Blood in dogs urine

Question
QUESTION: We have a 4 year old male cocker spaniel.  About 6 months ago, some of his
behaviors started changing drastically.  He started having lots of accidents in
the house  which he had never done before.  He started to constantly want to
go outside to relieve himself, but we often caught him squatting and straining
with little to no urine coming out.  We took him to our vet and they did an
xray and tested his urine and said everything was fine (no UTI).  He has
continued to have accidents, and this last weekend we noticed blood dripping
from his penis just after urinating on 3 different occasions.  We took him back
to our vet today, and they tested his urine again, and again said there is
nothing wrong.  We are very concerned that something serious could be
wrong.  Our vet did not have time to speak with us, but sent his tech to share
the findings.  We are not sure what to do at this point, but again tonight, we
noticed red stained urine/blood dripping from his penis.  Do you have any
advice/recommendations?

ANSWER: Do I have any advice? Ya... get a different vet!

There is something definitely wrong with your dog, and your vet should have kept looking until he figured out the problem! While kidney stones aren't nearly as common as bladder stones, it could be that your dog has stones further back than where they were looking, and some bladder stones can be pretty good at hiding. Most stones tend to cause bladder infections, and dripping blood from the penis is nothing to be taken lightly. His urine should probably be cultured to see exactly what grows in it.

He could also have some form of prostrate disease if he is still intact.
http://www.familyvet.com/Dogs/Male.html
http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/prostate.htm

Get copies of your paperwork from this yahoo vet and head to a different one!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Karen,

As I stated in my rating, this is easier said then done.  We are in the military
and were transfered to a small town in the south.  We have had alot of
difficulty finding what appears to be a competent vet.  The only vet in town
that appears competent quit taking new patients/pets 2 years ago due to the
demand and refuses to even start a waiting list.  The only other vets to choose
from due not come highly recommended and their facilities appear outdated
and unsanitary.  Do you have any recommendations on finding a competent
vet?  We obviously did not do a good job with the one we selected.

Answer
You don't say where you live, but I have often traveled as much as an hour to get to one of our favorite vets. She is a holistic, chiropractic veterinarian, is a great diagnostician, and she is worth every penny (she is also expensive). We do also have a couple others who are much closer (and cheaper), and we use them for more ordinary things.

You need to get in touch with some dog people in your area... people who are doing performance events with their dogs, such as agility or obedience. Breeders would also be good, but not the neighborhood people who have bred "Fluffy" once or twice or those nasties who are cranking out their "pups for bucks" and soaking novices for a fortune. Search for some reputable breeders in your area. Here is a good place to start: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=clubs.search  There will be many worthwhile brains willing to be picked in some of those organizations.

Since you are in the military, you might try contacting some of the dog handlers on the base and find out where they go with their dogs. They certainly aren't going to take their dogs to the vet who graduated last in his class.

You could also look for a university vet school in your area; if you are lucky, there will be one in your state.

Good luck with this and let me know how you do with your dog.