I don't like when my dogs have urine taken by catheter. I prefer all urine to be taken via ultrasound guided cystocentesis.

I use blue for puppies and adult, haven't noticed changes in pee at all. They seem to be OK.

I have never heard of this & my vet's office probably doesn't even have this! It sure sounds not as painful as a catheter:( & more sterile...does taking the urine out via UGC result in a more accurate test?

I don't see how poking the dogs bladder with a needle to draw out urine can be considered "noninvasive" nor how it can be safer or less painful than an in & out cath. I think the risks of this would seriously outweigh the risks of an in & out cath. I could be wrong about the procedure, but a paracentesis is poking the abdomen with a needle and a pericardiocentesis is poking the pericardial sac of the heart with a needle, so it stands to reason that a cystocentesis is poking the bladder with a needle...:(

This ultrasound guided cysto is also the way my clinic goes about gettinf a sterile sample.
There are many urine test however that do not require sterile urine. We had sterile specimen containers we caught it in.
But for a few of the test it must be sterile and then thats when we used the cystocentesis way. Very quick, much less painful. Passing a catheter can be very uncomfortable and cause alot of irritation to the dog.
However the cysto urine sample can show a tiny amount if blood sample from poking the needle in.
For a regular u/a the best way is free catch , catching in a sterile container. This way you know if blood is present that its for real.
This is how my clinic does it anyway:)
Its interesting to see the way different clinics and drs practice. :thumbup:

Have you ever watched a urine catheter be placed?

Gracie has been on a grain free raw diet for about a year and a half without any increase in peeing. I have never seen anything about Evo so I'm not familiar with that discussion.

I think my concern with increased peeing would be possible stones in the bladder. Maybe discuss that with your vet the next time you are there.

There are grain free foods available with lower protein content. It's great that he lost weight on his current food. If he is actually doing fine on it then it would be good if he could continue it.

I made an appt for Monday with the vet. Since he is now considered a "senior", they want to see him every six months. So since I didn't go for his first 6 month visit in Nov., I'm just taking him in two months early for his regular yearly. He is acting completely normal except for the peeing. He gets up around 6:30 or 7am, goes out and pees a couple squirts, poops, then races around waiting for treats until Daddy leaves for work. Shortly after he leaves, he has to go pee. Sometimes again for another long one within the hour. Then after that, he's just normal until after dinner time, and "begging time". Then when we sit down for the evening to watch tv or read, the urgent need to pee begins. Sometimes 3 or 4 times of frantic requests to go out over the next hour or two until he finally zonks out. I'll take him out one last time (he never asks this time) before bed. The gal on the phone at the vets office said just based on what I'm telling her, she doesn't think its anything serious, maybe nothing at all other than age. I just hope I don't need to change his food due to the protein content. I am so happy he lost that extra pound. There are definitely two camps out on the internet about whether or not higher protein foods are harmful to their kidneys. Some even insist that as dogs age, they need higher protein to maintain muscle mass. I will take my vets advice. He is really a great vet and LOVES dogs. He takes so much time with me and answers every question. I will also ask him about UTI or anything else it could be.