# Has anyone ever encountered this before



## Slide (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi everyone!

I have a 2 year old, female pit mix. A few months ago I noticed drops of fluid coming from her vulva. I assumed it was just a little urine (since she just went to the bathroom). Then a few days later she seemed like she did not want to sit down. She acted a bit lethargic and as if sitting would cause her pain. She began licking her vulva so I looked to see what was wrong. I noticed fluid leaking from her vulva (about an ounce). I looked closer, and she seemed to have irritation or a rash around her vulva, which is somewhat recessed. I smelled the leaking fluid and it had absolutely no odor whatsoever. She saw the vet a day later, and the vet said the rash was most likely due to an allergy or the recessed vulva trapping urine and irritating the skin. She did not know what the fluid leakage was, but took a urine sample to test for an infection. The test came back fine, but she gave her a course of antibiotics for the rash, just in case it was a skin infection. It cleared up her rash, but she continued to drip fluid occasionally. Now the rash is back, and last night she was leaking an insane amount of fluid, like two puddles of several ounces each. Again, there is no odor. It is clear fluid. She seemed to have a bit of discomfort/lethargy last night. Has anyone ever encountered this before? The vet is at a loss. Since there is no infection and the fluid is clear an odorless, it is kind of a mystery. I am not sure if the fluid and rash are related. 

Any opinions/experiences are welcomed. 

Thanks! 

Slide


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Is she spayed? If so, how old was she when she was spayed? If not, when was the last time she was in heat?

It may be urine leaking. When urine is highly dilute, it has no odor. Is she drinking a lot more water? I would probably want a blood test to check for kidney function at this point. The rash can be caused by leaking urine. . .it's pretty caustic to skin in prolonged contact. My guess right now is some kind of incontinence. There can be a lot of reasons for urine leaking--hormone imbalance, kidney issues, bladder infection, etc. so sometimes it's hard to pin down an exact cause.


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## Slide (Jan 3, 2011)

AH! Great idea! Thank you so much!!

She is spayed, and she was spayed about a year ago, right before I adopted her, so I'd say... when she was about a year. It's hard to say for sure since she was a stray, so I guess everything is pretty much an estimate. The kidney function idea great. 

She is not drinking more water than usual. She actually hardly drinks any water. It's very strange. She has been this way since I got her. She drinks once or twice a day, and not for very long. Her urine is very concentrated-looking and yellow (the vet remarked on it), so I assumed the fluid wasn't urine, but perhaps it is. 

Thank you for the response - I really appreciate it!


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Our 4 year old dog had the same symptoms. She's had several tests (diabetes - no; kidney function - normal; bladder infection - no; urine specific gravity - numbers were low, found out her urine was a little dilute; negative for Cushings). You can't tell if a dog's urine is dilute just by looking at it/smelling it. Our dog's really stinks so you would think it's really concentrated but it's not. The urine leaking out onto her bed had no odor. We ended up putting her on Proin tablets for the incontinence, which stopped it. We do periodic water intake measurement and will test her pee again in a few months to see how well she's concentrating it. Note - her vulva is situated more deeply than other dogs, so we think some of her irritation was due to that.

I would ask the vet about the Proin tablets (incontinence, while not seen real often in younger dogs, can happen) and I would do a water intake measurement over 72 hours. Basically, measure out a lot of water into a large pan - like 12 cups -- and measure what's left when you refresh it. Total up the difference on a daily basis so the vet will know how much she's taking in every day - that will give you a more reliable idea of how much she's actually drinking. Our dog's intake was high normal - nothing to worry about immediately but something we'll continue to monitor.

Guess I would still want answers - dilute urine is not something I would let go.


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## Slide (Jan 3, 2011)

Thank you! I didn't know that about the urine concentration. Thanks for all the great information! I will definitely pursue the dilute urine route also. 

Take care!


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