Did neutering affect dog's bladder?

Dr. Marie replied:

I am so sorry I did not reply to you last night. I forgot to turn off my online status when I went to bed! I have completely refunded your money for your question but you are still free to converse back and forth as if it was a paid question.

Regarding Lucky, it is very unlikely that there was damage done during the neutering. The incision is made just in front of the scrotum and really goes nowhere near the bladder. I have once seen a vet that accidentally cut into the urethra during a neuter surgery, but this is extremely uncommon. Given that Lucky had bladder problems before his surgery there is likely something else going on that is causing these issues.

It is relatively uncommon for a young dog like this to have repeated bladder problems. You may want to ask your vet about the possibility of a bladder defect such as an ectopic ureter. (For more information on this condition, you can read this answer here: ectopic ureter in dogs.

In that question it was a female, but the same thing can happen in males. It may be that one of the ureters partially empties into the urethra rather than the bladder. When this happens dogs can leak urine and can be prone to repeated infections.

It's also possible that he has bladder stones. Bladder stones are not common in young dogs but can happen.

Or, it's possible that his bladder infection was caused by a resistant strain of bacteria that needs a special type or combo of antibiotics to get rid of.

Unfortunately he's probably going to need some more tests. If this was my case I would be recommending a few things. First, I would want to do another urinalysis to see if there is evidence of infection or crystals (which could mean a bladder stone). I would likely want to take an xray to look for bladder stones. I would also be sending urine to the lab to culture to determine if there is an unusual type of infection. Another test I would consider is something where we inject a dye intravenously and then take an xray of the kidneys and bladder. This is to determine if there is an ectopic ureter.

It sounds like a lot of work, but unfortunately it doesn't sound like this is a simple problem that he has.

I hope that helps and again, I'm so sorry that I wasn't online for you last night.

Dr. Marie.

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