If you follow us on Facebook, you probably noticed my update about how Tad has just about lost all of his hair. He is definitely just about hairless on his sides now. There's only a 1/2 heart left on his forhead, and his butt, thighs, and hips are pretty much naked. The mange will get worse before it gets better, and it definitely has. We're on the mend now, and he does have some peach fuzz coming back. So hopefully, all the bad hair is falling out to make room for luscious locks.
We do, however, have a concern...and I've not spoken about it because we're not entirely sure what could be causing this. Tad pees...a lot...all the time. It's always clear and has no smell.
First thought? He's drinking a lot of water. Nope. He doesn't drink nearly as much as Walker or Chica, and I'd say he drinks a fair amount...but not excessive.
So, next up...kidney failure? We ran his bloodwork a week ago, and his kidney values were acceptable. The problem with kidney malfunction is that in order for it to show up on bloodwork, about 75% of the kidneys have to be dead. But, Tad's numbers aren't even high normal, they're middle range normal.
There are a few other more serious concerns, like diabetes and such, but we checked his urine tonight and there's no glucose in it (typical for diabetics) and really no infection like a UTI. However, he does have Oxalate Crystals, which these are a rare urinary crystal and a little harder to treat. They can be common/normal in some dogs, but when the urine is dilute it's more of a concern...well, Tad's urine is definitely dilute.
So, the next step? We're not doing a true water deprivation test as those can be dangerous, especially with Tad's condition, but I am pulling the water up right now. No one will get water all night, but after Tad pee's tomorrow morning, they can have water.
Why are we doing this? We want Tad to concentrate his urine...and first urine of the morning is the best urine for urinalysis. Let's hope that tomorrow morning, Tad's urine is concentrated...if not, we'll have to dig a bit deeper...
