Question for any Docs/Pediatricians

This is a bit unusual and gross--I put the question in to my pediatrician and am waiting for a reply. Just recently, our Golden Retriever has begun trying to drink the urine out of our son's potty. We keep the potty in the bathroom and he's been at the point for a while where he can go in and use it without our involvement. Because of that, it doesn't always get emptied right away (if he poops, he calls us). The other day my wife called me and told me the dog drank an entire bowl of urine. And every time he goes, the dog comes in now to try and drink it. Nothing has changed--the dog gets plenty of water, our son's diet hasn't changed. I spoke with the Vet and she said it's not indicative of anything being wrong with the dog other than it being gross. I'm just trying to be extra cautious that this isn't a sign of something wrong with our son that's passing through in his urine. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, and if there are any potential issues to look out for?

 

I wouldn't stress over it but something fun to do is video tape the dog drinking it then play the tape to the next person who lets the dog lick their face.

 

Well, you could rule that out pretty quickly - you pee in your sons potty and see if the dog drinks it.

 

Damn. you're good.

 

lol.

You could make it a little more interesting by eating a good bit of asparagus before attempting that test....

 

There are probably lots of reasons the dog would do this, but the one I would be concerned about is if the urine is suddenly tasting sweet, ie., is your son diabetic. Maybe take a urine sample to the ped. and have them test it. Other than that, pets eat and drink weird stuff.

 

You say that in jest, but what I witnessed a pet store once was almost too much to hold in. I saw a dog in one of the kennels eat it's own feces (maybe another dogs) and not 30 seconds later a family asked to see this dog and the dog immediately began licking the guys face. I stood around for a second but had to leave the store I was laughing so hard.

 

That was along the lines of my concern. The Vet kind of planted this in my head when she told me "Well, as long as everything is OK with your son, this should pose no problems other than being gross." My initial concern was for the dog, then her 'OK with your son' grenade went off. He has his 4-year appointment coming up, so we'll discuss it then.

And guys? That other stuff sounds fun and all, but I think I'll stick to more scientific approaches.

 

Oh yeah--you guys will like this. In addition to keeping the bathroom door closed, I've gotten in the habit of leaving the bowl part of his potty in the sink after rinsing it out. I told him, but like I said, he's 4. He went in there today and all of a sudden I hear an "Oh no!" I went in to see what was wrong--he had sat down on the potty sans bowl and crapped on the floor below.

 

Actually, I was serious. If the dog drinks your urine, then either both you and your kid have something wrong - or, more likely, your dog just likes to drink urine.

 

I've seen people puke and the dog eat's it ALL up...nothing strange for a dog to eat/drink weird/gross stuff...their dog's.

 

True, but that's not what Jack is talking about here. He's a bit concerned because the dog just recently started drinking the urine and his son has been using the potty for (what seems to be) a little while now. It's quite probable that the dog recently figured out this new "refreshment" was available in the house, but I completely understand erring on the side of caution.

 

HA, at my place in Florida I had a jar of pickled polish sausage that I didn't think tasted very good so I took them to the trash. My buddy and his dog were over so I took one out of the jar and held it out for my buddies dog. He turned his nose up and ran away. My buddy says "dead wood chuck on the side of the road bloated and full of maggots...no problem, that pickled sausage you eat.. BIG PROBLEM!" LOL

 

Actually experienced that in high school. New Year's Day...

Exactly.

 

So have you 'tested' your dogs palate yet.