What is dogs urinary incontinence?

What is dogs urinary incontinence? And to deal with it?

First, it’s crucial to differentiate the issues of incontinence from uncleanliness. In the first instance, the animal isn’t aware it’s urinating. This may be by constant drops or leaks as soon as it changes position or perhaps by a true pee involuntary. In contrast to cleanliness problems in which the dog knowingly needs it in inappropriate areas since he hasn’t learned to be clean.

Causes Of Dog Urinary Incontinence

Dog urinary incontinence happens when the sphincter loses tone and the muscle that regulates urine is unable to execute its role, releasing urine randomly.

What is dogs urinary incontinence?

There are several different reasons for why old dogs have these problems, including:


It’s typical for a sterilized dog to have an involuntary loss of urine, dogs can also be influenced by this phenomenon after castration but to a lesser extent. This incontinence leads to dysfunction of the sphincter that’s diminished and causes accidental losses.

Inflammations of the uterus or bladder may be the source of some incontinence issues. They induce the animal to urinate frequently in tiny amounts along with the dog may not be able to control himself between exits.

It’s possible that nervous problems are in the root of incontinence in the dog. Nerve damage can lead to urination deficit, this is, for instance, a urethral rupture.

Some dogs may be born with a malformation known as the ectopic ureter. The ureter is a tube connecting each kidney to the bladder to carry the urine, in the event of this pathology that the ureter is badly positioned and gets poorly to the bladder.

Hormonal imbalance

Old dog incontinence can be the result of a hormone imbalance.

Researchers are still unsure whether or not early-spaying (between 6 weeks and 6 months old) increases the chances of this type of incontinence

Older male dogs can suffer from testosterone-related incontinence also, whether they’ve been neutered or not.

Some breeds seem to be at a greater risk of this happening, they include spaniels (of different kinds), Old English Sheepdogs, Doberman Pinschers and Boxers.

Spinal Or Neurological Problems

If your older dog has vertebrae, disc or spinal issues, or neurological problems, then they could cause her to lose control of her bladder.

This is because the nerve signals from her mind to her bladder aren’t working properly, or are not getting through at all.

You are more likely to understand this if your dog is long-bodied (like the Dachshund), or short-legged (such as the Corgi), or a combination of both (such as the Basset Hound).

A urinary tract (UTI) or bladder infection can cause Fifi to lose control of her bladder because the need to pee is so powerful. It usually also makes her need to pee much more often than normal.

But incontinence that is being triggered by something else may also cause a UTI. It is sort of a ‘the-chicken-and-the-egg’ situation.

Bladder infections are more often seen in female dogs than in males and affect all ages.

Normally causes some discomfort or even pain for Fifi since the urine burns and itches. Sometimes she’ll strain really hard but only have the ability to pass just a drop or 2 of pee-pee.

Disease Or Illness

There are a few distinct conditions that may cause your old dog to begin peeing more often, or to drop control of her bladder.

The most common ones include diabetes (usually leads to excessive thirst, followed by a predictably excessive quantity of urination), liver or kidney disease, polyps or cancerous growths in the urinary tract, or prostate, bladder stones.

Old Dog Syndrome

This is just another name for ‘Canine Dysfunction Syndrome‘, and it can affect senior dogs in a huge selection of different ways.

What to do when you’ve got an incontinent dog?

The first thing to do if you suspect your dog is experiencing incontinence or having sudden accidents is to make an appointment with the vet for an examination. This will help to know where the difficulty is coming from and if this issue is due to actual incontinence or if it’s not a symptom of another puppy disease. Numerous tests can be practised to be aware of the source: blood test, ultrasound, scanner …

The treatments vary based on the cause of the incontinence. If it comes after the sterilization of a puppy it’ll be a drug treatment to strengthen the sphincter. In the event of a malformation like the ectopic ureter, the therapy will be a surgical procedure to replace the ureter.

Finally, there are a few remedies that your vet may prescribe to help regulate your dog’s bladder. By way of instance, Propalin is an effective syrup for the long term therapy of dog incontinence.

If you want a more natural remedy according to homoeopathy, baryta carbonica 5 granules per night for 3 weeks has been demonstrated to treat incontinence. Be careful, however, to ask your vet beforehand to collect his view.

Facilitate the daily life of an incontinent dog

With an incontinent older dog, some organisation is needed to take care of involuntary pee.

Invest in waterproof beds to protect the surfaces where the dog usually sleeps: his basket, a carpet, the floor, the couch … This allows it first to absorb the liquid and also keep your puppy dry until it gets up and additionally, it protects the surface.

Dog diapers are also a fantastic way to keep your house dry but also where you go with your dog. It is for all sizes of dog, it will take a while for your pet to get used to dog nappies as an accessory but soon he’ll get accustomed to it.

Dog Incontinence usually involves involuntary loss of urine. It mostly affects older dogs but other biological reasons may be afoot.