Spay Incontinence

[MolassesLass]

Thanks PF, JB and Rugerfly.

I've found one natural possibility:

All the same herbs traditionally used for human stress incontinence are suitable for dogs even through the cause of the sphincter weakness may be different. A typical mix would include the following herbs;

Couch Grass: Specific for sphincter rehabilitation.

Horsetail: Assists in strengthening wasted or damaged tissue.

Comfrey: Speeds up healing even of old trauma.

Mugwort: Supports repair of nerve fibers along with the herbs above.

Saw Palmetto: Specific for muscle wastage and lack of tone.

An initial course of three months ($49.50) of such a mix will often be enough to reverse completely a structural incontinence problem if identified early. Longer-term maintenance doses may be required to maintain the result in more serious cases.

- Source

For those interested, the above treatment was tried and did nothing for my girl who has a very very small leak issue. I won't be wasting my money again.

[WreckitWhippet]

Propalin- Newer drug that works on the sphincte, it's a syrup, it's a fair bit more pricey.

Parents BC bitch is on the above and has been for a few years. It does work for her but they have to be on time with the dose or she has accidents.

From memory I think it costs them around $70 a month, I'd have to check.

[scratchcat]

Stilboestral didn't work for my rotty so she was put on Propalin. Same as Warley stated, you need to make sure you're on time with it or you may have little accidents. I paid about $65 - $70 a month and just mixed it in with her food and she never seemed to notice. Worked a treat.

[MolassesLass]

Stilboestrol - cheap, but you have the dilemma of adding synthetic hormones.

Propalin- Newer drug that works on the sphincte, it's a syrup, it's a fair bit more pricey.

Incurin- Same again but a tablet (not sure if it has any synthetic hormones..??) and pricey like propalin.

Oh Incurin sounds like it may be a goer (though it still has it's side effects) as it doesn't contain sythetic hormones.

[Rappie]

Not sure whether this was clear in the rest of the thread:

Propalin and Incurin are two very different types of drugs.

Incurin contains oestriol which is a short acting naturally occuring oestrogen.

Propalin contains phenylpropanolamine hydrochlochloride which is an alpha adrenergic drug similar in action to Sudafed.

Stilboestrol (diethylstilboestrol) is a synthetic hormone that has a lot of reported problem in the human medical field, however the incidence of clinical problems when used at the recommended doses for urinary incontinence in bitches is very very low. It is cheapest treatment and often very effective, but has a lower success rate than Propalin.

[Akitagal]

I have heard good things re: Propalin at my work(vets).

[Guest Clover]

Clover is on 1 - 2 Stilboestol a week and they are working fine for her, if she only has 1 a week she drips a little. They are quite cheap aswell about $20 for 20 tabs .

[noisymina]

I am bumping this to ask if there are any updates on this subject.

And to ask how you all go with getting repeats on the Stilboestrol (or other drugs you may be using).

Have any of the alternative recipes been useful?

The vet I was going to now has been "sacked" for saying that I now have to take the dog in an pay for a consultation every time we need more of the medication - every 3 months. That is inconvenient as well as expensive!

I said no, that is not on. They came back to every 6 months - but added that tests would also be needed. Interestingly, on the last annual visit NO TESTS were done at all. So that just said to me they are after $$$$ - not the animals "welfare"!

Then there was the suggestion that I could not know if the dog was not well. Umm...if I always knew when my little kids were not well, why would I not notice if the dog was not well? And the vet knows my dog better than I do? Right.

I now have a list to get from the health store to see how it goes. Who knows - maybe she will be ok without the meds after all.

[Rascalmyshadow]

My 7 year old girl has been diagnosed with incontinance after multiple bladder infections, she was tried on stilboestrol with no success, then on Propalin we had good success but it made her quite snappy (a side affect that occurs in a small % of dogs). Now she is on Incurin 1 tablet every second day and she is doing great.

We tried bowen therapy with her and it didn't work.

[Guest Clover]

Noisymina i just have to ring the vets and ask for another lot of tablets, no consult, test's etc. If the dog seemed unwell, or the meds stopped working i would take her in for a check up, but so far so good :D.

[Janba]

I had a dally bitch with spay incontinence that developed about 5. She started of on stilbestrol which worked well and continued on it as needed, but I noticed that when she was incontinent she would try to get to the front yard and eat the couch grasss. A friend who is a herbalist used to get me couch grass extract and she was on that for the rest of her life with no leaking or the need for stilbestrol.

[MolassesLass]

Kara was put on stilboestrol and it stopped her incontinence. Her owners try every couple of months to cut back the dosage to make sure she's on the least amount possible and so she's on one tablet every 3 days. They call the vets for a repeat and go in and collect it with no consultation. I think their vet is happy to check her during the yearly exam and to trust her owners will spot any changes etc. that need investigating in between.

[noisymina]

Thanks for the replies. I have been getting the meds between the annual examine for ages. The "ground rules" were changed.

I have to find another vet and was wondering if they were ALL going that way - or just the one I was dealing with. So I know what is "reasonable" to expect.

In the meantime, I have a list of natural type stuff to try.

Who knows - they might have done us a favour!

[Leenie]

I have wonderful success with homeopathy treating incontinence in spayed bitches. I can't list the remedy/s here but feel free to contact me directly for more information and to see if it would be suitable for your dog.

[horus]

I have Ellie on Propalin and I find that it doesn't always work :D I apply it (on her food) twice a day and she is on the maximum dose for her size. When it works it works well, no leaks whatsoever. But when it doesn't work, there is gallons of leakage. There seems to be no in between and no reason for the inconsistency. We have experimented with different doses at different times of the day and find that half doses twice a day is the most effective and I am just putting up with the times the Propalin doesn't work (maybe 10% of the time)

'Tis frustrating, though :D

[pomquest]

I saw this the other day. May be worth a try? Hope the link works :D

Spay Intontinence