Dog has sudden increase in nocturnal bathroom breaks
The latest odd finding in
my 11-year-old dog has me
puzzled. My dog just had
her annual exam, and
everything seemed to be
relatively normal. She
received her vaccines and
had a heartworm blood
test that came back negative. She was completely
normal for a day or two and
then suddenly had an overnight of excessively frequent needs to urinate —
my husband and I took
turns taking her outside
every 2-3 hours! It lessened the next day and I
called my vet. He suggested that since
it was lessening that I should give it
another 24 hours to see if the issue
resolved. My first thought was a urinary
infection. Over the next day or so, the
frequency of urination continued to
drop, and she has been normal since
then. What could have happened? Can a
urinary infection resolve spontaneously
and that fast and are there other underlying problems that might be going on
still? The good news is she is back to
normal, and I want her to stay that way.
The condition you observed is called pollakiuria, defined as an increased frequency of urination. There are many conditions that can cause this to occur including both forms of diabetes (yes, there are two kinds), Cushing’s disease, various kid- ney disorders, pyometra if the dog is not more. spayed, Was your some dog medications drinking more and water, which may have caused the need to urinate more frequently? Eat- ing something salty can trigger that as can some of the disorders I list.
Another condition that can most frequently cause the clinical signs that you observed is cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder. There can be many causes including bacteria, bladder stones, polyps or masses, even a sterile or idiopathic cystitis in which the cause is completely unknown.
Stress can be a factor and perhaps the exam and the vaccines triggered something although that would be unusual. Bloody urine or hematuria is often seen as well. Since the issue seems to have resolved, you may be out of the woods, yet I would still consider having your vet see the dog for a palpation of the bladder, a urinalysis, bloodwork and possibly a radiograph of the abdomen. Since your dog is older, it is important to rule out all the possible causes or get ahead of any developing problems. If the problem crops up again, I would definitely have the dog seen, but prevention now would be a good idea. Lastly, urinary tract infections caused by bacteria usually do not go away on their own and antibiotics as well as anti-inflammatory medications are usually needed. My guess is that your dog had a sterile idiopathic cystitis that luckily resolved spontaneously but one can never be sure and that’s why I would have the dog checked out. Good luck.