needle in bladder for culture?

[yogi53]

Hi Guys,

As you may know, Yogi is 5 1/2 months old and since we have had her she periodically getts "leaky pee-pee" She is fully housebroken and has been for quite sometime...she will go to sleep and drip urine..I have watched it...drip, drip, drip...it makes her leg and butt wet and leaves a lovely wet spot on the carpet or her bed....doesn;t happen every day may 1-2 times per week...I went to the vet who took a urine sample and called to say (she never actually saw her) her urine was very clean, no bacteria and no blood) but very high white blood count indicating an infection of some sort...calvamox for 10 days...she leaked once in 10 days (that I know of) and off for a week and she leaked again on Sunday...vet want to take a needle into her bladder wall for a clean sample....is this dangerous? They originally said to come in tonight and a vet tech would perform the needle thing....because I have no idea what the needle entails and without any sort of exam I was adamnat about having her seen by the DOCTOR and if necessary the DOCTOR perform the needle thing...now, who knows what about the needle? Routine? Am I overreacting? She sees the doc tonight at 9---my regular vet is on vacation....help...

[frontierrots]

It's pretty common but yes a Vet should do it!

White cells do indicate infection, and I've seen serious subclinical (lab results negative or barely positive) require 4 to 6 WEEKS of Clavamox to eliminate them and the symptoms

[2rotties2luv]

Jazz had this done one time when it was suspected he had a bladder infection. It was very quick, and didn't seem to hurt - in fact, the procedure didn't seem to bother him one bit. And there were no after effects.

[yogi53]

I guess that is exactly what I was worried about..after effects..could something go wrong and leave her with a bladder problem forever...ok you 2 made me feel better...its pretty routine but ok that I insisted on the vet..i will let you know what happened when I get home...

[ArwensMom]

Arwen gets this done pretty frequently and as I am a vet tech I am often the one holding her. She doesn't even seem to notice, nor do any of the several dogs I hold for this procedure every day. They are put on their backs in a padded trough and we put the ultrasound on their belly so we can see the bladder, and in goes the needle. It only takes seconds and is very safe . . . plus the sample is sterile so there is no doubt if something pops up in there. Techs do do it at our hospital, but only if everything is fairly straight forward. Believe me, there are no heroics; if they do not feel comfortable, the doctor is called in on it. And I have never seen a dog have negative side effects from this, except maybe that they have to shave the belly.

[yogi53]

thanks Arwensmom, I had such a bad experience tonight at the vet...I wasn't saying the tech was incompetant I was just being worried as I have never met this vet before and they had nver even seen her for an office visit..just a series of voice mails..so I was very unsure about the procedure and wanted to first talk to the vet and understand it more before having it done - it turned into a huge nightmare and maybe I am overacting...I posted a new thread to detail the experience...the vet tech even gave me some smart remarks about reputable breeding of rotts and she is sure that it would be impossible to find a well bred rott...hrmmp! Your post definately gave me more information and reassurance than I received in an hour 1/2 visit at the vet tonight..........they ended up letting her jump and she peed on the floor and that is the sample they are using after all that

[hmeadq]

I don't think you are over reacting. I'd be fuming as well!