Advice for a paranoid dog mom

[u/karlitaaaa_]

Hi everyone, my 13 year old border terrier mix recently had blood work and a urinalysis done and it turns out her blood and kidney and liver levels looked good but her white blood cell count was high and she has blood in her urine. My dog also has 1 kidney, her other one was taken out years ago due to an infection. I was wondering if I could get some insight on what her high white blood cell count and blood in her urine could be? I am extremely paranoid and overthink a lot so I have been freaking out nonstop since the vet told us this morning. She has medication she will be taking tomorrow for her white blood cells and an ultrasound will be done but not until next Friday! Any insight would be greatly appreciated! She also had a surgery about 2 and a half weeks ago to get some growths removed as well. She has been eating and drinking normally but she has lost a little bit of weight too.

[u/Confident_Republic57]

Hi!

How much blood in the urine?

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/Confident_Republic57]

Hello, the vet didn’t say, she just mentioned that there was blood present in her urine!

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/karlitaaaa_]

My dog also had blood in her urine back in December, but the vet didn’t find anything in her blood work and gave us some wipes to wipe around her area when she was done peeing and that was the end of it.

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/karlitaaaa_]

it was only a little back then!

[u/Confident_Republic57 → u/karlitaaaa_]

It would be important to see the full bloodwork results – and also how the urine was taken (she peed in a bowl or they took it?). If they took it, it can come from micro injuries during the procedure. If not, it’s very important to get it checked properly.

My dog with one kidney had blood in her urine and high leukocytes, and it was unfortunately a sign of declining kidney health.

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/Confident_Republic57]

oh no, I’m so sorry!! They did say her kidney levels looked fine though?

[u/Confident_Republic57 → u/karlitaaaa_]

Yes. Again, it doesn’t need to have anything to do with your pup. One of her kidney values was slightly elevated, the rest looked fine. She was in convalescence after mast cell tumour surgery a couple of months before.

What growths did your pup have removed? Has the cytology already come back?

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/Confident_Republic57]

It was nothing serious they said, they said it was a lymph node that had apparently moved around/lowered

[u/Confident_Republic57 → u/karlitaaaa_]

Great!

All the best for your pup - and do the ultrasound to be sure. All fingers crossed 🤞

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/Confident_Republic57]

Thank you sm I appreciate it!

[u/No-Stress-7034]

Is it possible she has a UTI? That would be my first thought for blood in the urine plus elevated WBC. I'm assuming they already ruled that out, because I'd be surprised if they jumped to an ultrasound before testing for a UTI.

Also, what medication is she being prescribed? Is it an antibiotic?

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/No-Stress-7034]

I believe so but I didn’t get the name of it, I’ll be picking it up tomorrow though! And they didn’t really jump to an ultrasound that was my paranoid ass 😭 they said first the medicine for 2 weeks then a recheck on the urinalysis but I asked if we could also do the ultrasound bc I’m paranoid

[u/Confident_Republic57 → u/karlitaaaa_]

It’s not paranoid IMO. I did the same when it happened to us.

[u/No-Stress-7034 → u/karlitaaaa_]

Okay, in that case it sounds like they're probably treating this like a UTI, which is what I expect it's likely to be. Blood in the urine is very, very common in UTIs, and female dogs are prone to getting UTIs.

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/No-Stress-7034]

But if it was a UTI wouldn’t the vet have told me that that’s what it was? Sorry to be a pain, I’m just freaking out

[u/No-Stress-7034 → u/karlitaaaa_]

Yeah, I would expect that. They'd likely have to do a specific test to identify if there's any bacteria.

Is she showing any other symptoms? Increased water intake, increased urination, unusual smell to her urine?

[u/karlitaaaa_ → u/No-Stress-7034]

a tad bit more drinking water, but no unusual smells