JMFS

Interesting interaction yesterday. Esther was chomping on something in the distance and Gertie ran up to her, was hopping around like a bunny and when Esther dropped the thing Gerts stole it. I was not pleased Until . . .. Gertrude brought it up towards me, far from Esther, flopped down on the ground with it, dropped it, then left it alone and looked at me. Curious, I walked over and picked it up. Someone had thrown a thick plastic bag or some kind of super tape (if that's a thing, lol) that was about 9" x 9". It was really dirty and rubbery. Gertie didn't mind one bit when I picked it up and threw it over the fence to put in the bin later. For once she wasn't being rude about stealing, and I think she was preventing Esther from ingesting the trash.

Got to love that extra training item added by others trying to help. We have kind of the same thing with the husband taking Esther out when he wakes up so I can sleep. He lets her come out of the crate then has her sit to put on the leash. I have her sit in the crate, I attach the leash, then we go. She's starting to catch on that we do things differently, but it sure did cause some confusion initially. I feed ours separately to avoid fights so I get it. I watched a video of a 3 or 4-yr old dumping food in the middle of 6 or 7 powerful dogs. They all sat there and waited and I was cringing the entire time. She did get knocked out of the way when she gave them the release, but otherwise it was quite impressive and she had their eye contact the entire time (also impressive, but scary). Doesn't matter to me if it's 6 of my Gertrudes with no teeth there, I would Not feel comfortable putting a small child in the middle of it.

Goodness! Do you walk away after giving her meal? The girls sometimes do that with new toys and I have to stay with them the first few times. When they start destroying the toy I take it away by redirecting their attention (usually Another toy with food). After a few episodes of that they may only need a refresher course occasionally. Sometimes, especially if smeared with delicious food, they can't tell what's edible and what's not. Dogs . . .. Here's an idea: https://smile.amazon.com/Regulation-Size-Pool-Table-Billiard/dp/B0060BCOPW/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=cue+ball&qid=1630952438&sr=8-2 https://smile.amazon.com/KUNWU-SUS304-Stainless-Portion-Feeders/dp/B08RDTHV2G/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=dog%2Bslow%2Bfeeder%2Bball&qid=1630952505&sr=8-2&th=1 https://smile.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Portion-Stainless-Diameter/dp/B0028QHN3G/ref=pd_sbs_1/137-7611886-3650752?pd_rd_w=Qpjgr&pf_rd_p=8b76d7a7-ab83-4ddc-a92d-e3e33bfdbf03&pf_rd_r=KZ7R2MCHN5AEZMDDKZWQ&pd_rd_r=a4a71f7f-22f2-4b74-954a-b8f4e66eaf96&pd_rd_wg=5ehhv&pd_rd_i=B0028QHN3G&th=1

Xrays are showing everything is normal. Specialist is next to see if our joking is a reality. We've been saying it's almost as though her bladder or kidneys are being bypassed and the doctor confirmed that's an actual thing called Ectopic Ureter. She said it Is possible it could be spay incontinence. She gave us more trazodone for future visits. She defecated and urinated during the x-ray but they were able to get it done. She took the cloth muzzle okay, pawing at it half-heartedly and a verbal correction stopped that. She also prescribed an anti-incontinence medication that I'm to give once every 24 hours to see if that helps because specialists are 3 months out on appointments. They Did put all the notes on the receipt and the water experiment was only supposed to last 5 days. I didn't expect it to be on the receipt so scanned and filed it. Oops! If I can find a wellness plan I'm going to switch Gertrude to this vet as well. They confirmed they're still doing house calls and with us less than 5 minutes away that would be really easy for them. The only thing I need to verify is how much water to give her and when since I'm not supposed to give it freely now. https://www.dvm360.com/view/correcting-ectopic-ureters-juvenile-dogs Both of the big girls are bathed and I'm showered and ready to go to sleep, lol. All that activity sure will cure insomnia! Crossing my fingers the medication will stave off the leaking. I really am suspecting the bladder being bypassed because every time I've palpated for it to see if maybe I could express it to save us a trip or two I couldn't feel anything. Now, take that for what it is because I don't know Exactly what I'm feeling for, but from the descriptions I should be able to find it if she's full and with as much as she drinks that girl should bladder should be quite taut. Doc also said with the way Esther leaks (it basically sprays out as she's walking around) she's leaning towards the errant ureter theory. They say 70 oz is too much for her so she's Right at the cusp with her 61 - 64. Still trying to recall what was so special about that 80 oz day, but can't come up with anything. Peanut butter is reserved for Fridays and I don't generally give them treats during the work week so who the heck knows. The water drinking doesn't go hand-in-hand with the suspected incontinence causes, but she did say if she's losing all that water it makes sense she'd be drinking extra to re-hydrate. Cross your fingers for us that the medicine works! 3 months is a long ways away and while I can sacrifice a week of work, I can't do 3 months!

Radiology appt tomorrow morning. If she doesn't have kidney stones or something else they can find they'll refer us to a specialist. I haven't even been able to work on Any other training with all the trips and accidents. I restricted water today knowing we would be going out and she still managed to have 5 accidents (I was downstairs getting their treats together and husband was on the phone not paying attention). Thank goodness for washable pee pads! I'm not ashamed to admit I had a little breakdown day before yesterday. Fortunately we're in a lull for the business, but unfortunately I'm still behind in getting people paid because I can't get more than 20 minutes to work at a time. Crossing fingers it's kidney stones - that's something easily treatable. The big Unknown and going to a specialist is a bit overwhelming. I kind of doubt it's kidney stones - she's not in any discomfort and the girls are playing just as crazily as ever. Husband keeps saying "give her back," but there are so very many reasons I keep telling him no. I know he's just looking out for me because it's taking a toll on me with all the other things that are stressful.

Oh gosh, I don't know which to admire more. Loki or the landscape! Match made in heaven! What a good boy he's being. Going to ship Esther to you to train, buwahahaha! 🧡

All tests came back negative so I'm emailing them my spreadsheet and they're formulating a plan. She said since 2004 she's only had one dog with a mental water issue. Aren't We the lucky ones? Lol. I had a small break down yesterday. I just wasn't sure I could do this and the husband said we need to take her back. My heart just broke because there aren't many people equipped to handle an issue like this. I need to put on my big girl pants, suck it up, and tackle this issue. Then we can deal with allllll the other problems this child has. I'm not really one to give up, and I'm stubborn to a fault. Am I aggravated / irritated / frustrated as all get out? Yep! Am I going to let that stand in the way of this girl's chance for a good life? Nope! The trainer from Gainesville is $275 / hr plus travel. There is a local one, who even has a dog park named after her, who's $75 / hour, but dang if Covid hasn't caused her to put everything on hold. I'd almost rather pay your airfare / hotel than hire this Gainesville gal (haven't actually priced it yet, lol)! Her response email was gimmicky so I'm kind of red flagging her. But, first things first, and that's Esther's water / holding said water.

Yes, multiply those by 28 stairs and I haven't noticed any new muscles for me, lol. Yes, it's in ounces. I have a 32 oz measuring cup and I pour the left over water into that after each drink. It's a bit over-the-top, but if you want good data you must persevere. Good point on the measurement unit, I'll update my pivot table to include that. Nothing special out out of the ordinary for Monday. Yesterday was the only day they didn't get to play. She eats Purina Pro Plan Puppy and is a wee piggy. It's so difficult to tell if they're getting overweight and she was getting 4 cups per day, but I took that down to 3 - 3½ early last week because I think she was losing her waist. Fridays are the days they get all the treats so we can go out to dinner. I used to do peanut butter, but I've started cutting that with natural apple sauce (no sugar, just apples) to lessen the fat and salt. Easier to put in the Kongs, too! I've noticed her poop is very wet. Still solid but wet. We just got back inside and she did a 2x poo. The first was fine, but the second was like, hmmmm, formed pudding? It was solid, but not entirely. I do get to squeeze her glands, too, despite solid poops. Ugh, lol. Hers are tougher than Gertie's and I think she needs and internal expression but I don't know how to do that one so that will be mentioned next visit. I was hoping the husband giving her 6 oz in the morning would quell her thirst but so far it has not. The vet hasn't responded to my message, yet, so I'll be calling a little later. For now it's outside to go pee.

Found the data, just had to connect my phone to my pc. This app made my life So much easier! I have all the data crunched in a nice table for the doc as well as the individual instances of all the events. Here's where we're at so far, but we're not out out of the woods for tonight just yet. She sucked up 16 oz before falling asleep and we've already been outside once since then. Think I'll take it up here at 11:15 pm and then my husband asked me to set out the water for her in the morning so he doesn't forget. Going to go with 4 oz just to keep her mouth from going dry to see if that affects her first drink of the day. Fingers crossed! 28 stairs roundtrip for each venture. I'm tired.

I think the reason we had control over the peeing is because I was metering her intake with 10 oz at a time. Now that she gets to drink what she wants when she wants we're seeing what caused me to restrict her in the beginning. It's a method I've used for all my dogs, but they all grew out of the excessive water drinking and became responsible drinkers. Having to continue to restrict Esther, and her having accidents when I tried to increase the amount, as well as your input, caused me to get her to the vet before getting an in-person trainer to help with the vet fears or finding a new wellness plan. I asked the husband to give her 6 or 8 oz this morning to see if that my slake her first morning thirst, but he didn't so I'll have to wait until tomorrow for that. We have an appointment at 2:30 today so I've taken up the water - don't need her soiling the kennel because we don't have those drains just yet! She's still going to pee like crazy, but I really think if he gives her something to "wet her whistle" before that first drink of the day she might spread her drinking out a little more evenly. I was taking up the water at 9 pm, but now I'm leaving it until midnight since I don't bother trying to sleep before 3 am. I'm going to compile all the information into a spreadsheet that we can maybe drop off on our way to or from the appointment unless they'll give me a way to email it. Those labs should be back today or tomorrow I think. They said 5 days and our appointment was at 9 am Thursday. If the lab doesn't work weekends then we may have to wait until Thursday. I'll keep giving her water and measuring it. More data = better chance of figuring it out and we do have a lull in the bills right now because cabinets are taking 5 months (normal is 4-6 weeks) and windows 5 months (normal is a couple weeks) due to Covid. That means I have a little more leeway in my schedule so this was good timing. I ordered 8 reusable pee pads from Chewy yesterday to add to my other 2 because our grocery store is out and it made sense to stop wasting resources and adding to landfills. $50 for 75 XL pads or $56 for 8 reusable. They were out of the 6 pack, dangit. Sometimes you can find changing pad or mini crib pads at Walmart for a good price, too, and they work just fine for this purpose.

I'm exhausted. Mentally and physically. There have been 16 trips outside today, yesterday was about the same so the frequency isn't changing much. Her morning intake was a little less today, but that didn't affect the number of eliminations she needed. I've been up and down the stairs 13 times myself just for her and I'm scared to leave her in order to do anything else because we're dangerously low on puppy pads and clean towels at the moment. It's good to know that this is not normal behavior - was starting to think we were bonkers. The good news is this convinced the husband that my kennel, dog wash station, and dog-only washer / dryer ideas are viable. 😆 The kennels will be 4' x 3' with a loft bed in each and a concrete floors with drains. That way if there are accidents the beds are safe from harm. The kennels will also have energy-efficient doors that go out into 6' fenced runs so the girls can step outside while we're out and if they get all yucky we can hose off the kennels. Without moving the beds. We've built two houses for custom home buyers now with dog washing stations in their houses so he has a good idea of what's needed so I get that wish item in the garage. My back is rejoicing because I'm in rough shape for 3 days after bathing them these days. I'm not yet 50, but my joints say I should be 70. Having the girls elevated for baths will be a huge help. After this adventure he also conceded to a dog-only stackable washer / dryer in the garage. I still think it needs to be full-size because dog stuff isn't small, but I'll savor this win for a bit before I push for that. :D After all, a Building Contractor should have all the bells and whistles to showcase what he's capable of doing, right?! I'm just helping with advertising. On the not-so-good side I just don't know what's going on with this girl, especially if the remaining labs come back okay. Some sort of abuse or deprivation in those first 6 months? Labs and the ultrasound should point to any physical issues. I do know that I'm not getting any work done and almost missed our payroll deadline so we need to get it nipped in the bud. I want to try having the husband give her 6 oz of water after he takes her out in the morning. Maybe she'll be less thirsty for that first pull of water. He did comment that she's stopped licking the dew off the grass so maybe we're getting somewhere. He's worried I'll doze through her pacing / whining since I don't fall fully asleep until the morning, but I think after a couple days of that maybe I'll be so pooped at a regular hour I'll be able to sleep like normal people. The veterinarian wasn't very clear as to how long this experiment should go on, and I forgot to ask, so I've decided to continue until we get the labs back and we can discuss treatment options or strategies at that point. Because I like to end on a positive note, the muzzle training is going Very slowly, but she wags her tail and comes to me when she sees it. We're up to a couple seconds on the face before she takes her nose out and she doesn't really tend to paw at it. I've been holding on to the treat so she has to work to get it, thus acclimating to the feel of the muzzle on her nose. I haven't gotten anywhere near being able to get that strap fastened, yet. I have night and day over here. I put it on Gertie again and she flopped back down and went to sleep, lol.

Found an event tracker that's easy to use, much quicker than writing it all down! It's supposed to export the logs into an Excel or csv file but so far that function isn't working, which makes me sad. This has been the best tracker so far and I tried 9 of them yesterday. You can I spent my day basically taking her outside to get rid of all the water. About to start again for the day since she just ate. My insomnia is getting worse so we're on a weird schedule. She drank 24 oz after eating. /sigh This is going to be a Very long week. This is the first time she's pooped in her kennel that I can recall. She May have had an accident in the beginning, but it's not typical behavior for her to do it in the house at all. Eating it was my big red flag. Aside from being really gross it's surely not healthy. The stuff is excreted for a reason after all. I'm almost certain it's because her tummy was still upset with all the treats and peanut butter from the day before at the vet's. Or it could be because of all the water loosening things up; however, she only did the one poop yesterday, unless I forgot to mark one down and did it as pee instead (I feel like I did given the number of mosquito bites I have - usually only get those when I take her to the perimeter to poop) and she could have snuck one in while playing with Gertie since I can't see them if they go into the woodsy area. I have a timer set for 20 minutes so I can catch her before she bursts. Sometimes she starts doing the dance a bit before then, but for the most part 20 min is a good timer. It's difficult to work with her needing to go out so much and I'm hoping we figure something out soon. Maybe we'll see a pattern emerge with my logging, like the big drinks in the "morning." Then again, with the hurricane hitting Louisiana we may not see shingles for a while so our business may screech to a halt with the shortages and I'll have all the time in the world. Already time to go outside. My day has officially begun, lol.

We'll have a better idea with tomorrow's run since I'll be home all day to do the test. Today we ended up with 82 oz even with us going out, and no access to water, for 4 hours. She pooped in her kennel while we were gone, ate it (ugh, gross!) and drank 32 more oz when we got home (24 right when we got home, which I don't blame her - I'd drink the entire pool if I'd eaten what she did!) and then another 8 before I took the water up for the evening. We're at 3 leaks, 1 full accident, and 4 outdoor excursions so far at 11:00 pm. I don't know if she licked up any accidents in the kennel. I say she likely did - she has a tendency to lick up accidents. Haven't decided if it's pica or hiding evidence - she doesn't act as though she's doing it on the sly.

We're already at 42 oz for the day . . .. Towels at the ready. 1215: play with Gerts (remember, I go to bed around 3 or 4 am so we're all shifted about 4 hours from normal people) 1230: 16 oz water / 1.5 c food 1300: Poop / pee, no play 1302: 8 oz 1325: pee, no play 1326: 16 oz We go to to dinner around 4:30 pm to beat the crowds on Fridays so I'm not sure what to do there. Tomorrow may be the best day for this experiment because she can't go more than 30 minutes without needing to pee with all she's drinking.

Several accidents; all but one was leakage. I put puppy pads everywhere and held them down with painter's tape so I can grab them up easily. She missed most of the time, lol. In all she drank 78 oz. We'll do it again tomorrow because today was kind of weird with the vet visit, and not our normal routine. It's 10:20 pm now so I took the water up. She threw up in the husband's truck - I suspect too many treats and peanut butter at the doc's office combined with a run with the husband. All that food and rich PB jostling around in her tummy with the water and her normal meal was likely too much. He said she peed 5 times during the run, which was after the 26 oz she gorged on before the run. He was impressed with how well she did on the leash so I'm not feeling like a Total failure. I'm doing Something right! Then again, he was moving and she was having to keep up. He was running, he said she just trotted along, lol. Dogs and their athleticism. Incidentally, it is Not easy to measure water drinking when they're supposed to have the freedom to drink it. I used a 32 oz measuring cup and poured it into that after each drinking session so I could see how much was left. However, it's kind of difficult to know when to measure, and write down the times, when they can have it whenever they want. Oh, and when Gertrude wants to drink it, too! Doc checked for kidney stones, diabetes, Cushing's, UTI, and a few other things. They actually read and addressed (most of) what I wrote and are only a 3-minute drive away. They took the time to warm her up to them and called me in before Esther had a chance to snap or anything. I may have found our new Veterinarian. :)

2 pm: 10 oz 2:10 pm: 16 oz And so it begins . . .. Just have to figure out how to keep Gertrude from drinking it so I can measure since it's supposed to be all-you-can-drink-when-you-want-it for Esther. Off to put down puppy pads galore!

Well, everything came back normal. Labs were sent on the urine to get more detailed information, just in case. Ultrasound was good on the bladder and spleen and whatever else she looked at. They don't allow humans back there, but the vet called and started laughing when she said, "so I'm sending someone out with gloves and a mask . . .." Esther let them give treats and peanut butter, but when it came to them touching her she wasn't having it. Thankfully they have more autonomy over their clinic and made the decision to bring me in. We did end up muzzling with a cloth muzzle and the 10 minutes of training we did with the basket muzzle yesterday helped with that. She tolerated it enough for us to get the job done. I restrained her from the shoulders up and she only got upset a couple times but nothing like a gator roll, no growling, just "let me up!" She was a good girl imo. She's 46.8 lbs now so the dosage I had for the trazadone was too low and just barely took the edge off. Next time they suggested we do it a couple days in advance to let it build up in her system (for a Friday appointment we'd dose Wed, Thurs, and Fri). By the time we were ready to go she and the doc were friends and Esther was sitting for her instead of whale eyeing and hiding. I feel good about the vet, just need to find a wellness plan / insurance now. $500 to be told Esther's healthy, lol. $300 for today and $200 for the labs that we'll get results for in a week. From today's labs three items were in the high range, but one was offset by the protein. One was normal to be high because she was stressed, and the third is normal to be high in a puppy because they're growing. The kicker?! The boy gave her a full bowl of water (I cringed, haha) and she Wouldn't Touch it! I was thinking, "grrrreat, I'm the crazy lady who claims her dog has an issue, but is totally normal." Fortunately I have the hubby to back me up on this! The vet laughed and said they tend to believe their clients and dogs act in unpredictable ways when they're stressed. I did give them a full history, even going back to the first pool incident. I want to give all the info I can because it can help diagnose. We were sent home with the recommendation to measure her water intake. Let her have free rein and then tally up the results. She laughed at my face, even though the mask was covering half of it. Apparently I have expressive eyes. I'm about to give her a big ol' bowl to drink out of and the husband is going to take her for a walk to see what happens. I'm scared, lol. I don't think we have enough towels! Oh, and if they'd chalked it up to potty training issues I was going to show them all our conversations on this! The child is trained, she just can't make it to the door when she's gorged herself on water. She did give me the name of a local trainer as well, so I'll explore that. Nice to have a name in case the doctor you gave me won't do the trip to us. I think we'll be able to build the type of rapport with this vet that you had with Petra's. She was very conscientious of ensuring Esther had a good experience and working with me to make that happen.

Edit button disappeared again. Elusive little guy. :D We have an appointment tomorrow morning. Their site says they do home visits and I'll inquire about that if she doesn't do well. They've asked that I give her the trazodone beforehand. They don't allow me in the room with her. Both Vets are female so we'll see if that helps or not. They're calling our previous vet to get the 4-1-1 on Miss Esther's visit. I just hope they're prepared. We've gone as far as we can with restraint training. I can lie on top of her and scratch the base of her tail and she doesn't care. They're not me, though. I've restrained and lightly pinched or put finger pressure on the insides of her legs, palpated her tummy, run my fingers along her gums, cleaned her ears, etc . . . and she has no cares to give. There's not much else I can prepare her for. The smaller muzzle finally arrived but it's too late to do the training for that, though we did start. She'll be a challenge with it for sure. Girl has trust issues big time - those first 6 months must have been bleak.

I cancelled the Banfield Optimum Wellness plan for Esther. They're still masked and not allowing pet parents in the room. To get her in they don't even have an appointment today or tomorrow and would need me to drop her off in the morning so she can be seen between appointments. Ain't happenin'. She already has negative feelings towards the place and I'm thinking dropping her off is going to cause all sorts of harm and set us Way back. So I'm looking for a new Vet who has insurance who can see her sooner than later. I did find out yesterday that 10 oz is the maximum I can give her at one time. I tried upping it and she leaked like a sieve. Just 2 oz more without play (I'll give 14 after play) and she had 8 accidents - all but one was leakage (she snuck upstairs to pee on the mat so that's now been christened) and none of the leaks were small. I just don't get it. 2 oz shouldn't make That big of a difference. There were two trips outside amidst the accidents as well.

Quick check because I see maybe a chew toy on the ground, but nothing else to entertain him. Do you have a Kong for him that you can put treats in? With all that carpet it might be prohibitive to use peanut butter, apple sauce, or yogurt (though a little along the inside for smell shouldn't cause a mess). However, Blue Buffalo biscuits, Buddy Biscuits, soft jerky, and many other easier-to-clean treats can be put in there. I mention the two specific biscuits because they're small enough to get into a Kong, but big enough to stay in rather than just falling out. For jerky I fold it in half to get it in, trying not to break or tear it, then let it do a kind of bridge inside. If I'm really lucky the jerky will form to the wall of the Kong for an extra challenge. You could put a sheet down to minimize the mess and keep it in one area. I use a twin fitted sheet over our dogs' beds, but I found mini crib sheets that are 38" x 24" and will go over a single bed. $6 each at Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O7SR18/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 One day I'll go to a thrift store to see what I can find, but for now Amazon is my friend. :) To easily get the biscuits in the Kong I put the toy on the ground, then use my knee to make the opening into an oval. If your hands are strong enough to do that then lucky you! I need the extra force I can put on it with my knee because of arthritic hands so I wanted to share that tip. I like these, too: https://www.chewy.com/starmark-everlasting-bento-ball/dp/106037 https://www.chewy.com/starmark-treat-dispensing-pickle/dp/50537 kibble and small treats fit in that one This is a favorite, they really have to work to get things out: https://www.chewy.com/petstages-orka-tire-tough-dog-chew/dp/46935 Another fave: https://www.chewy.com/jolly-pets-monster-ball-dog-toy-35-in/dp/38809 We've had all of those for at least a year and they're tried and true for us. The Monster Ball is starting to get wear and tear from Esther's sharp puppy teeth, but everything else is free of damage. The Everlasting Bento Ball doesn't have to be refilled with their treat. I often put larger treats in the empty space instead of using their refill.

Spay incontinence, interesting. So many potential causes! I wish it were just a little piddle, but it's enough to take 3-4 paper towels to soak up, or if I'm lucky one of the hand towels I use as rags. With the way she greedily laps it up and chases the bowl when I take it up (she's still trying to lick every last drop out though it's empty) I wouldn't be surprised to find it was a lack of water availability causing the yearning. It's as though she's stocking up sometimes, just in case there's a shortage. Without that history, though, it's only a guess. I'll be sure to make that appointment tomorrow so I can get her in. The Banfield vet dismissed it as puppy excitement over water but I would expect that exuberance to have waned by now. Then again, I could be compounding the problem by limiting her intake, which makes the need for an appointment even more pressing. Thank you as always!

You have Far more experience than me so I am open to whatever you have to teach. I won't ever get upset with information given because you've been there, done that, probably have the t-shirt in a few different colors. :) I know you're not a fan of water dosing and that's a-okay. The Only reason I limit is because if I don't she will leak. She does get at least 40 oz in a 24-hour period, easily. Probably closer to 50 - 60 (more if they play hard outside). Her gums are staying wet, as is her nose, stools are just right (not hard, not soft), and her coat is healthy (no flakes, no itchiness) so I'm fairly certain she's getting enough daily. I worry about her inability to control her bladder more than her extreme thirst. Last night she had 12 oz and in 20 minutes she managed to leak. She can normally go an hour or more after drinking. I pull water 4-6 hours before I go to bed (they fall asleep about 2-4 hours before I'm ready to turn in). We go out for one more potty break before I go to sleep. This morning the husband took her out after she'd gone 10 hours without water (sleeping that entire time) and she peed and pooped. Then about 20 minutes after being upstairs, no water given yet, she peed by the door. It bears mentioning that they're normally fed and have had water by this time, but we were leaving for a couple hours so I held their food until we were ready to go. She was allowed to wander around the large area of the office instead of being in her kennel like usual. Maybe being able to move around / change of routine could have had a role, but after 10 hours of no water, and having peed twice before the accident is odd. She held her bladder for the couple hours we were gone. I'm suspecting there's something perhaps medical at play with her bladder. I know all dogs are different, but at this age Gertie (because she's the freshest on my brain) had excellent control with no need to meter her water. Mo was even better with potty training, but I got him at 16 weeks so worked him from the ground up pretty much. She's not giving any signs of discomfort, but this morning's accident was out of character. Banfield is still doing masks so I'm seriously considering that other Vet. If I were Esther I probably wouldn't feel very comfortable with two strangers with no faces and wearing gloves restraining me in a small room. The other Vet didn't wear a mask and I was in the room with them the entire time. I'll keep you posted!

Hey Adrienne! Do you have any articles on this condition? Esther is still obsessed with water to the point that if she's being difficult about coming inside all I have to do is say "water" and she comes running. I give her 10 oz at a time (she was 40 lbs at last weighing). Each time she pees she gets another 10 oz (more if they've been playing of course!). Last night she got at the pool again and her bladder was full to the point of leaking while she was walking. She leaked three times on the way to the door, no squatting, just leaking. She's Trying to hold it while we're walking but just can't. Then there was another accident 20 minutes later (no new water was given because I knew what was coming). No warning from her so I'm assuming she leaked on the bed. At 9 months I expect her to have better control than she does, especially with the training. She practically taught herself to use the bells after watching Gertie do it 3 times (I never asked her to touch them) and she bumps me with her nose when she needs to go if we're away from the bells. The only time she messes in the house is when I miss her cues Unless she's had too much water. She doesn't meter herself at all. If I gave her a gallon I think she'd drink it to the point of discomfort. I've tried ice cubes to slow her drinking but she chomps them up, which is bad for enamel and defeats the purpose. I've tried a gerbil-style waterer thinking maybe it's just the sensation of the licking and the coolness of the water but she drains it. I am making a Vet appointment for her and crossing my fingers she doesn't try to eat them again. If she does I'll bite the bullet and try the other Vet who lets me go in the room with her. I really think it's the masks. The first basket muzzle I got was too big - waiting on a smaller one to be delivered today. She's going to be a tough case on that, too. I put it on Gertie, whom I've Never muzzled, and she just flopped down and went back to sleep (oh, Gerts . . .). Esther wants it Off her face immediately. Just measuring her with a ruler, not even a tailor's tape, was too much for her and I Barely got her measured (hence the wrong size). Please don't spend too much time on this - you have given me so much in the 3 years I've been asking questions! 💜 If you have resources, though, I sure would appreciate them. I have the forms downloaded for the trainer you found, just need to fill them out and contact her. Other than last night's light showers we've been doing quite well with management of everything else.

You know, I can see all of those in her. She's 120% adorable for sure. Her behavior has me intrigued and I very much want to find someone else whose pup exhibits this conduct so I will know what it's about. Has there ever been a time she couldn't find it?

Oh my! I'm Dying! She's a ham. 💝 And a natural for modeling!