A Trip to the Vet: Bladder Issues

On Wednesday morning we took Athena into the vet to get her checked for a possible UTI.  Occasionally she's been urinating in the house (something she's rarely done since the first week that we brought her home), peeing more frequently, and licking herself down there.  There have also been two instances where she wet her bed a little bit.

Under the weather Athena snuggled with me all day Wednesday!

The vet checked Athena's lady parts, conducted an ultrasound, and sent out a sample of urine to the lab for a urinalysis.  Besides a hint of green in Athena's urine (a sign of a UTI), the vet didn't notice any other problems that may be causing Athena's issues.  While waiting on the results of the urinalysis, Athena started on a 10-day antibiotic.

The results from the urinalysis came back on Wednesday afternoon and they ruled out a possible UTI.  However, the vet suspected that Athena has a case of vaginitis (a.k.a. doggie yeast infection).  She's fine to stay on the antibiotic for the remaining week, but if her symptoms continue afterward, we have been instructed to head back to the vet.

She seems to be back to her normal self now that she's on the antibiotics

Ever since we got Athena nine months ago, we've always known that her bladder isn't the strongest, but we manage by frequently taking her outside to relieve herself.  I recently read into female dog incontinence, specifically with dogs who have been spayed.  Did you know that 20% of dogs who have been spayed develop urinary incontinence?  I was shocked to read this.  I'm just hoping that Athena's current condition actually is a yeast infection and not something more serious like incontinence.

We've looked into a few different products for bladder strength and I'm wondering if anyone out there has tried any similar products.

Cranimals

This is a daily supplement powder containing cranberry extract to support the urinary tract as well as the kidneys.  Similar to humans, dog UTI's can be cured with cranberry.  We've never tried this product, but we've heard good things and are interested in testing it out in the future.

Photo via Cranimals

Easy Peesy Tea

A tea for dogs that supports normal function of the urinary tract.  We own this product and have given it to Athena only a couple of times.  She actually doesn't really like it.  I would hate for it to go to waste though, so I intend to make some tea cubes with it soon to stuff into Kongs.

Photo via Honest
 Kitchen

Has your dog ever experienced any issues with their bladder?  What remedies have you used?

An Athena Filled Weekend

This weekend was biiiiiizzzzzyyy and filled with tons of Athena related activities.  Here's a little recap of the weekend's happenings:

1.  We went on a mini-shopping spree for Athena:

If you follow us on Facebook then you already saw that Athena got a new harness over the weekend.  After not having much luck with the Holt Head Harness, we've moved on to the ever so popular Freedom No-Pull Harness.  So far Athena hasn't come home with any bloody armpits (even after her pulling and snorting race that you will read about in #4 of this post), so I'd say that things are working out fairly well with the new harness.

I was also excited to pick up a container of The Honest Kitchen's Easy Peesy Tea which I've been wanting Athena to try for a while now.  It's an herbal tea for dogs to support urinary tract health (they also make a tea for joint function and one for alleviating anxiety).

Photo via The Honest Kitchen

2.  I went to Born Again Pit Bull Rescue's Celebration du Chien Dinner and Silent Auction:

My mom and I attended a dinner and fundraiser put on for Born Again Pit Bull Rescue (they were our January Bow of the Month featured rescue) by Sellwood Dog Supply and Lili Patisserie.  Not only did we eat some delicious food and talk to lots of pittie lovers, but we also got some loot from the amazing silent auction that was held!

Photo via Born Again Pit Bull Rescue

My mom won a basket full of tea and coffee goodies as well as gift certificates for three dozen doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts (and yes, we did already get two dozen of them....don't judge).  I won Athena a little basket filled with two packages of STAM grain-free dog treats and a collar from The Collar Shop.

Thean's new pink mustache collar

3.  The weather was nice, so we did some of this...

Fun at the park!

Oh, and lots of this happened too...

4.  We attended the Portland Pit Bull Parade's February Bully Walk:

This weekend also marked the third anniversary of bully walks held by the Portland Pit Bull Parade.  Over one hundred dogs were in attendance and many dressed up in Valentine's themed costumes.  Athena of course thought that the event was specially held for her pulling and snorting purposes, but other than that, it was great to be among so many pit bull supporters and to enter the costume contest!

Photo via the Portland Pit Bull Parade

Costume contest!

Posing with our costume contest prize-- a pittie valentine!

5.  Flyball practice was super good:

Last week's Flyball practice was great, and this week was no different.  Athena was off leash more than she's ever been at a practice (even with other dogs out and about) and was very focused on us and her new tug toy that I made.  She's so interested in her tug as a reward that we are no longer treating her with food for anything at practice.  Oh, and Athena is also going on a diet starting today to help shed some of her winter flab to prevent any injuries....and because she's been eating too many treats lately ;)

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything special with your dog?