Hi - one of my puppies born a few days ago appears to always be wet "down there" and I'm worried that she might have an ectopic ureter. Are symptoms usually noted at birth, or later, or ???

Yes, you can notice the symptoms from birth. she might develop a rash, so keep an eye on her.

We had a puppy that seemed to be wet the very first week. I spoke to my vet about it and she had never heard of this showing up at such an early age. Looking back I can see why.

After the first week or two, the puppy was no longer wet. We thought the initial wetness was due to the mother licking. Even so, the puppy was not thriving like the other puppies, but the vet could not find anything wrong with her.

I decided to hold on to her until I was positive she was OK. By 3 months she started to bloom and was looking like a very nice puppy. I invited a prospective buyer out to see her. Two days before the buyer was due to come, the puppy started leaking again & developed a urinary tract infection.

We were unable to clear up the infection. Long story..... In the end, ultrasound revealed bi-lateral tunneling ectopic ureters. She did not survive.

Not good, Joan. My husband this morning at 4 am was asking me why I do this (and disturb his routine) when there are so many heartbreaks. I told him I don't know - rethinking the sleepless nights and lost puppies along the way.

Thinking back I do not believe I saw it the first week at all. May have been closer to second or third or later. The mother can be messy clean up. Give it more time before you get upset. My girl lived a long life. There are just different outcomes. Some surgerys help alot.

My first Lab had what was thought to be a urinary tract infection and we treated her with antibiotics for some time. The breeder's next litter had wet bottoms (same stud dog??). This was noticed as the mom had to be away from them for a few days due to infection and wasn't able to clean them The puppies were found to have unilateral and bilateral ectopic ureters. My girl who was about 18 months was investigated,had unilateral ectopic ureter and was spayed. The breeder's vet did surgery on most of the puppies who lived good lives--my girl lived to be 15 yrs. She was on Stilbesterol once a week in her later years and was the best companion ever--my first Real Labrador. Hope this helps.

Just read Susan's post. You may be relieved to know that our ectopic ureter was the only one in a 12 puppy litter. Plus, I never had one before or since then.

I had this in my first litter. The puppy was 3 weeks old when we noticed she was always wet. She was the first puppy to walk in the litter. She walked back and forth across the box way before her eyes were open and seemed healthy in every other way. I took her to the vet the day after I noticed the wetness and we did an ultrasound. It was an ectopic ureter and one of the kidneys had already shutdown. She was too young for surgery and her survival rate was low as was the chances the repair would work. I put her down that day. It was heart wrenching!!! Her mother had three litters by three sires and I never saw this again in her litters or in her daughters only litter.
Rest in peace sweet midge!

Once you become aware of the symptoms, it is easier to see at a younger age. I have had 3 in 12 years and the last one I noticed at a day or two old . Sure enough, we had her checked at about 7 or 8 weeks (I did not sell her prior because of the wetness) and she had one ureter that was not connected. We did the surgery and she is on meds, living with a very loving family.

The puppy that I bred with an EU was one week old when I knew something was not right.

She was diagnosed at 5 weeks via ultrasound and in the end had laser surger to correct it. She has not had an issue since.

All EU's are not equal and we were lucky that hers was "mapped" correctly it just grew long and exited her bladder and attached in the vaginal canal. The laser surger was able to "zap" the extra and have it dump into the bladder as it should have.

Julie is correct. I purchased a pup (knowing she was wet). Ultrasound didn't show a thing. Exploratory surgery revealed the all was correct..with one exception. The ureter attached to the bladder correctly on oneside, but actually formed a trough/tunnel on the other side which ran along the bladder and reconnected on the other side. I had two stitches done and the flap of skin removed. She has been 100% fine ever since, no follow up needed, no meds.

So the puppy you bought and surgically corrected - did you breed her? What are the implications of breeding a bitch with a congenital issue such as this? Is ectopic ureter considered a genetic issue in Labs, or simply a congenital fluke?

You wouldn't want to do that. There is clearly a hereditary component in EU. It seems to run in some lines. It is a miserable condition and difficult and expensive to deal with.

Thanks for all the information. After consultation and testing by my vet we've decided to let this puppy go - in the best interest of the puppy. Heartbroken...

I love how someone immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was bred.

This girl is healthy and happy and lives the life of riley with her new parents in another state...after I spayed her of course!

I didn't jump to the conclusion - I was simply asking a question. Sorry it sounded like you thought I was accusing you of breeding her. Simple question, no need to feel defensive about it!

The last time I had this discussion with my repro vet, the new thinking is that it is a recessive and has to come from both sides. They used to believe that it was passed through the dam.