Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

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Mike da Carpenter
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Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by Mike da Carpenter » Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:38 pm

We have a 15 week old GSP, Levi, that is just getting over a bad UTI (2.5 weeks on a low grade antibiotic now 2 weeks on Clavamox). He was pretty much house trained before the UTI hit, then everything changed. He went from no accidents at 10 weeks to quite a few per day. That is what caused us to have the vet check for a UTI (read about that tip on this forum, so thank you).

Ever since he went on the Clavamox, he has developed “excitement peeing”. I don’t care if we have him out every 5 minutes, when he gets excited, he pees. Just today, we called our boys when we were 5 minutes away, so they could take him out to use the bathroom, which he did and the boys said quite a bit of pee too. Then when I got home, I made no effort to get him excited, put on his leash, took him out and he peed quite a bit again. Then he comes in our bedroom, starts getting all wound up and when I went to scratch his chest (him standing), he starts squirting all over. Took him back outside and once again, he peed quite a bit. This all took place in about 20 minutes. It’s not a one time thing, for the past two weeks, whenever someone comes in the house, he gets wound up and starts dribbling. Honestly, I don’t know how he can pee as much as he does outside, when it doesn’t seem like he drink that amount during the day.

It’s getting past the point of frustrating, and I guess I’m just looking for reassurance that this is just a phase he is going through. If you have had similar issues, what did you do to “cure” the problem?

All in all, he is a fantastic dog that is VERY intelligent. Basic obedience is a breeze with him and we have moved from voice commands to hand commands only, and he easily obeys Sit/Stay/Come/Down/Bed. Even found his first shed antler at 14 weeks and a day old (1/2 of a nice 8 point). Heck, just this morning, I asked my boys to teach him to “shake” hands, in hopes that the added mental stimulation will do something to help out, and after less than 3 minutes of instruction, he will do it on command without the use of treats to entice him. In all, we are extremely pleased with him overall, and couldn’t ask for a better puppy, but it’s just this dang pee dribbling thing that has me baffled and everyone in the house, and those who visit, torqued off.

We take in another urine sample in two days to confirm the UTI is gone, but from comparing the small amounts of pee from 2 weeks ago, to the copious amounts that he now pees outside, there is DRASTIC improvement and I do not believe a UTI is the culprit.

Thanks in advance,

Mike...and Levi
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shags
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by shags » Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:43 pm

It sounds like you might have two problems...the excitement urination and the excessive urination. For the former, try very little interaction with the dog at the most likely times for him to get worked up. No talk, no touch, no eye contact and don't let him get wound up in the house.

For the excessive peeing, how is his water consumption? Might help to limit him some for a while. My younger dog drank a lot of water and had lots and lots of output as a result. He didn't have the excitement peeing, but he peed his bed sometimes. Adding a little extra warm water to his kibble, and not refilling the water bowl every half hour helped until he matured a litle more. We had the vet check him out to be sure he didn't have some kind of medical thing going on also. Within a few months he outgrew the accidents, but he still pees like a racehorse. It's amazing.

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Fozzie's Mom
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by Fozzie's Mom » Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:36 pm

shags wrote:It sounds like you might have two problems...the excitement urination and the excessive urination. For the former, try very little interaction with the dog at the most likely times for him to get worked up. No talk, no touch, no eye contact and don't let him get wound up in the house.

For the excessive peeing, how is his water consumption? Might help to limit him some for a while. My younger dog drank a lot of water and had lots and lots of output as a result. He didn't have the excitement peeing, but he peed his bed sometimes. Adding a little extra warm water to his kibble, and not refilling the water bowl every half hour helped until he matured a litle more. We had the vet check him out to be sure he didn't have some kind of medical thing going on also. Within a few months he outgrew the accidents, but he still pees like a racehorse. It's amazing.
Yup! Ditto

The excitement dribbling *may be something he grows out of, and it may not. Is he generally a confident dog, or is he a bit on the nervous side?

He's also exhibiting excessive urination: marked by the fact that he's holding his bladder and making it outside, just urinating much and often. Oftentimes puppy food is packed full of lots of nutrients, sometimes in too high of a quantity for a particular dog. Nothing bad, just too much for some dogs. Puppies are growing, after all, and have a higher nutrient requirement than a growing dog. What food are you feeding (and quality doesn't necessarily mean anything here). Often puppies will drink excessively because they're having to filter out too many nutrients from their food. It may be worth having a diet conversation with your vet.

Mike da Carpenter
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by Mike da Carpenter » Mon Mar 05, 2018 5:43 pm

Thank you for the replies. Levi is a VERY confident dog. Honestly,I don’t believe I could be more pleased. We are feeding him Purina Pro Plan puppy focus (golden retriever puppy on the front), and he gets animal crackers for treats. Also, my wife dropped off this morning’s urine sample and the Vet called and said his UTI is completely gone. That’s was a relief to hear.

Knocking on wood as I type this next bit...Today has been good. Nobody getting him excited in the house, basically ignoring him when we all got home from school and work. Maybe it’s just a bump we had to get over. I know it’s only a day, but it’s progress.

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Fozzie's Mom
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by Fozzie's Mom » Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:08 pm

Mike da Carpenter wrote:Thank you for the replies. Levi is a VERY confident dog. Honestly,I don’t believe I could be more pleased. We are feeding him Purina Pro Plan puppy focus (golden retriever puppy on the front), and he gets animal crackers for treats. Also, my wife dropped off this morning’s urine sample and the Vet called and said his UTI is completely gone. That’s was a relief to hear.

Knocking on wood as I type this next bit...Today has been good. Nobody getting him excited in the house, basically ignoring him when we all got home from school and work. Maybe it’s just a bump we had to get over. I know it’s only a day, but it’s progress.
That's good to hear! THanks for the update!

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RoostersMom
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by RoostersMom » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:48 pm

It is just a phase, mine is still doing this at 14 months old, but less and less.

Mike da Carpenter
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by Mike da Carpenter » Fri Mar 16, 2018 8:08 am

It happened again (excitement peeing) last night...twice.

First time, he was walking between my son's legs and as he reached down to rub his sides, he started to squirt. Than again a bit later he came up and stood next to me while I was in my chair. I reached down, and rubbed his side from his rib cage to his hip and once again he squirted. He had been out 5-10 minutes prior to both instances. Looking back at all the other times I can remember, it is usually when someone was rubbing his sides. In my mind it is either a trigger point for him to squirt, or he is just very ticklish and that is the result. He can be rubbed/patted on the head, chest or neck all we want, but touch the sides and he’s done.

Has anyone had these same findings?

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Featherfinder
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Re: Please tell me this is “just a phase”...

Post by Featherfinder » Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:27 am

Mike, I think Shags has a good idea. I have a pointer pup here now of 18 weeks. Sometimes, as I let her out of the kennel, she dribbles a bit. I TOTALLY disregard it as a passing phase. I don't believe it is connected to their need to urinate necessarily but is more a stress reaction that a little maturity will address - no it is not a "problem" (other than having to clean up for now).
I monitor both food AND water intake. I also do as Shags suggested and add a small amount to her kibble, for now. This pup rarely messes in our house but, my son looked after her for a night and she peed in her kennel....TWICE!?!?
I asked him if he left water out? He said "yes". To be fair to them, they just lost a setter and that's just what they did with her all her life so....
I think you are reading too much into this. Enjoy......they grow up and get old too fast as it is, especially the good ones.

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