should we seek a second opinion? thoughts please

[Nico'sMom]

As some of you may know, Nico has been battling with his bladder since the middle of the summer with concurrent infections. I would really like some opinions on what you all would do-
background:
He was treated with a week of antibiotics in June, but apparently didnt fight it off fully. In the last week i noticed him having the same symptoms- very acrid urine, trouble peeing, wanting to pee all the time and drink all the time so i took him to a vet i had never been before here in Cincinnati. They gave him a shot, another week of antibiotics, and some ointment for his penile sheath. After finishing off those meds he seemed much much better.
About a week later he started having pain while urinating- he would stiffen up and cry, clearly it hurt alot. Imediately we went to our preferred vet in Indianapolis, who ran blood and urine tests and xrays for stones. The xrays came back no stones, bloodwork normal and urine cultures normal- he did note that his urine had alot of "stuff" random matter in it but nothing specificly harmful.
His diagnosis was that Nico's urethra is too narrow to allow the amount of urine that is in his bladder to get out- he never pees out all his pee it takes too long. Consequently, his bladder get very acidic and infected because he holds all that in. (the ointment for his sheath made him lick his penis raw, causing the pain when he tried to urniate) He was given a cortizone shot to ease the flow down there and three weeks of antibiotics for now. The vet's only recommendations are to get him to drink as much as possible all the time, possibly by salting his food, and to start giving him a small anitbiotic everyday to control the infection, forever. His other suggested option, as a last last resort, would be to open the urethra surgically further back where it is wider so that he can pee normally.
Off the bat, i thought this made sense because Nico was neutered very early and has always had what appeared to be a small penis. Now i am questioning possible treatments- not to mention how much the man charged me for all that- please offer any suggestions you have of what you would do, or ideas you have- several relatives have suggested getting a second opinion.

[Judi W]

Removing the penis and making an opening for the larger portion of the uretha before it reaches the penis is quite successful surgery in male cats that have cronic bladder infections and blockages. It allows the bladder to fully empty thus keeping it in a healthy condition. I would think that this same procedure would be equally successful in a dog with similar problems. If medication cannot solve the problem and it were my dog, I would seriously consider it.

[hcelsa]

I have a friend whose dog had a similar surgery (to redirect his urine so that he could void his bladder completely). In this case, he kept his penis, but his his pee comes out in a different place (forgive me, but I don't know all the details). He had to learn how not to pee on himself, and I think he sort of squats now, but he's no longer in pain, and seems quite happy.

Of course to answer your question about second opinions...of course it never hurts to have someone else look at your dog. I'd go to an actual specialist though if you're going to spend the money on a second opinion.

[Patty1231]

Originally Posted by hcelsa

Of course to answer your question about second opinions...of course it never hurts to have someone else look at your dog. I'd go to an actual specialist though if you're going to spend the money on a second opinion.

I agree with the above to see a specialist for this, not so much for the second opinion but for the surgery. Doesn't sound like medications, etc., have been very successful in alleviating this problem for him thus far.

[JJsRiley]

[i]I just want to give some (hind-sight) opinion that may help.
I recently had to lay my (very close to) 4 yr old male to rest.
He had, had "red potty" (we called it) off and on for almost 2 yrs,every test they did came up fine.."it's just a UTI" they said.But then the first of Oct.'04 he began to seem sick..like a cold or maybe allergies.We took him in and as ususal they ran tests..came back fine,the did a chest x-ray..it was fine,checked him for that fungus they can get from the soil..it came back negative.1 week later i took him in for an abdominal ultrasound......kidney's good......bladder....wait..what's?...they saw a tumer in his baldder....kept looking...saw that his liver was "moth ridden"... a few days we took him in for the u/s he was limping..like he had hurt his back paw.The vet said she was pretty positive that it was bladder cancer that had affected his liver and gone to his bones.....I was DEVESTATED!..still am....My suggestion is try to get your vet to do an abdominal ultrasound..see if they see anything.....not to say what's going on with your rottie is the same as mine... don't know if it would've changed anything...but i have heard of a few other stories that sounded like mine...chronic UTI's with tests coming back normal.....GOOD LUCK! JJsRiley

[BostonRott]

Diane's 13yr old girl Angelica also has bladder cancer and has far outlived her predicted life. I don't know what the symptoms were that caused them to find the diagnosis, but I'm sure she can fill you in.

I would take the dog next to a urologist, if you're looking for second opinions.

ALso, what are the long term effects of the antibiotics, and what are the chances that the "bug" will become resistant to the current ones, and stronger meds will be started? These are questions that I'd be asking, when balancing the meds/surgery option.

[frontierrots]

Have you EVER tried 4-6 weeks of Clavamox?? I have seen MANY UTI's that did not show up on a urine exam BUT which cleared up entirely after 6 weeks of Clavamox

I did post about Angelica's bladder cancer for reference http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=41033

[qhawkins]

Jamie, You mentioned that you were in Cincinnati and not happy with your vet. I don't know where in Cincy you are, but I can recommend a great vet clinic in Waynesville, PM me if interested.

I would go along with the recommendation to take him to a urologist, maybe at UC or OSU.