Another Finn Update

[jilbert57]

Just a thought. You put the dose in gel caps and give right prior to a meal. This does not work for all dogs however. If your dog won't eat food enzymed kibble have you tried Creon? Sorry I don't remember.

[worriedparents]

We've never tried Creon. Didn't need to pursue enzymes previously. That will be a lot of capsules because the ones we have are 1/8. Today he didn't want to eat much. I'm really hoping the Zeniquin is the reason for that since one of the side effects can be loss of appetite.

[Olesia711]

Since Zeniquin can curb the appetite maybe then call your vet to confirm what you found online and see if there is some way to address it???

I feel so bad for you as you (and Finn) have certainly been thru so much............

[worriedparents]

The zeniquin seemed to be part of the problem, because since finishing it his appetite improved. He even vomited a couple times near the end of the course. One morning he threw up after eating some bamboo leaves in the backyard (he only seeks out grass type vegetation when he has an upset stomach), and oddly enough after doing that, he ate more that day than he had for many days previously. He's a dog who can lose weight quickly.

The other thing we did was increase his Tylosin dose again. While he wasn't back into sloppy poop or anything like when we found this forum, they were different and his digestion/appetite was not like it had been prior to this UTI. He was experiencing similar symptoms to the other threads with owners dealing with upset stomachs. By being interested in food again, and without even getting into enzyme capsules he's gained a couple pounds when we weighed him on Friday. He's still more interested in beef than turkey and if we can him back onto more turkey maybe he can get down to a lower tylosin dosage again.

The weirdest thing has been the change in his incontinence. We had a couple weeks with no leaks. It's been so nice to not have to deal with the extra work of that and he's not had to wear a belly band. Freedom! He slept through the night and didn't soak himself. It was awesome. But the last couple days the dribbles are starting to slowly return and he's had wet spots on his bed pads overnight. Not sure why he improved all of a sudden after getting antibiotic treatment when he's tested negative for UTI's before and still was leaking like crazy. We'll see how long this lasts dry spell lasts. The specialists were on vacation last week, and our regular vet is on vacation this week. At least he's improving again.

[jilbert57]

I forget, had you tried low dose Proin for the incontinence?

[worriedparents]

Yes, we tried it for a week. It seemed to put him off his food and he lost weight. After a week we had to get a bladder ultrasound to see if his bladder was emptying fully on that med and the Internist didn't think it was, so switched him to bethanechol (a drug that contracts the bladder). Said he may need both but would try the effectiveness of one and then the other. It was after the catheter placement to check all of that he got the severe UTI and were dealing with that instead. Maybe it pushed bacteria into his bladder.

I'm not sure the Proin did much for him for his incontinence at the time. I'd be willing to try it again if/when we need to, but not the bethanechol, and it was a low dose too.

[jilbert57]

I recall that now. Yes, Kiya is 40 lbs and is on 25mg/day split am and pm. No problems so far, it has been 9 yrs.

[Olesia711]

Glad to hear that his appetite has improved... at least that is good news.... but not so much with the "leaking" . I feel for you. We use PROIN for my gal... she has been on it 13 years now.... but i remember the "lakes" she peed/leaked before we found a medication that would help and the cleaning up constantly was draining.

Without really knowing what is going on, just based on what you observed... it does sound like there is some sort of bacteria that has not been picked up on yet that the anti's were helping.

Last year with my Izzy, she had a UTI that had to be treated twice before the cultures determined that she was cleared.
HOWEVER.... a few months after she was cleared, she started displaying the same symptoms. So i brought her to the vet, they immediately prescribed the anti again, but said, let's just test her.... WELL.... when they tested her she clinically did not have a bacterial infection "yet"... but the vet said... knowing her recent history with the UTI's... that what they saw was kind of like a pre-UTI starting up again. Because of Izzy's recent past with UTI's the vet had no problem prescribing another course of anti's even thou clinically she did not have a UTI.

Needless to say, after the last course of anti's ...Izzy's symptoms disappeared and she has been fine since (paws crossed) and that was as of Oct 2018.

Just thought i would share................maybe helpful, maybe not.

[worriedparents]

Thanks Olesia and Jill, that is helpful. My husband and I discussed the same thing. What if this was UTI related all along, with negative tests. We feel terrible we let it go through the month of Dec because we were busy and thought it was sphincter related. Seems like a big coincidence that he's remarkably better after antibiotics.

Although I think I did read if it is a sphincter issue, it can wax and wane too. We plan on getting another urine sample tested this week when our vet returns. I'm curious to see what he says about the leaking stopping so suddenly. Finn's weird, look at his Tylosin usage, some dogs only need 45 days to clear up SID, wow, not him.

I am having the same issue with my mother again and taking her to the doctor tomorrow. Shows all the symptoms of UTI but sometimes (many times) it doesn't test positive for one and I'm left scratching my head what else it could be.

Finn's back to eating as much if not more than he was before starting the Proin. Hope that will pack on a few pounds for him. Glad to hear the Proin worked, and it may for him too if we need to try again. It least we are armed with more info this time. The big leaks are not fun. Definitely do not miss those and the extra cleanup.

[jilbert57]

So glad to hear Finn is eating good. Hopefully it was a UTI and all is well.
I am sorry to read your Mom is having issues. They can be so frustrating. (UTI)