but wait. there's more...

In August, she had another kidney profile before her DOCP shot, and everything looked good – I was to keep her at 4cc’s per month. Her urinalysis showed good concentration, and good levels – her kidneys probably had very little damage from the infection. Good news all ‘round and again I breathed a little easier.

I had a dog camp in September with the husky boys, and the 2nd night in, pup had an accident - incontinence when she sleeps. I know now she should have had some pred before the boys came, because of the increased activity. She had a small barf the 3rd day..

She barfed a couple of weeks later, right before the shot, and again a few days later. I was told that this is actually a common sign in the first year or so of being on DOCP, so long as it’s not every day and seems to get better after a bit. Always, ALWAYS check with your vet if you have ANY concerns at all about your dog’s behavior. ALWAYS.

In October, her incontinence accidents were more frequent, maybe every 10 days or so. I called Dr. M and she gave me a prescription of PPA. These came in “delicious chewable tablets” that pup refused to eat, so I had to shove them down her throat. A few weeks later, she was also put on DES, which is an estrogen replacement.

The first week of November, she had an evening of multi-squatting, so to the vet again, and when they ultrasounded to find her bladder, they found stones. That familiar anxiety came back, that “ what is she going to have to endure to fix it this time?” worry cloaked me. X-rays were scheduled, and they seemed to be of struvite. A special diet for pup, and back in 4 weeks.

The S/D diet can dissolve struvite stones, so that other procedures wouldn’t be necessary. As they dissolve, it’s possible that bacteria from earlier infections, trapped in the layers of stone, can be released and cause another infection. This froze my heart – I was terrified she would get re-infected with the tenacious strain, and the Amikasen wouldn’t work, and I would lose her. I cried a lot.

It was time for her follow-up x-ray to see if the diet had dissolved anything. There was no change, therefore the stones weren’t struvite and they had to be calcium oxylate. She got to go back on her regular diet, and we waited for the procedure in a few weeks.

We watched her every move while she was outside – any indication of blockage would mean an ER visit. She didn’t have her usual energy, and moved gingerly. Soon she started having blood on her rear leg fur after her potty breaks. Sometimes the DES can make the dog go into estrus, and I thought it was just that. Then I realized that she no longer has a uterus, so she couldn’t have estrus! I took her in for a UC and yep, another bladder infection. I was so frightened that it would be the old vicious bug. Luckily, this one reacted to a broad-spectrum antibiotic. She was on a super dose, two tablets 3 times a day, so I had to get creative with giving pills. I learned to encase them with cheese, with a quick follow-up of more cheese. She’d gulp the first pill/cheese to get to the second pill-free bit.

I knew that she was not to have any dairy, since the stones were probably of calcium, but I figured the risk was negligible at this point. i just wanted her to get her pills.