Cooper Has Struvite Crystals & Personal Male Problems
 

This is a little tough to talk about, but I'm sure many of you remember the lipstick thread. I woke one one morning about 2 weeks ago and Cooper was humping air. His "lipstick" was stuck in the out position. This happened 3/4 nights and off to the vet we went. It was time for his annual blood work so we did all blood work and a urinalysis. Everything came back normal except for struvite crystals. The vet did not put him on antibiotics, but we switched his food to Royal Canin SO. The vet didn't see much correlation between his erection problem and the crystals.

It's now almost 2 weeks later and he's still having erections (although not as often) when he wakes up in the morning and I have to help him. The vet thought it possible that a dog was in heat nearby, however we just moved about 5 miles away and I don't believe that's the case.

I'm going for a second opinion Thursday to a new vet who comes highly recommended. Cooper appears completely fine except for random mornings. He's eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom with no issues. He's lively and as always, full of energy.

Any input?

I don't have any input, but please know that smiley-face Cooper is in my prayers that everything will be alright.

Hate to hear this about Cooper. If that keeps happening, if there is such a thing as a veterinary urologist or a board certified internist could check him out and see if he has a small lesion growing on one of the major nerves directly/indirectly controlling his erections. Even a tiny little tumor or cyst can put pressure on and cause swelling and artificially induce stimulation. Might have to get a CT or something if it keeps happening and all else is ruled out. Hope you can get those Struvite Crystals cleared up and get to the bottom of this problem and get that boy back to his normal self.

Aw! Poor Cooper.... hope your problem gets resolved quickly.

Peek A Boo had a 'lipstick' problem a while back... upon very close examination (by me, lol), I could see that some of his hair was getting stuck to him, and prevented his pee part from retracting completely. So I lubed him up real good, and was able to get the hairs unstuck, then he got a bit of a trim. He hasn't had a problem since, and it never interfered with his cat-humping activities.

Hoping Coopie feels better soon! :D Hugs,

Thanks guys. I'm going to make sure a very thorough evaluation is done (whatever that takes). Kathy, Cooper just got groomed 3 days ago and I made sure the groomer was aware of his little problem.

Even a teeny tiny spinal or brain lesion, cell cluster, tiny injury/inflammation/swelling could be behind this but just something down there locally is far more likely. This can even happen with humans. Cooper is lucky to be in such good hands if it happens again.

Did the grooming make a difference?

One other thought: I seem to recall that anytime there are crystals found that an antibiotic is normally given. Did they find any blood in his urine? That can make the tip of the sheath a bit sticky, which could interupt the mechanics.

Can I ask what food he was eating?

The grooming did not help. They said all other tests came back fine except for the finding of crystals. He was eating Fromm.

I saw a new vet in the practice I have been going to and just wasn't that thrilled with him. I forwarded Cooper's medical records and will be seeing a new vet on Thursday.

Cooper has a great mommie! He's a lucky pup.

Good idea. Best of luck with the new vet. Let us know how it goes....:D

Always assume infection first with struvites. Antibiotics and/or a culture first. Very early to swith to a drastic diet unless stones were found.

And this is why we are trying a new vet. Thanks crystal.

Key to getting rid of crystals is to liquefy the diet...moisten kibble w/warm water, make sure he's drinking lots of water to flush out his bladder. Since Cooper is eating prescription food now, maybe you can add some canned food later to keep the struvites away...moisture is key!
I hope his lipstick situation gets sorted & he'll be ok!

Thanks Jenny. I remember reading out Momo's crystal problem. I was so surprised to hear the diagnosis though because Cooper drinks a lot of water. He always drinks after he eats and plenty through the day. It's usually Max I'm worried about.

Can you call the vet when you get a chance & ask what Cooper's pH level was? Momo's, Princess' & Turbo's (he didn't have any s.crystals) was high @ 8 & I was giving them filtered ion alkaline water which has a pH of 7.5. Dogs should have a slightly acidic pH of 5-6.5. When the urine pH is high, it can also form crystals, so I had to do everything I can to lower it. I got some Solid Gold pH strips & tested the water & their urine pH, so now they're drinking Gerber baby water which has a pH of 7 (so does regular bottled water). It probably doesn't make a huge difference, but it worked for us. I also avoided giving them any food(s) which are alkaline, like apples (most fruits & veggies)...even tho they love them.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to start completely over with the new vet and get as much info as possible.

:thumbup: What she said.

Poor little fella, that's gotta be so uncomfortable. Glad to hear you're trying a new vet, bc it seems like something is going on beyond diet here.

Marcel's gets stuck out often after he has a 'date' with his lover dog. Marcel is so little, but his man-package is HUGE, it's just plain freaky. He has his own lubricant that we sometimes have to use to get his outie back innie. Also, I make sure to leave his 'pea string' hair long enough bc sometimes you have to pull gently at that hair to get the manhood back in there.

I hope you get answers, darlin'. Kisses and hugs to the Cooper man :love:.

Just seeing this and I hope your new vet gives you answers to help Cooper.

I am here now. They are X-raying him. Waiting to hear...

Hoping to hear good news on Coop.

I'll post an update in a few hours. He doesn't have stones and may not even have crystals. But the X-ray came back unable to see his bladder due to blockage.

So sorry to hear about Cooper having issues. I only have girls but i wanted to let you know that i am concerned and hope that he feels better soon. ♥

Im just now seeing this. Im waiting on an update on whats going on with Cooper and keeping him in my good thoughts and wishes in the meantime

Ok I just got home with Cooper. My former vet did not send all the records so we were working off the info I was able to relay. We will get the records or I'll have to go to the former vet to get them. I really liked the demeanor of the new vet and the practice is also a member of AAHA.

The vet didn't believe that Cooper had struvite crystals and thought perhaps oxalate crystals. However, without the records we really don't know. She said even with struvite crystals he should not have changed his food and should have been given antibiotics. I was so glad to hear this as its the reason for switching vets.

She took an x-ray to see if there were stones. They were no stones but he was so constipated and backed up that she couldn't even view his bladder on the x-ray. She said it was definitely not a normal x-ray. I mentioned that since he switched food he hasn't been pooping as much - not even 1/2 the amount. I'm going to put him back on Fromm to see if we can get him to poop. I'm then bringing him back next week after fasting to see if they can get a better x-ray. If not, he will get an enema and an ultrasound.

The erection issue could be related or not. We won't know until further testing. She physically showed me what an erection looked like (on Cooper, ugh) and that is not at all what I've been seeing in the mornings. He's not completely exposed. It's only the red tip. We are going to rule out anything medical and then she will contact a behaviorist if need be. I said I catch him in the mornings licking himself because he's uncomfortable. She says he could be masturbating and creating the erection by licking. OMG :eek:

So we are going Wednesday. I'm dropping him off in the morning for a day at the vet.

OMG The erection issue ... you have me laughing so hard I'm crying! But seriously, a blockage? OMG... poor Coopster.... Pumpkin, green beans and exercise might help. If he starts looking bloated, I wouldn't wait a week to do an enema... Hope the boy feels better soon.

Glad to hear you like the new vet. I hope Cooper doesn't have any kind of blockage and he will do his poopies. Bentley will sometimes try to do his humpys first thing in the morning and I tell him no or have to pick him up to stop him. Anyone who thinks neutering will alleviate their urges are mistaken. At the present time I am having trouble with Bentley and diarrhea, loose stools. Keep us updated on how Cooper is coming along.

I am glad you like your new vet... and I hope you have an answer soon!!!

The licking to the point of erection was how I found out about Sammy's kidney issues. I took him in because he licked until he looked almost like he had a sore on his "area". He was xrayed etc... give an anti biotic and then we went back for blood work and found that the creatian and bun were a little elevated. Early kidney disease. I have seen diets on the stones on my yahoo groups... it doesn't seam too outlandish.

I will send a prayer that all is well

I'm sure we will get to the bottom of it. But boy was I mistaken when I thought he had a full erection. I'm so scarred from what the vet showed me:( The diet is not outlandish at all but this new vet thought it was premature to do that without further testing and really knowing if there is an underlying problem. I'll be sure to think about the kidney disease and discuss with her when I see her next week.

Cooper pooped just a little tonight. Gosh, he's usually such a good pooper. The vet also mentioned that Cooper has never had x-rays before so it's possible he's always had an issue.

OMG you don\'t even wanna know. When Jackson gets a little, uhm, happy after humping his pillow pet.... that thing has gone down the ground before! LOL, okay, maybe not that big, but it\'s honestly very close. :eek: Very disturbing! And then he walks all hunched up like \'help me\' and it goes back in within 3 minutes, but WOW it\'s disgusting, hahaha. My dog is apparently well endowed.

*ahem* with that said, I really hope Cooper is okay and it\'s not a big issue. I\'ll be looking for more updates, and thinking about him!