I recently took over the care of my Grandparents West Highland Terrier (9 yrs of age). She was diagnosed with COPD a few months ago and they have been struggling to care for her properly. She came to live with me only 4 days ago. They had been restricting her water intake but with me she has water freely and I have noticed she drinks quite a lot. She is taking Prednisolone tablets every other day and Corvental-D everyday. She has always been a dog that drinks quite a bit, maybe not as much as she does now but i'm more concerned with the fact that whenever she drinks, within minutes she urinates. This has inevitable caused her not to be house-trained any further and I feel like i'm constantly cleaning up her mess in the house and cannot keep on top of her to get her to go outside. I know she used to urinate at my Grandparents on the carpet, but not this frequently but that may be because they restricted her water intake. Do you think this is a side effect of her copd and tablets or could there be another problem?

Hi Jodie

The drinking and wetting is certainly due in part to her taking steroids for her condition. It doesn't make it any easier for her to be house-trained when she's thirsty and so has a full bladder often. But restricting her water is not a wise thing to do either because that could be bad for her health. Are you caring for her 100% yourself now? if so I suggest you get her dosages reviewed by the vet whose caring for her. It would be good to see if they can recommend anything different for her therapy. Some dogs with severe side effects from taking steroids for respiratory problems benefit from a steroid inhaler as an alternative which has less side effects.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hi Jodie,

My female dog has recently been prescribed Corvental-D 200mg ( 1 capsule twice daily for 3 weeks) and Prednisolone 5mg (2 tabs twice daily for week then reduce to 1 tbl twice daily for week) for a cough and fluid on her lungs. I am struggling with her urinating in the house, she has NEVER done this before. I worry as this is causing her stress and become agitated. Her water intake has increased due to her becoming thirsty, but i am reluctant to give her less water as i don't want her to become dehydrated.
It is very frustrating for all of us as it is happening through the night when i am not able to take her out. This wetting i know is due to the tablets and is not her fault.