Spay Incontinence...Can someone explain this to me?

[allanimals21]

I saw this in another thread and didn't want to disturb that thread. Anyways I know what it is but my question is what exactly causes it? My parents got a dog from the local HS when it was like 8 weeks and she was already spayed. I thought that was early but they tend to do it alot around here. Anyway we noticed that she has issues holding it every now and then. Its not a consitent thing just every so often she just leaks? That and when she is overexcited she some times leaks. I think that could just be a behavior thing. But she does on occasion for no apparent reason just leak. She has no idea she does it either. Could this be the issue? She is now 4 years old I believe.

 

[Cara]

That is exactly what my dog does. She doesn't do the excitable peeing thing, but she will leak sometimes when she is sleeping or laying down. Low estrogen can cause weaker bladder control. It's thought that around 20% of spayed dogs suffer from related incontinence. It can be treated naturally or through conventional medicine.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

A certain amount of female hormone is necessary in b.itches in order to maintain the integrity of the sphincter muscle that controls the exit of urine from the bladder.

In girls who are spayed, and this can happen with early spaying AND later ones, some of them lose some of the strength in this muscle, and this can cause the unconscious leaking of urine, especially when at rest or asleep.

I had a girl years ago who had this issue. I used a drug called phenylpropanolamine (PPA) to help her. This drug causes better function of the smooth muscles in the body, including the urinary sphincter muscle.

 

[Cara]

This natural remedy is quite effective for those wanting to avoid conventional drugs:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-Canine-Bladder-Control/999038.aspx

 

[michickenwrangler]

As above. My dog has it. She's on Proin for it which is $45 for a 6 month supply. It is controlled with the drugs and she has been on it for over a year with no side effects. The condition affects 20% of spayed females so it's fairly common.

 

[lemurchaser]

It can happen at any age of dog that is spayed, mine was spayed at 2 years old and it started. She'd wet her bed at night, and not know she was doing it. Proin fixed it right up, its cheap and there aren't a lot of side effects reported in dogs.

Dogs that pee when excited are different, especially if it is in greeting or submission. It is actually a perfectly appropriate way to so deference and appeasement to a pack leader. Because of this it should never be corrected, you just decrease the excitement that the dog is exposed to (have everyone ignore the dog for 5 minutes after coming inside, that's for guests too, no exciting greetings, etc). Correcting it just shows them they didn't greet nicely enough this time, and they'll possibly try harder by peeing more next time.

 

[Cara]

I've been looking into this further as my dog had her worst accident yet tonight. She was sleeping then jumped up, she'd accidentally wet herself and was quite upset. She's always been an extremely well-behaved dog and it hurts her feelings to think she's done something wrong. She house broke within a week as a puppy and she skulks around after an accident, although we are never upset with her. She can't help it, and I wait until she isn't looking to clean up as I sincerely believe she feels bad for it. She's just one of those once-in-a-lifetime truly intuitive dogs.

Researching the side-effects of Proin, the most commonly reported problem is restlessness followed by increased blood pressure and seizure. She has no history of seizures, but is already quite hyper and has to be constantly active. Her character is reminicent of the Border Collie mentality, she always has to be doing or thinking about something. I think we will try a natural remedy first and take it from there.

 

[BorderKelpie]

My older Aussie girl started that after her spay. I found something called 'Bladder Control' from PetsMart. It wasn't cheap (about $23/bottle) but it worked really well and she thought it was a treat. I also give that to my other dogs if they get UTI's along with their antibiotics, seems to help them feel better.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
aww..poor girl.

 

[Cara]

That may be the same product as I ordered for her. It's called Bladder Support for Dogs by Pet Naturals of Vermont. It's a chewable that seems to have the same formulation as various other products;

Pumpkin Seed Powder - 150 mg
Rehmannia glutinosa (root) Powder - 150 mg
Wild Yam Extract - 150 mg
Soy Protein Extract - 100 mg
Corn Silk Powder - 60 mg
Saw Palmetto Extract - 60 mg
Olive Leaf (15% Oleuropein) Extract - 50 mg
Vitamin B6 - 25 mg

If it doesn't help after a while i'll take her to the alternative vet my Bloodhound visits for acupuncture. She practices traditional chinese medicine also. It's starting to look like an animal hospital around here

Penny is wobbly, Kodiak leaks and Maggie is recovering from a leg injury.