Question:
Kenna my 3 year Lab mix is a rescue ,so I don't know her health history.From the time I got her she has been leeking . The 1st visit to the vet they said she has bacteria in her urine. She was put on Clavamox for 2 weeks.She leeked 1 time in those 2 weeks, as soon as the Clavamox was finished she started to leek again.The 2nd visit to the vet they said she had the same amount of bacteria in her urine as the 1st time and put her on Clavamox for another 28 days.What else could be causing this and is there any other ways to treat this besides antibiotics?

Answer:
It could be "bed wetting"... Have you tried Propalin? Some spayed females don't have enough estrogen. The estrogen helps control the bladder muscles, and without it, the doggy starts leaking. Jemma has it and she gets DES pills for it (hot pink estrogen pills).

There are some side effects of Propalin, and the major baddie of the DES pills that turns people off is irreversible bone marrow suppression (not good), but it's very rare. I haven't tried Propalin on Jemma because I'm fairly convinced that the confidence boost she gets from the estrogen pills would not occur with the propalin (propalin's not hormonal..). She comes running when I shake the pill bottle.

The way we treated Jemma in the beginning was a pill a day for a week, then a pill every two days for a week, then every three days, etc, until we got her to once every 2 weeks. Over the years, we've adjusted her and she gets a pill a week now and is always confident and clean.

Answer:
It might just be that the bacteria aren't sensitive enough to Clavamox for the drug to clear the infection. For stubborn UTIs, we've sometimes had to try a couple antibiotics to find one that works. The only way to be sure an antibiotic will work is to culture out the urine and see what antibiotics kill the bacteria that grow.

You might want to ask your vet about switching to a different antibiotic--like Baytril, for instance. Or ask to have a culture done so you know exactly what you're dealing with.

I'd take care of the bacteria first, then try the DES or the phenylpropanolamine if the dribbling continues after that. Good luck, Lori...I hope Kenna is better soon

(And welcome to the forum. )

Answer:
Thanks for the info.I will be calling my vet tomorrow with the suggestions .This is my first female dog so I know nothing about this.Hazelrunpack I read you have 6 English Setters . I work for a boarding kennel and my boss helps with transports and boarding of English Setters. We have 3 at the kennel right now.Thanks for the welcome.Lori

Answer:
Yep, 6. We have a 'thing' for them, I guess... Actually, we're sort of setter crazy....

What kind of transports? You mean like for rescued dogs going to their new homes?

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The English Setters are rescues mainly from the south . A lot of them stay with us at the kennel until the rescue group can find them foster homes or they are adopted . It is a real shame for them they are really nice dogs .Some of them have issues but I would too if I was mistreated .

Answer:
My vet has suggested a urine culture to find out exactly what kind of bacteria we are dealing with . Her appointment is Friday . My vet also said Kenna could have a deformed urinary tract . How about that news! I lost my awesome 8 year old Chocolate Lab (Dakota) to cancer in February . Now here we go again with enormous vet bills , but I will do what it takes to make her better. Just my luck .

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I hope it's nothing too serious. Aw.

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Thanks Prin . Kenna looks like your dogs . She's 72 pounds , black , beautiful and full of energy.

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I hope it's nothing more than a semi-stubborn UTI and antibiotics will take care of it

We've got a couple of rescued setters...they're such sweet dogs, even with their hurdles to overcome.

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I work with a rescue group (Quebec Golden Rescue) and recently we were contacted by someone who wanted to surrender their old dog. He had a condition called Ectopic Ureter. Basically he has complete control of his bladder however some urine manages to get past the bladder and leaks out because of a malformation. He has had surgery to correct it and tried different medications but will still occasionally leak urine. Apparently dogs with this condition are prone to infections as well although the guy I was contacted about has never had one.
This condition seems to be more common in breeds such as Goldens, Labs and Huskies according to what I have read.

Answer:
My vet did say something about an ectopic ureter . I hope not but I guess it is possible. Kenna goes to the vet Friday for tests so I hope to find something out Monday or Tuesday. That's GREAT that you work for a rescue, there's not enough people volunteering to help these animals.

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