On March 12, 2013, a friend referred a Sharpei owner to me. The mother and two young adult daughters came with the dog said to be a Chow Chow. One daughter was fair in complexion, the other was sun-tanned. As different as day from night. One must be homely, the other loved the outdoors, in my observation of the younger Singaporean ladies. Both loved this dog, especially the fair lady. 

The dog had been passing blood for many months. With antibiotics, no blood gets passed in the urine. Then the blood comes. Vet1 had X-rayed and said no bladder stones. No further info. I asked her to get the X-rays from Vet 1. I X-rayed the dog and also could not see discrete bladder stones. However urine analysis revealed triple phosphate 2+, pH=9.0, blood 4+, and bacteria.

During the first examination, I felt a rock-hard quail-egg like lump in the bladder area. "A solid bladder stone is likely," I said. The dog was hospitalised to clip off the oily hairs. On Day 2, I palpated the bladder. There was still a similar swelling but smaller. It was painless. On Day 3, the swelling was softer due to anti-inflam and antibiotics. Only on Day 2 did the dog resent my bladder palpation. This was a nice Sharpei and so she would not bite. I asked Dr Daniel to palpate the bladder and he did so but made no comments.

At the Surgery, the gentle dog would drink a lot of water and peed. Fresh blood would appear in the midst of peeing. So it was not just blood in the urine. It was as if the bladder was bleeding after urination. On the 3rd day, just before discharge, copious of blood appeared in her vaginal area. So, what was the cause of this bleeding?

More investigations needed to be done. For example, air-contrast bladder X-ray..  For economic reasons, the dog was sent home for the owner to bathe her daily to get rid of the scales and oil. I advised S/D canned food and antibiotics.       


Today, Mar 15, 2013, the owner phoned me regarding:
 "How much of the S/D cans to feed the Sharpei? She seems to be hungry.". the mother asked.
"One or more cans depending on the dog's appetite," I replied.
"Should I warm up the remaining food in the can from the fridge when I give to her?"
"No need to unless the dog will eat only warm canned food. Dry S/D food is also available," I said. 
"No dry food for her," the mother said. "How about the bladder lump you felt?"
"It is likely to be a thick-walled inflamed bladder," I replied. "The bladder surface was irritated and infected for many months and would have had thickened considerably. It is just like a person's skin being irritated and scratched everyday. It becomes as thick as the crocodile's skin. X-rays show no stones but there may be small ones not visible on X-rays. "

Update on Mar 21, 2013. No feedback or complaints from the owner as regards blood in the urine. Will follow up.