I tested sammy's urine this morning & it does not look good

[krisknr]

Not all day it might get gross. A couple of hours in between meals and at meals. You should ask your vet how much he should be drinking. A total of a 1/2 a cup a day just doesn't sound right. Dark colored urine is a sure sign of dehydration. I would try to get him to drink at least an 8oz cup in a days time

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by elle57

you mean leave down low sodium chicken broth for him to drink all day?
there is always water down , i have 4 cats who drink all day.

what i have been doing is putting a little low sodium organic chicken broth from whole foods an putting a dash of that in kibble with water and heat in micro for 15 sec then strain and feed to demi for her after her dental for 2 weeks as her bun was high and shows sign of dehydration on blood work so i give her the broth that way to make her more thirsty - you may want to use regular broth with more sodium to make more thirsty so if she still does not have a good urine test this next time i am using regular organic broth and see if that works. I would not put it in water and leave out as i would think that would go bad

[dwerten]

also you may want to use spring bottled water rather than tap water and change it twice a day to entice water drinking and i have been using figi water lately as they are so small that they really do not drink that much and that is the best water

[elle57]

well, he drinks 1/4 cup 2x's a day of water. thats mixed in his food. i do give him brita filtered water and i also have a filter for the water at my sink. we do not drink tap water. is that not good enough? i dont care about buying water, all i want is him to be healthy.
i asked about a bile acid test and they said it can be done 2 ways, with urine, which is not that great or blood which is more accurate. price ranged from 60.00 to 100.00 for the tests.
do you think i should get the blood one done. he has never had that test before.

[Yorkieluv]

If you're going to have a bile acid test done, definitely do the blood test...Make sure it's sent out and not done "in-house."

If you're concerned about his water intake, I would not add anything salty as that could actually cause other problems. Maybe feed 3x/day instead of 2 and add more water to each of the feedings.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

If you're going to have a bile acid test done, definitely do the blood test...Make sure it's sent out and not done "in-house."

If you're concerned about his water intake, I would not add anything salty as that could actually cause other problems. Maybe feed 3x/day instead of 2 and add more water to each of the feedings.

do you think it is a good idea to get the bile acid test done. even though i do not see any problems except for his urine. what exactly does the bile acid test show ?
thanks for your time

[Yorkieluv]

Sometimes, the only apparent symptom of liver issues is urinary problems...Does your baby have a history of UTIs or crystals or protein in the urine? A bile acid test is very sensitive to liver function. If you're concerned, then go ahead and have the test done.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Sometimes, the only apparent symptom of liver issues is urinary problems...Does your baby have a history of UTIs or crystals or protein in the urine? A bile acid test is very sensitive to liver function. If you're concerned, then go ahead and have the test done.

he has never been tested for urine or anything else.
i do a home urine test and it showed a trace of protein in his urine. he never had a problem with uti, and crystals , i dont know, since it was never checked. i will have a blood test on tues for bile acid. i just was concerned since i tested him and the protein was there and plus his urine stinks so bad. i have been making him drink and i tried the sodium free beef broth, he did not like it at all. i will try the chicken broth.
do you know what type of symptons would indicate liver problems?
i am so worried about him.

[Yorkieluv]

Why don't you have a urinalysis done to check his urine on Tuesday when you take him into the vet if you're concerned about that? If he had protein in his urine, it would be a good idea to have his urine checked.
What makes you worried about your baby? Is he a picky eater? Does he drool? Exhibit odd behavior a few hours after meals? Have bad reactions to shots? etc?

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Why don't you have a urinalysis done to check his urine on Tuesday when you take him into the vet if you're concerned about that? If he had protein in his urine, it would be a good idea to have his urine checked.
What makes you worried about your baby? Is he a picky eater? Does he drool? Exhibit odd behavior a few hours after meals? Have bad reactions to shots? etc?

well i had bought the home testing, because i thought his pee looked a little gold color, plus he peed at my daughters house and his pee really smelled bad, not that pee smells good, so when he peed i smelled it myself and she was right,. it does not even smell like pee. so the home test it showed up with alot of the things to check off as being off. his bilirubin was off, plus the protein. his glucose was negative.
no, he is not picky, he eats like a horse, every last bit of it and everything i give him. no he does not drool or exhibit odd behavior after eating. no he has not had bad reaction to shots, even though i gave him the lepto, after the vet talked me into it. i am not going to give it to him again after all i read about it.
i homecook for him, but the supplements are making me crazy. the healthy powder makes him itch. i just dont know whta to do with the food part.

[elle57]

hi, i am going to take sammy tomorrow morning to the vet to get his urine checked. i am going to ask the vet about bile acid testing with bloodwork, i have read that i will have to fast him first andd then take him back after he eats. does anyone know how this test works?
thanks
and please say a prayer for sammy that his urine test is normal.

[Yorkieluv]

A fast is not necessary according to the inventor of the bile acid test, although a lot of vets still do this. If your vet wants you to, you can fast her overnight and bring her in to the vet's office first thing in the morning. Then, they will draw blood, feed her, then two hours later, draw blood again.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

A fast is not necessary according to the inventor of the bile acid test, although a lot of vets still do this. If your vet wants you to, you can fast her overnight and bring her in to the vet's office first thing in the morning. Then, they will draw blood, feed her, then two hours later, draw blood again.

thank you very much

[Yorkieluv]

You're welcome

[Ellie May]

If he is an average sized Yorkie (4-7 pounds) with no health issues, he is getting "more than plenty" of water a day.

Dogs need somewhere around 1 ounce of water per pound a day (give or take depending on the situation and the dog). Ellie is 6 pounds, so I would like her to drink at least 6 ounces per day. There are 8 ounces in a cup, so she should probably have around 3/4 cup of water. She eats homecooked food. Homecooked or wet food is usually around 75% moisture. Ellie eats around 1 cup of food per day. If 75% of that is moisture, that would be 3/4 cup of moisture. Her needs are met without me giving her any extra just by her food. She is not a big drinker and used to go days without drinking because she was being satisfied with her food. It would be okay and maybe even good to supplement with some water but 1/2 cup extra a day is quite a bit. With all that water there is no way his urine should be that dark. I would definately get him checked. A bile acids test is always good to do.

If you want to feed dog food and price isn't an object, I like Evangers canned personally.