Increased thirst and urination.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hmmm...this is a bit of a tough question. Let me give you my thoughts on what you have written.

It sounds like your vet is treating Molly for USMI. You can read more about this here: USMI in dogs.

This is really common in spayed females as they get older. However, there are a few things that don't quite fit with USMI here. USMI shouldn't cause Molly to want to drink more. Additionally, it shouldn't cause urine to leak out while she is walking. That is quite unusual.

Did the vet tell you if she had a normal specific gravity? This is the number that tells us how well the kidneys are concentrating the urine. Usually, if there is a condition that is causing a dog to drink more and urinate more, then we will see that the urine is dilute. However, you've mentioned that the vet said that the urine was normal, so I am definitely puzzled.

Now, it still is possible that this is USMI. Some dogs need to be on Proin three times daily in order to be controlled, so you can talk to your vet about increasing the dose.

The other types of conditions that I can think of that would cause these symptoms are all quite rare. It's possible that there is a neurological issue with the bladder, possibly because of a back problem. BUT, this wouldn't cause her to drink more. It's also possible that there is a bladder tumor which is affecting the bladder's ability to stay closed. However, once again this wouldn't cause her to drink more.

If this were my case, the next step I would probably take would be to culture the urine. This is where we send it to the lab just to be sure there is no infection. Sometimes, the lab tests that we do in the office can look like there is no infection, but when we send the urine for culture, then yes, there actually is infection there. If it does turn out that the urine is dilute, then a mild kidney infection could cause these symptoms.

One final thing. Does Molly eat chicken jerky treats that have been manufactured in China? In my blog post about chicken jerky problems in dogs we are discovering that there is something seriously wrong with some lots of chicken jerky being sold lately. The FDA is working on it but doesn't have enough evidence to call a recall. Many dogs have the symptom of increased thirst and urination. The symptoms tend to get better within a couple of weeks of stopping the treats.

I hope this has helped. Please let me know if you have more questions.

Dr. Marie


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Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome. I think it's probably a good idea to give your vet a call after the weekend and mention that you are still concerned.

One other thought that I had, if her urine is dilute, is for Cushing's disease. Here is some information on Cushing's for you.

Any time a dog is drinking excessively there has to be a medical issue of some sort.

I hope things are sorted out soon!

Dr. Marie