trouble house training

[jakethesnake]

We have just purchased a female Frenchie. She is now nine weeks old and we are patiently working on house training, however we are quickly becoming frustrated. If we literally do not take her outside every 15 minutes she will pee in the house. Sometimes we take her out and she pees and then within minutes of being back inside she willl pee again. I am just wondering if this frequent urination is normal for a puupy her age. Everything I have read on the internet says a puupy her age should be able to hold it for at least an hour. We are lucky if she can hold it ten minutes. She also pees in her bed and I thought dogs never did that. HELP!

[Martina]

You just purchased her - Has she been to the vet?? You don't need me to tell you that's not normal. What I can't tell you is if it's stress of a new environment, being away from her dam and littermates, reaction to new water and/or food OR a medical problem like UTI or bladder. Regardless, she needs a complete vet check-up with your family vet now that she's in her new home. It could be puppyhood, but it sounds more serious. Whatever it is, wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?

Good luck.

[quinnybear]

for one thing, she is young. most breeders dont let pups go before at least 12 weeks, minimum . and i,m not an expert but she has not had all her shots at that age. my vet told me to keep rocky out of grassy areas until he has completed all puppy shots because he would not be fully protected from the parvo virus. i buy puppy pads. at first i tried newspaper but he just tore it up ! i have a master bath off my bedroom. and i took up all throw rugs and spread the pads out in there. everytime we'd catch him starting to squat we ran him to the pads. now he just goes in there on his own. its frustrating sometimes because frenchies can be very bull-headed ;) . rocky is. but he knows now that i am too, and i,m bigger ! :lol:

[adora's mom]

From what I have read their bladders don't develop enough to have much control until they are around 16 weeks.

I would definately take her to the vet though just to make sure it's not a UTI.

Let us know!

-Lesley

[Linnysmommy]

I agree, I would take her to the vet. I've never seen a puppy go as much as you are talking about.

[jakethesnake]

Thanks for the advice. I haven't had a puppy for over twelve years so I forget what is normal and what's not. We have a vet's appointment tomorrow to get her second set of shots, so I will talk to her about the possibility of a UTI. Any advice on how to collect a urine sample from a puppy? I've been trying to stick a container under her when she squats but she is so low to the ground that I can't catch it and then I end up scaring her. I would like to be able to take a sample with me to the vet. I will let you know how we make out. Thanks!

[Martina]

:lol: Ha, ha, ha ... I don't mean to laugh, but an easy way to collect a urine sample :confused:?!?! It's awful! It's horrible! But someone's gotta do it :o

If I read your last post correctly, you should have seen the vet yesterday. How did it go? Did you finally get a collection, or did the vet have to do it? My vet once wanted a "pure" sample and gave me one of those small things they collect blood in (no clue the name) ... You know, with an opening that's about a centimeter in diameter. Well, I looked at that thing and said "hell no!" I barely got the sample I'd brought in with me!

Does the vet think he knows what's wrong? Puppyhood or medical condition? Let us know ...

[jakethesnake]

So I got the urine after about ten tries. Took it to the vet and yes she does have a UTI. She is now on a course of antibiotics for 14 days at which point I have to have her urine tested again. More devastating than this is that while we were at the vet she noticed that Stitch's skin looked very pink and on further inspection found a red rash all over her face, chest, and feet. She did a skin scraping and it turned out to be demonex. She thinks it is a generalized case and that she proboably contracted it from her mother in the first few days of life. So now we are looking at a long therapy of ivomec (probably at least six months), no certaintly of a cure, and a whopping vet bill. I contacted my breeder and she told me my vet was probably blowing it out of proportion. I don't know what to think. Has anyone else had this problem with there Frenchie? If so what were the final results? How did they handle the medication? It is my worst fear that the medication will prove toxic for her. Is it really as bad as my vet has lead me to believe? I sat down and cried after hearing the diagnosis and don't really know where to go from here. Any information on this (good or bad ) would be really appreciated right now!

[jakethesnake]

I meant demodex not demonex!

[Carolyn]

I'm so sorry your pup is having problems but the good news is you had her examined and she is being treated. There is a lot of info on the web about demodex. Here is a link to one site that I found:
http://www.drlarrypetvet.com/health_mange.html

Did your breeder provide a guarantee of health? If so, just have your vet provide his diagnosis and take it to the breeder. You should be reimbursed in my humble opinion.

Keep in mind that having this ailment decreases the pup's immune system...so I wouldn't recommend you take her out in public. Keep communication going with your vet. Write down your questions and ask away. I hope she feels better soon, poor baby. And I KNOW how hard this has to be on you. Take care. Carolyn

[franp]

Glad that you got you pup to the vet.

Look up the puppy lemon laws in your state.See what the breeder responsiblity is as far as the bills are.Most states do have a law that requires the breeder/pet store or whomever you got the dog from to be responsible for medical expenses incurred within a certain time frame.

IMO, your vet is not blowing this out of proportion.I feel for you; a sick pup is so very difficult..

Has she responded to the medication yet?
fran

[Martina]

I hope that you get lots of replies about the demodex. On a different frenchie board, someone's pup was also just diagnosed with demodex and their vet told them that it would clean up on its own (no medication) as the puppy's immune system developed.

Here's the Flat Face Encyclopedia info:

All dogs carry the microscopic mite called Demodex canis, an eight-legged relative of spiders. Puppies acquire it from their mothers, and most of them do not develop any problems from it. However, in some dogs it produces a skin disease called demodicosis, or demodectic mange. Dogs that develop this condition probably have an immune disorder allowing the mites to overcome their bodies' natural defenses. Some of these immune impairments are apparently inherited; certain lines of dogs are more likely to develp this problem than are others. There are two types of demodectic mange: localized (only a few spots) and generalized (widespread). In the localized form, which generally appears in young dogs and usually goes away spontaneously, the hair around the mouth, eyes, and on the front legs tends to thin, giving the poor dog a "moth-eaten" look. Many commercailly available treatments may shorten the course of localized demodicosis. The generalized form usually starts out localized, but worsens and spreads, producing large hairless patches that become crusty sores. These are very difficult to treat and may never be cured. One effective treatment is Mitaban (by Upjohn), applied as a dip. Before you dip your bully, clip the hair around the sores, bathe it in Betadine skin cleanser, and follow you vet's instructions for drug use. Important: do not give corticosteroids (Prednisone, Prednisolone, Dexamethasone, Depo-Medrol) to a dog with demodectic mange, since the drugs depress the immune response further and worsen the disease.

Now, I'm going to include another post by a woman in the Yahoo! petfrenchies chat board:

Hello, there was something that I did not mention in the original post, that I strongly felt needed to be told.
Baxter's skin and tummy problems started at a very young age.. When I would take him to the vet for his skin problems they would give him medication. After a while, he began to have tummy problems, the vet would look for an obstruction and give him medication. I began to get concerned with all of this medication and would ask the vet if that could possibly be what was causing his stomach problems.There response was always, " He has been off of that medication for two weeks, so that could not possibly be the cause of his problems". I finally went to see an internal medicine doctor and had a scope done. They diagnosed him with inflammatory Bowel disease. He was placed on more medication. I tried numerous times to wean him off of this medication and the vomiting would reappear. In my heart, I felt the meds were the problem, and that they would kill him if I didn't get him off of them. As I said before,he would begin vomiting every time I reduced his dosages. I did not know what to do and did not realize there were Homeopathic doctors for pets.
When Baxter went into foster care Dr. Cannizarro, reviewed his huge medical file and was horrified by the kinds and amounts of medication this dog had been given! She was not surprised that he had penicillin resistant staph on his skin because he has been on so many antibiotics his whole life. She also felt that it was possible that his tummy problems were all medication related. they were switched to the raw diet and were removed from all conventional med. Charlotte gave them the homeopathic remedies that DR. C recommended and they have not had any real problem since. She also is not sure that we all even had the same skin infection as Lola and I were never cultured to see if it was the same strain. It was just assumed that it was.
I tell you all this, IF IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, keep asking questions, get more opinions, and seek out different treatment options, Dr. Cannizarro is great! YOU have got to be your PET'S ADVOCATE, don't let what happened to me and my babies, happen to you and your babies. Be smart, and don't stop until you get answers.
Vera


SO: This is a lot of info for you to think about. I have no clue what is the right answer is for you and Stitch, but I would rather be over-informed so that I can ask lots and lots of questions. Clearly there are different philosophies regarding treatment :confused:

I will say that I concur that this should be covered in your pet's health guarentee or that the breeder should provide some sort of compensation.

Good Luck and keep us posted.