The main symptom of incontinent dogs is the inability to control urination. Dogs may leak urine or void in unusual places. They might trail urine while walking or leave behind wet spots where they were lying or sitting down. You might also notice that your pet is often damp around the hindquarters.
Urinary incontinence, or the involuntary passing of urine, is a fairly common problem in dogs. It is usually caused by a medical condition, and your dog likely is not aware it's happening. Although it can happen at any age, it is more common in middle- to senior-aged dogs and females.
What is Canine Incontinence? Urinary incontinence occurs when a dog involuntarily loses bladder control. This condition ranges from small to large leaks indoors due to a medical or behavioral disorder.
Remember, puppies can't control their bladder until they're about 16 weeks old. After that, in general they can only hold their bladder for the same number of hours as the number of months of their age plus one. So, a four-month-old puppy can only hold it for five hours.
A persistent smell of urine, either on your dog or round their bedding. Scalding on the skin, from where your dog's been in constant contact with urine.
Any dog may lose bladder control; however, urinary incontinence is most common in middle-aged and older female dogs of medium to large breed size. Urethral or urinary incontinence in dogs is the loss of control of the urinary function.
When asleep, all of your dog's muscles are totally relaxed, including the urethra – which is the muscle that keeps urine inside their bladder. Although there may not be a large amount of urine, female dogs often urinate just a few drops in their sleep, which is still enough to make your dog prone to urinary infections.
Incontinence Medication and Treatment Options
Treating urinary incontinence requires medications that strengthen the muscles and nerves that control urination, such as phenylpropanolamine. For spayed females, adding some hormones back (generally estrogen in the form of DES or diethylstilbestrol) may be the key.
This condition is seen almost always in female puppies, and the most commonly affected breeds include Huskies, Poodles, Labradors, Fox Terriers, West Highland White Terriers, Collies and Welsh Corgis.
Medications that increase urethral sphincter tone such as phenylpropanolamine (PPA) or imipramine, or hormone replacements such as estrogen or diethylstilbestrol (DES) are commonly used alone and in combination. Many dogs that respond poorly to PPA alone will benefit from a combination of PPA and DES.
Ectopic ureters: If your puppy is leaking urine, he or she may have ectopic ureters. The ureters carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Occasionally, the ureters bypass the bladder and connect farther down, which causes urine to constantly leak.
The most common reason why dogs experience peeing in their sleep is incontinence. This problem can come about from a number of different things, such as a urinary tract infection and bladder stones.
There are three most probable reasons why your puppy is wetting the bed: Insecurity and Fear. A Lack of Basic Potty Training if Your Puppy is Young. A Medical Condition Such as a Urinary Tract Infection or Incontinence in Older Dogs.
Accidents are especially likely at night if your puppy is sleeping on the bed with you. Young puppies can't hold their bladders through the night, so if you don't get up to take your pup outside for a pee break, a walk to the end of the bed is probably as far as your sleepy dog will travel on their own.
Urinary tract infections, cystitis (bladder inflammation), bladder stones, kidney disease, or arthritis or age-related incontinence could all be causes of house soiling in dogs. In addition, pets with diarrhea or other intestinal illnesses may not be able to make it outside fast enough.
Like much of their body, a puppy's bladder isn't yet fully developed. Many puppies can only hold their urine for short periods. Frequent accidents could be the result of an overly full bladder, especially if your puppy doesn't yet recognize the importance of going potty in a designated spot or area.
When a dog shows signs of a loss of bladder control when in scary or tense situations, it be stress incontinence. Found to occur more often in younger animals, most will outgrow the condition.
Incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. So if your dog is incontinent, it means that they are not even aware of the fact that they are urinating. This incontinence occurs often in places where pets are resting (like in their bed or on the couch), and it tends to be a normal or large amount of urine.
Dogs with UTIs generally attempt to urinate very frequently whenever they go outside. They also may strain to urinate, or cry out or whine when urinating if it is painful. Sometimes you might even see blood in their urine. Dripping urine, or frequent licking of the genitals, may also signal that a UTI is present.
A common cause of frequent peeing in puppies, especially females, is a urine tract infection. Puppies with urine infections will often strain to pass small amounts of urine frequently. And there may sometimes be some blood visible. Urine infections often require treatment with antibiotics.
“Puppies urinate frequently because their bladders are small and [they] don't have enough control developed,” Dr. Grewal told The Dodo. Puppies are much smaller than adult dogs, so their bladders are smaller, which means they can't hold their urine for as long.
Some puppies pee whenever they get excited. That might be when greeting beloved people, during playtime, or while getting pats and cuddles. If your puppy thinks it's emotionally wonderful, their bladder empties.