Took Plato to the vet today, he may need surgery?

[plato23]

On top of the reason I brought him there this morning which is he didn't eat his breakfast and seemed to have trouble peeing this morning(he was spot peeing), his stomach was gurgling as welll, I now need to collect a urine sample by myself with a cup. This morning he pee'd in the house AFTER going out for the morning when he woke up, pooped 4 times when he did go out and the last 2 times were almost water, not watery, looked like mucus or water. He isn't lethargic at all. They were going to do this with a catheter but when they peeled back the skin of his penis, he had an infection which looked like a pus discharge of sorts, but the Doc said was normal but he couldn't do the catheter because he would definitely get either a UTI or bladder infection if he did. The vet also said that he doesnt need an antibiotic for the infection since its common. They also recommended a ultrasound to check his bladder or for something to do with urine, they didn't reommend it to check his belly they recommended it for the purpose of collecting a urine sample which I don't understand, but I told them no because they wouldn't let me be in the room with him during it since they'd have to put him on his back. This is when they prepared the catheter, as a second choice. They told me not to feed him for 24 hours because his stomach was upset about something, and get them the urine sample asap.

The other and more serious(maybe) matter they mentioned is that his incisors(canines maybe, im not sure, the corner teeth on the bottom) are growing in on top of his baby teeth which are not gone yet and supposedly look like they are not coming out. The adult teeth are growing in behind the baby teeth. They vet said within 2 weeks Plato should have surgery that will remove his baby teeth so his permanent teeth don't grow into the roof of his mouth and lock his jaw. Is this common? Should I be worried? How much does this cost?

Any help is greatly appreciated, I am really worried. He is sleeping on the floor next to me right now, I guess hes just tuckered out from the car ride. It is so frustrating cause I can't make him feel better, I feel so powerless. God he is goign to be starving since he can't eat, I feel so bad :(

[BostonRott]

It is not at all uncommon to have the adult canines coming in alongside the puppy ones. Did you get Plato from a breeder and can you ask him/her about teething with regards to their bloodline? Some lines it's very common to have teeth doubled for awhile, others, they say the teeth pulled.

I would wait a bit and not rush to surgery. If the lower canine teeth are "inside" (Meaning medial, or towards the centerline of the jaw.....like where the tongue attaches on your own lower jaw) the upper canines, then yes, there can be a problem with them running into the upper palate and altering the growth of the lower jaw. However, this is more common with the puppy teeth first, and if you didn't see it with them (and your vet would have noticed it by now), then it's probably NOT going to be an issue with the adult teeth.

I would NOT have work done on a dog's teeth without a veterinary dentist consult. I'm lucky to have a veterinary dentist as one of the 5 docs in my clinic, so if I have teeth questions, I don't have to go somewhere else. However, were that not the case, I'd be getting a consult before pulling teeth!

[plato23]

I called UPenn when I got home cause I live in Philly and it is really close, and spoke with a nurse from dentistry. She told me not to worry too much and basically what you said. I am going to set up an appointment with them and should be able to get in to see a dentist in 2-3 weeks. I just hope he gets over this stomach problem right now. Thanks BostonRott.

[plato23]

The bottom canine teeth are growing in inside of the baby teeth, meaning closer to his tongue if looking right at him. The top canines are growing in behind and slightly to the side of his baby canines.

I got an appt for July 13th at UPenn to see a veterinary dentist but the Dr. said she will try to squeeze me in if theres any cancellations beforehand. There is also a vet dentist at St. Josephs, which is also very close to me. I am going to try there as well.

I am more distraught about the fact that I cannot feed him for 24 hours than anything else. I also did not see why they didnt give him any antibiotic at all since he had the infection, I mean, what is it going to hurt? I may switch vets after today, not happy at all.

[rencook]

They probably did not put him on anitboitics for 2 reasons-1. they need to read the UA to determine what kind of infection he has, and 2. if he has an upset stomach, giving him any antibiotics will make it worse.
I have a girl that always eats dumb stuff, and last week she ate something dead-stomach wasen't very good and she had bad diarrhea-so I withheld food for 24 hours too-it does make a difference and lets them get everything out of their system. After that I introuduced a bland diet for the next few days, then slowly added her food back in-she recovered fine-you'd be surpirsed how tough their stomach are.
I'd definitly get that urine sample in ASAP!!

[BostonRott]

If they're that worried about UTI, they need to do a cystocentesis (draw the urine out through the bladder wall, via a needle....think amniocentesis, but through the bladder, not the uterus). This will give them a sterile sample to look at, and any bugs found are things that shouldn't be living in the bladder.

I know my vet would have started my dog on something, and then if the culture was run and another drug needed, switched them over.

With regards to the not eating, don't worry. Dogs regularly fast in the wild, and many who feed a raw diet fast their dogs once a week. It's NOT going to hurt him.

However, if you're not comfortable with the treatment, definitely seek a new vet.....no reason to make your self unhappy by always second-guessing the doc.

From what you describe, it sounds like the teeth are coming in perfectly normally.