|
If trained dog leaves wet
spots, visit vet
November 8, 2007
An Uptown pet owner recently noticed her dog occasionally having
"accidents" while sleeping or reclining for an extended period of time.
She's puzzled because her dog isn't a puppy, nor is it a geriatric pet.
Her dog is housebroken and doesn't exhibit any other behavioral or
medical problems.
What this owner has witnessed is a typical example of involuntary
urinary incontinence, where a house-trained dog leaves behind a "wet
spot" where they have been sleeping or lying down. It's also not unusual
to find wetness in the dog's hindquarters. This particular type of
incontinence is distinguished from other accidents like those associated
with senility, territorial marking, lack of house training or submissive
urination.
Submissive urination normally occurs in puppies when showing
submissiveness to other dogs or people by rolling on their back and
urinating. Incontinence of this nature is commonly seen in dogs more
than cats, and it occurs more frequently with female dogs than male
dogs.
It's also associated with more spayed females than unspayed females.
It's important to note that because spaying and neutering of our pets is
crucial and necessary, this should never deter a pet owner from spaying
or neutering their pet.
As with any unusual physical changes in your pet, it's important to
schedule a visit with your veterinarian to find out the reasons why this
is suddenly happening.
With spayed female dogs, one of the more common reasons for urine
leakage is a lack of production of estrogen, which provides the tone in
the sphincter muscle. Two types of medications can help regain the tone
and strength: a hormone supplement, which can cause adverse side
effects, or bladder sphincter stimulants. But again, it's important to
ask your veterinarian about any type of recommended treatment if
estrogen loss is the root of the problem.
I went through a similar experience with my spayed female pit bull when
she hit middle age, between 4 and 5, which is an average age to see this
condition in spayed females. I've found that simply reducing her water
intake, especially at night, has seemed to alleviate the problem. But
again, it's important to have a vet look into potential causes as
incontinence could also signal other problems such as an infection in
the urinary tract or excessive consumption of water, which could be a
sign of medical ailments such as diabetes.
Whatever the reasons behind incontinence in our pets, it's important
never to scold them when this happens, as it's related to a medical
situation and not behavior. It's a situation out of their control, but
definitely treatable with a little help from their humans.
- Gloria
Dauphin
|
