Follow-up on Chihuahua after urinary stone surgery

May 31, 2010

The owner cycled to the Surgery to settle his bills.

"How's the Chihuahua?" I asked.

"He's OK in his urination. Sometimes I do see some blood in his urine but this is rare."
"The colour may not be blood. It is best to get his urine checked. Does he still go outdoors and pee a lot at the first time?"

"No," he said. "He just pees here and there in his favourite bushes. He will pee till he has nothing to pee. Yet he still lifts his legs to pee."

"Do you feed dry dog food anymore?" I asked.

"No more as you advised. But sometimes, when his stools are watery. Dry dog food hardens his stools."

"Does he urine-mark inside the apartment?" I presumed he was staying in the same place.

"No, not at all. He will go outdoors twice a day and urine marks till he has nothing left in his bladder and still he goes on and on."

I suspected the occasional blood in the urine could be due to traumatic injury. So I asked the tall slim man in his 40s: "Does the dog humps on cushions?"

"Yes," the owner said.

"He might have injured himself with too much of this humping. Does he grip people's legs and rub against the leg?"

I was surprised when the owner said: "He does grip my left frequently."

"Daily?"

"Yes," the owner replied.

"You should stop him," I advised. "Or get him neutered."

"I thought the dog needs to do it. So I did not push him away."

"The cause of blood in the urine could be due to penile tip injury. Some male dogs have a strong behaviour to self-stimulate. Probably he licks his scrotum too."

"Yes," the owner said.

"Neutering will remove his urge to behave this way obsessively everyday."

"I will think about it," the owner said. It was about to drizzle. He cycled home quickly. I was not surprised at the anti-social behaviour of this male dog as humping is a common observation and shown in some movies as a humourous joke. Therefore to this owner, the behaviour is perfectly normal.


Update at www.toapayohvets.com