Bladder infection vs. Potty training issue

[Indie & Sophie's Mom]

Just thought I would share the experience I had today in case anyone else is in the same boat. I have 2 Cairn's that are both female from the same litter (we got them at the end of July when they were almost 3 months old). Sophie was housebroken within a month, and Indie to this day is still having 'pee' accidents inside the house even with being taken out every 30-45 minutes when we are home. Indie seemed to be able to 'hold it' in the crate most days (I work about 8 hours a day but come home everyday for lunch to let them out), the peeing problem only seemed to happen when we were home. She would just squat & go with no warning signs or anything. Well I decided on Monday because of one of the threads I had read on here that it could possibly be a bladder infection, even though a lot of the signs and symptoms weren't there...she didn't seem to be in pain when she went and it wasn't just a tiny amount each time, plus she seemed to be able to hold it in the crate, etc. Well the vet confirmed today that she does have a pretty nasty bladder infection which is why she wasn't able to be housebroken. I will start her on the pills tonight and they said she should be a lot better within 3-4 days. I am relieved beyond words, not only will she start feeling better, now I realize that we were being too hard on ourselves for her not being housebroken. Just thought I would share my relief and maybe it will help someone else as well.

[oscar's mom]

Glad to hear she will be getting better soon.

[jimnconnie]

A good lesson for all of us. We shouldn't ASSUME anything regarding our dogs' health & behavior, and it's NEVER silly to take your dog to the vet if you are concerned or unable to solve a problem. I,m so glad that you got an answer to Indie's problem, and hopefully she will recover soon and the potty training will be a success. Good Luck!

[pkcrossley]

it's always a big relief to get a diagnosis, particularly something as treatable as this. hope things go real well with indie's recovery.

[RockStarz]

thanks for your post! Aislinn's been doing the same thing the past few days, and I've been torn between there being problem and her not going outside because she's not completely reliable. I'm calling my vet now.

[kayharley]

All of my Cairns had bladder infections when young and treating it helped 100% with housetraining.

It's always best to rule out any medical problems before working on what we assume to be behavioral issues....I've learned that the hard way.

[bogeymom]

Wow, Maybe I should check on that. Bridget does the same thing at 7 mos, and I really thought i was just not taking her out enough. Tho, it seems I spend most of my time in the back yard. How did they test for bladder infection?

[Indie & Sophie's Mom]

They took a urine sample. You could probably just take a sample in to your vet if you can catch it in something and take it to them right away. It really is good just to rule out anyway, that's why I did it and I didn't really think it would turn out to be a bladder infection, but it was. Thanks for everyone's posts, sounds a lot more common than I thought it was, maybe Cairn's are just more suseptible to them, especially when they are puppies.

[Brody'sMom]

Brody had a either a UTI or a bladder infection (or are they the same thing). One evening, I noticed that Brody seemed to be in pain when he urinated, but the next day he did not exhibit that symptom. We had already made the vet appointment, but we wondered if we should take him since he seemed fine. Since we rarely miss an opportunty to vet our dogs, we took him. Sure enough he had an infection.

My point in this is that Cairns are so stoic that they often don't show pain, so if you notice unusual urinating (Brody also made small puddles on the floor and bed - something he had never done), even without pain, a trip to the vet is probably warranted.