Incontinence Problem

[justnikky]

I hope someone can help me with a problem with my 9 year old Staffy bitch "Fatty" who was desexed last year after i rescued her. Ever since she has very bad incontinence when she sleeps. She leaks quite heavily. I can't let her inside at night as she sneaks onto my furniture and soaks them with wee .

I took her to vet who put her onto hormones but it is'nt working and we have upped the dose with no change.

What can we do :D ? We love the silly old thing but this problem is making it hard for us to include her at night time.

Any suggestions would be really appreciated. Poor old girl ,she gets embarrassed too believe it or not

[redarachnid]

Go to another vet for a second opinion.

Or get your vet to refer you to a specialist if he can't solve the problem. It needs to be dealt with.

Wishing you the best of luck with her.

[poodlefan]

In the meantime, buy a few pieces of vet bed. She can sit on it and it's waterproof. You can throw it in the washing machine.

She could be inside in a crate on a piece of vet bed rather than banished outside. :D

[justnikky]

Go to another vet for a second opinion.

Or get your vet to refer you to a specialist if he can't solve the problem. It needs to be dealt with.

Wishing you the best of luck with her.

Thanks for that.

I was a bit annoyed with him (vet). He did the desexing and now can't fix it.

I read on internet that desexed bitches sometimes become incontinant from a low hormone level. What other causes for this problem? She is healthy for her age, eats well, does'nt drink too much (diabetes) The nearest specialist would be Brisbane almost 900ks away.

[redarachnid]

Go to another vet for a second opinion.

Or get your vet to refer you to a specialist if he can't solve the problem. It needs to be dealt with.

Wishing you the best of luck with her.

Thanks for that.

I was a bit annoyed with him (vet). He did the desexing and now can't fix it.

I read on internet that desexed bitches sometimes become incontinant from a low hormone level. What other causes for this problem? She is healthy for her age, eats well, does'nt drink too much (diabetes) The nearest specialist would be Brisbane almost 900ks away.

If that's the case maybe try being more insistant with your vet for a result. You don't have to accept what he says as gospel. YOU have to live with the dog and YOU know what's wrong. If you push for further treatment and diagnosis, the vet may research it further. Sometimes they need a push!

Also poodlefan's idea about crate and vet bed is excellent.

[becks]

There have been plenty of threads about just this, in this forum, try a search as many different options have been discussed.

Which hormone treatment is she on now?

[justnikky]

There have been plenty of threads about just this, in this forum, try a search as many different options have been discussed.

Which hormone treatment is she on now?

She is on MAAH. Started at 1 tablet 2 times a week and now she is up to 1 tablet evry second day. There is another drug available but it is very expensive and must be given 3 times a day for ever. I work and I am not around all day and the cost is prohibitive.

I will check out the rest of the forum. I am new to Dogzonline so thanks for the advice

[Mystiqview]

I have an older bitch who has gone onto hormone tablets. She was desexed when she was 12 months and is now 7 years. She had random incontinence and has gone onto a tablet (forget the name now). Started off as one tablet twice day then one tablet a week. Seems to have controlled the problem.

I would also seek a second opinion from another vet if you are not happy with your original vet. Where in Qld are you. If you are in Brisbane, try the UNI at St Lucia or one of their out campus like Dayboro.

I know before putting Jemma on hormone replacement, the vet did say that I may have had to fiddle the dose rate to get it right for the individual dog. She said some last up to 10 days, others need it more frequently. We seem to manage it effectively on one tablet a week

[luv mini schnauzers]

Hi, had a great Doberman who was the love of our lives and was desexed at the age of 6yr due to breeders agreement and found the the same thing happened to her. Tablets helped a bit but I did alot of bedding washing. Found feeding on dry dog food helped abit. Its because of late desexing that this sometimes happens. Confine her in a small area to sleep with waterproof sheets to help. Its not their fault, just have to rethink sleeping arrangements and alot of washing.cheers

[Winterpaws]

There have been plenty of threads about just this, in this forum, try a search as many different options have been discussed.

Which hormone treatment is she on now?

She is on MAAH. Started at 1 tablet 2 times a week and now she is up to 1 tablet evry second day. There is another drug available but it is very expensive and must be given 3 times a day for ever. I work and I am not around all day and the cost is prohibitive.

I will check out the rest of the forum. I am new to Dogzonline so thanks for the advice

Have you tried Propalin? It's a liquid you give twice a day (or sometimes 3 times a day).

We used to use Propalin and it did work but is no longer effective so we are now trialling the suprelorin implant

Our girl is still inside at night - we just bought a cot mattress, then put a cot mattress protector on it (we bought a few so we could wash and change them frequently) and then we just chuck a sheet or towel on top of the protector as well

eta - i'll probably be getting some vetbed as well as it looks like a really good product

Edited July 18, 2009 by Winterpaws

[4 Paws]

My old shepherd who dies a few years ago now used to leak and vet put her on Sudafed tablets to dry it up a bit.Not sure if they still use this treatment now though

[becks]

The common treatments are

Propalin syrup

Incurin

Stilboestrol

it can be a bit hit and miss over which works best for your individual.

I've now had 3 bitches with spay incontinence and have used all 3 treatments on the different ones.

One is now on Incurin every other day the other is controlled with a herbal treatment which sadly is not available in Oz but it would be worth you looking around at alternatives to standard medication.

What is MAAH?

[justnikky]

The common treatments are

Propalin syrup

Incurin

Stilboestrol

it can be a bit hit and miss over which works best for your individual.

I've now had 3 bitches with spay incontinence and have used all 3 treatments on the different ones.

One is now on Incurin every other day the other is controlled with a herbal treatment which sadly is not available in Oz but it would be worth you looking around at alternatives to standard medication.

What is MAAH?

It is Stilloebestral an oestrogen hormone. I have increased the dose to one a day to see if it helps at a more regular dose. I will take your suggesstions to my vet to see if we can try them. thanks for your advice

[4Kelpies]

Vetbed is a wonderful invention. My Mini Foxie had bladder cancer and leaked badly towards the end of her life. I kept her in a crate lined with newspaper and occasionally puppy training pads (although she tended to dig these up and then miss them.) When I discovered vetbed it made life easier and more comfortable for her. I used to have at least one piece on the line, one soaking and one on her bed and managed quite easily. There was no cure in her case and although she was on medication, this wasn't having much effect.

Hopefully in your case it will only be temporary but it would make things much easier for you to keep your girl inside with you.

[greytdog]

Interesting thread. Bianca has the same problem. She's on Stilboestrel, and there is definite improvement, but she still leaks occasionally, particularly if she's climbed up on my chair! Going to the vet's on Monday, so I'll ask about it then.

[justnikky]

Interesting thread. Bianca has the same problem. She's on Stilboestrel, and there is definite improvement, but she still leaks occasionally, particularly if she's climbed up on my chair! Going to the vet's on Monday, so I'll ask about it then.

I have upped the dose to 1 MAAH per day and I think it is improving Early days yet so we will see in a week or so

Thankyou everyone for your thoughtful comments and advice and I have taken it all on board.

Will post with Fatties progress soon

Thanks again

[puggy_puggy]

Doggy underpants with pads in them might be helpfull as well. You just want to make sure the urine doesn't burn her though.

[dwynwen]

Vetbed is a wonderful invention. My Mini Foxie had bladder cancer and leaked badly towards the end of her life. I kept her in a crate lined with newspaper and occasionally puppy training pads (although she tended to dig these up and then miss them.) When I discovered vetbed it made life easier and more comfortable for her. I used to have at least one piece on the line, one soaking and one on her bed and managed quite easily. There was no cure in her case and although she was on medication, this wasn't having much effect.

Hopefully in your case it will only be temporary but it would make things much easier for you to keep your girl inside with you.

I've been using a human incontinence 'mat' for my girl who has been leaky on and off since we got her 10 years ago, aged 2. At the moment she's pretty bad. Not on any drugs atm as propalin stopped working and the hormone treatments had side effects. She's an inside dog.

After the raves here, I finally got curious enough to order a piece of vetbed which arrived today.

I was expecting a waterproof backing and that the mat would wick the fluid away from the dog so they're not lying in a wet patch.

I tested it with some water - the wet area stayed really wet and the backing leaked a little bit. When I hung it up the water ran freely out. It dried pretty quickly.

Are we talking about the same stuff??

[luvsdogs]

April had an incontinence problem on & off in her later years. I found she had become allergic to wheat. When ever she ate dry dog food she would leak. Once I discovered this the problem stopped. I always knew when anyone gave her a crust or biscuit because she would start leaking again.

In the beginning she was put on hormone tablets & I thought this would allow her to eat kibble again, but when I gave it to her she kept leaking. The dosage was 1 Stilboestrol tablet at night for 3/7 days then 1 tab a week. She lived mostly on raw chicken bones & occasional lamb bones with Nature's Gift tinned food. Not the one with pasta. When I discovered Purina with oats instead of wheat she was ok eating this.

She went on the course of tablets a couple of times when it got really bad, but if she had a slight relapse I would give her 1 tab for a couple of days then maybe 1 a week for a couple of weeks.

The funny thing in it all is that our other dog Sooty would sometimes become incontinent at the same time as April.

Edited July 22, 2009 by luvsdogs