Urinary incontinence occurs when a housetrained dog loses control of their bladder. This can range in severity from occasional small urine leaks to large amount of urine. Dripping urine can irritate the skin and cause redness, resulting in excessive licking of the private area. You may also notice that the area where the dog sleeps is wet with urine. Although urinary incontinence can affect dogs of any age, breed, or gender, it is most often seen in middle-aged to older spayed females.
There are many causes. The most common in spayed females is hormonal imbalances. Others are weak bladder sphincter, urinary tract infection or stones, spinal injury or degeneration, prostate disease, diseases that cause excessive water consumption (such as diabetes), kidney disease, hyperadrenocorticism, birth abnormalities, and certain medications.
To determine the cause of your dog’s leaking, it is important to get a thorough history, perform a physical exam and get a urine sample to test. Other tests may include a urine culture, bloodwork, radiographs, and ultrasound.
Treatment for incontinence will depend on its underlying cause. If the cause is hormonal, medications can often effectively manage this condition and prevent everyday accidents. Spaying is undeniably one of the best things you can do for your dog’s health, and can prevent a host of cancers, infections, behavioural problems, and other illnesses. The low oestrogen levels associated with spaying can make it more difficult for a dog to control her sphincter muscles. Recent studies have shown that large dogs spayed before their first heat may be more susceptible to spay incontinence, but the exact causes of spay incontinence are still not well understood. The benefits of spaying however still outweigh this risk.
Spay incontinence can be frustrating, but generally does not have a dramatically negative effect on pet well-being. This inconvenience is still much less severe than the risks associated with not spaying your dog, so please don’t allow the minor risk of incontinence to cause you to avoid spaying your dog.