Knowing what is normal for your dog is essential to understanding when something just isn't right about them. It could be a change in their normal routine to a full blown behavioral issue. With Lisa, I've come to expect certain things from her. Like, she does not urinate in her crate. Strange? Absolutely! For a puppy mill dog, this is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome with crate training.
Dogs are inherently born with the necessity to keep their "house" clean. Meaning - you don't poop where you eat! Given the opportunity, dogs will choose to do their business away from sleeping and eating areas. There are exceptions, but this is a general rule and one that can be observed from as early as 5-6 weeks old. Puppies at that age will choose to go away from where they eat and sleep - they make not always make it, but you can see them make an effort. However, when dogs are kept confined such as they are in most mill situations, they can't keep their areas clean and basically learn to live with the filth.
Lisa, however, seems to prefer to not soil her crate. The only times she has are when she had diarrhea, which I fault no dog for that! Poor things, I know how I feel when my tummy doesn't feel good. Well, one morning I woke up to find Lisa had peed in her crate.
At first, while it was strange that she did go, I didn't think anything of it until she went outside. She squatted, took a few steps, squatted again, took a few more steps, squatted again. Uh-oh! Lisa has a urinary tract infection, I'm afraid. Thinking she'd emptied everything out, I brought her back in and cleaned up the crate. Well, she didn't. It wasn't a lot where she did go, but one area definitely was tinged with blood. This proof was all I needed to confirm my suspicions and a phone call to the vet was made.
Later that day, Dr. Cortiaus confirmed my findings. Lisa did have a UTI. She was prescribed Clavamox and sent home. I've also since started her on cranberry supplements to help, too. She's tolerated the antibiotics well and the infection appears to have cleared up. We'll need the vet to give us the final nod on that.
Lisa's act of going in her crate highlighted that she had a medical problem and not a behavioral one. It was my first clue that something wasn't right with her that day; second and third clues would soon follow. However, had I not paid attention to those early warning signs, Lisa's infection and subsequent behavior because of it would have gotten worse. It pays to pay attention to your dog.
Reminds me of a story I read once about an Obedience lady who was working with her Utility dog on retrieving the dumbbell. The dog had done this countless times before, but for some reason has started refusing to retrieve the dumbbell. It baffled the woman, she didn't understand why. Don't remember exactly what the circumstances were that lead her to discover the real reason for the dog's refusal, but it was his teeth. He had a cracked tooth and the metal of the dumbbell caused him so much pain that he could not pick up the object and retrieve it. Once the tooth was fixed, he was back to his old self. Sometimes, changes in behavior may have a medical basis. Since dogs cannot voice their discomfort, it's up to us to interpret for them.
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