seeing elevated BUN/creatinine and/or presence of protein (albumin) in the urine. IMO with this limited information if she is spayed it could be related to that or she could have an infection ongoing. Especially after ruling out Cushing's and I'm assuming diabetes as well. Obviously it's not impossible that she is having renal issues but that's not where my mind goes in a dog so young without having more data from the lab. I'm a veterinary and human nursing assistant which is where I'm basing those thoughts off of.

I called the Vet to get more information. The diabetes test was negative as well. I forgot to include that initially. The Vet said her Gravity- not concentrating at all. The White Blood Cell count was slightly elevated, Creatine was upper limit normal and the Kidney values were upper end normal as well. Tomorrow we will do a first morning urine sample and hope that gives us more information. Thanks for your post as it made me feel a little better. Praying it isn't anything bad.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I'll keep my fingers crossed it's just a UTI. Or if it's incontinence related to spay, that it's well-managed with a prescription.

Hugs to you and your baby. Keep us posted.

 

[old-boots]

I called the Vet to get more information. The diabetes test was negative as well. I forgot to include that initially. The Vet said her Gravity- not concentrating at all. The White Blood Cell count was slightly elevated, Creatine was upper limit normal and the Kidney values were upper end normal as well. Tomorrow we will do a first morning urine sample and hope that gives us more information. Thanks for your post as it made me feel a little better. Praying it isn't anything bad.

Hoping for the best!

 

[twyla]

I am not sure what they called it, but they collected the sample through an ultrasound and injected a needle into the bladder if that helps.

That's it.
Don't borrow trouble, you cannot worry about what you don't know for sure.
Honestly worry about it later.
The answers will come my old girl Flower had bouts of incontinence while she slept, my vet said her bladder sphincter (her words) just couldn't hold the urine back. Flower took both Proin and Incurin to keep dry.

 

[DixieMae]

I called the Vet to get more information. The diabetes test was negative as well. I forgot to include that initially. The Vet said her Gravity- not concentrating at all. The White Blood Cell count was slightly elevated, Creatine was upper limit normal and the Kidney values were upper end normal as well. Tomorrow we will do a first morning urine sample and hope that gives us more information. Thanks for your post as it made me feel a little better. Praying it isn't anything bad.

UPDATE: We gave a first morning urine sample today. The Vet just called and she is not concentrating. We need to do a first morning sample for the next three days as well as measure her water intake. Based on that, she thinks she needs to bring in Kidney Specialist to do an ultrasound on the kidneys. Can lack of concentration lead to anything besides Kidney disease? I am definitely freaking out. I don't think she drinks a lot of water.

 

[Porkchop]

My first thought was a kidney infection, but the vet probably would’ve started antibiotics if that was their concern? I really wish I had a better answer. I’m so sorry you’re going through this with your sweet puppy. I hope it’s just a short term problem with a simple solution. Sending love and healing energy to your Dixie Mae.

 

[twyla]

UPDATE: We gave a first morning urine sample today. The Vet just called and she is not concentrating. We need to do a first morning sample for the next three days as well as measure her water intake. Based on that, she thinks she needs to bring in Kidney Specialist to do an ultrasound on the kidneys. Can lack of concentration lead to anything besides Kidney disease? I am definitely freaking out. I don't think she drinks a lot of water.

The quick answer is yes, but unlikely. You cannot worry about things you don't know are true.
Start keeping a diary
Water intake
What you feed, when
And how many time your dog pees.
Dogs with kidney disease pee a lot and frequently,
Doing this help you take control and be able to answer any questions a vet may have.
My old dog Flower was kidney deficient but not in failure her last few years.
A kidney diet is key.
My toy Beatrice was diagnosed with early stage chronic kidney and urinary tract disease when she was 4 yrs old, she has inexplicable bouts of incontinence when she slept.
Right now she pees every two hours.

Before you try to ask a ton of questions I do not have the answer to, Beatrice was diagnosed with a incredibly rare type terminal cancer Lymphangiosarcoma at age 5, so right now I make sure she gets plenty of fresh water, she is on a GI diet, the kidney diet just gave her wicked diarrhea.
There is a Facebook group for dogs with kidney disease, they were incredibly helpful some members there had dogs living 9 years post diagnosis.
Just be patient and wait until you see the specialist and get the results, it all takes time. It truly sucks to wait and not know.

 

[DixieMae]

Update Again-

We did the urine sample for three days and she is still not concentrating her urine at all. She also is not drinking more than the normal amount of water. Based on that, the Vet thought there was a good chance she may have Addison's Disease. She did the ACTH test and more labs and it came back negative. Her tests otherwise are all normal. Her Kidneys are upper level normal as well as Creatine is upper level normal.

The Vet is now bringing in a specialist to do an Ultrasound on her kidneys Wednesday. We are also measuring her water intake. The Vet doesn't want to say anything for sure, but said it can't really be anything else besides Kidney Disease at this point. She has ruled everything else out. This is such sad news for us. I am just praying it is something that can be managed and she can still live a full life. She isn't even 3 yet.

I keep reading the symptoms of kidney disease and outside of her Urine not concentrating, she doesn't have any other symptoms. Hopefully that will mean she is in the early stages. Not the news we were hoping for.

 

[twyla]

Hang in there, try not to worry too much, not easy I know. Wait to see the specialist. Live in the now, love your pup now and enjoy them now, the rest well will sort itself out.
When I found our my Beatrice had kidney disease, I was sad at the thought she would only have 4 years, reading the same stuff you are.
Roughly a year later I found out Bea had terminal cancer, maybe had a few months well we are 10 1/2 months post diagnosis. Sometimes things turn out different not text book.

 

[DixieMae]

Thank you. And I am so sorry about Bea. I will keep you both in my thoughts and pray that you have a lot more time together.

 

[twyla]

Thank you, Beatrice has taught me a lot about living in the last 10 months

 

[Porkchop]

Thank you for the update. I hope that Dixie Mae still has lots of time and love left.

 

[DixieMae]

Diagnosis-
Dixie had an ultrasound today and they diagnosed her with mild kidney disease. We need to have her levels tested in 3 months to see if the treatments help. We won't really know staging until then, but she said it is mild because none of her other levels are affected at this point. Very sad, as I don't know what this means. She is not even 3 yet. I just wanted to update for anyone in a similar position who may read this.

 

[Asta's Mom]

Happy that it is a mild case - good treatment and your love are what's needed now. Holding you with thoughts and prayers.

 

[Mfmst]

Hugs! This has been a lot of anxiety for you and discomfort for poor Dixie. Hoping that it can be managed with diet and medications. Keep up updated.