Advice Needed

[Grecs80]

I have a six year old Jack Russell Terrier, male, not fixed. All shots up to date minus this years shots. About seven months ago I noticed that Max (his name) started having accidents in the house. Urine wise. He is fully house trained and never had issues like that before. I also noticed that when he'd pee outside, that a little bit of blood was coming out at the end. He also urinates once and then lifts his leg but nothing comes out. He ends up standing there with his leg up for awhile. He doesn't appear to be in pain. I have to take him out every couple of hours or else he'll have an accident. Each time I take him out he urinates for about 10 seconds, and then stops but he keeps his leg up like he's still urinating and sometimes a bit of blood comes out.

I took him to the vet and brought in a urine sample. The vet said he noticed white blood cells in his urine and he prescribed some antibiotics. They didn't help, sadly. I lost my job and money has been extremely tight. I haven't been able to afford vet bills (Ontario, Canada) as they're extremely expensive here. I got into contact with an animal support group who had me give Max some 'silver water' for awhile and some Clavamox (only two tablets though as it wasn't a prescription and it's not an over the counter drug). Still no result.

Basically I'm at the point now where I need to get him treated. I'm worried about what it could be and and I feel extremely bad that I've left it untreated for so long.

I'm looking for any tips or information that could help me. What could it be? What are the risks and can it be something serious? As I said, he doesn't seem to be in pain, he's still his playful self and everything else is normal.

I guess I should add that I also have a three year old female Jack Russell as well, but she's fixed. He doesn't try to mate with her, at least not that I'm aware of. She's healthy and doesn't have the same issue.

This all seems to have started in March, after I took my dogs on a long trail hike. I noticed Max was urinating quite a bit that day, because he likes to mark on his walks. I was worried when he was drinking from the lake, because he was drinking from some puddles that had been sitting after the tide washed out. I was worried about bacteria, but that could just be me trying to connect unrelated pieces of this puzzle. I explained that to the vet and he didn't seem to concerned by it, but I just don't want to leave any details out.

I appreciate any info or advice.

Thanks!

[Karen]

I have no advice, but you could try calling other vets in the area, and seeing what they could suggest over the phone, and whether or not he needs to be seen.

Unless it was a concentrated dose, two tablets of Clavamox probably were not enough, usually antibiotics need to be taken consistently for a period of time to take effect.

[Jessika]

Karen is correct - two doses of Clavamox is not enough to fix a potential UTI. We normally prescribe it for 7-10 days. Taking antibiotics sporadically and not for the full length of time they are needed to be taken can end up causing bacteria to become resistant.

Have they taken X-rays? Since the antibiotics originally prescribed didn't seem to fix the problem, it could just be a very persistant UTI, or it could be bladder stones.

Another very small possibility, since you say he is intact, is an issue with his prostate.

In any case, the ONLY solution to your problem is another visit to the vet. I understand money may be tight, but a UTI can be VERY uncomfortable for your pet. Maybe call your vet and explain your situation; some vets will accept payments if you're a client in good standing with the clinic. There is also the option of care credit too.

Good luck, and please keep us posted.