[Rudy & Theo]

I posted a message about Rudy a couple weeks back that he was starting to urinate in the house and needed to go out in the middle of the night. Right now I am awaiting test results from a second urine test (from a catheter) because the sample I brought in showed a low concentration in the urine. Rudy has not been drinking more water than usual from what I can tell. The vet said the low concentration could mean a number of things. The good thing is that his bloodwork came back normal.

Anyone else have this happen to their basset?

Thanks,
Kristen

 

[Betsy Iole]

There can be a lot of stuff in urine; without knowing specifically what's low, it's hard to guess what your vet may be thinking. Maybe he meant a measurement called specific gravity, which provides an overall estimate of the concentration of all substances in the urine. If so, specific gravity is influenced by the amount of fluid consumed and overall hydration status. Low specific gravity can also be seen with several diseases that affect the kidneys' ability to concentrate urine.

Another thought is that maybe the original specimen wasn't suitable for culture to rule out a urinary tract infection, which was why your vet needed to collect a second specimen in the office.

The normal blood work is good news. Here's an article that discusses some causes of increased urination in pets.

Too Much In and Too Much Out: The Problem of Excessive Thirst and Urination.

[ August 18, 2004, 10:47 PM: Message edited by: Betsy Iole ]

 

[Rudy & Theo]

Thanks for the article. The urine turned out to be normal, no growths. The vet wants me to watch and measure his water intake for the next 24 hours which means I need to separate Rudy from Theo. They hate to be separated so I expect to hear alot of whines in the next day.

 

[Soundtrack]

About a year and a half ago I notice that Spot was drinking and urinating a lot. He will drink so much that his abdomen will swell considerably. The vet checked him out and found nothing abnormal in his blood or urine, except that his urine wasn't very concentrated. She said that some dogs seem to get into the habit of drinking a lot. We just ran tests again, prior to surgery, and his results are still normal 18 months later, so I guess it's nothing major in his case.