dog incontinence

[Mia258]

Hi,
We have recently adopted a 3.5 years old beautiful and full of joy English Setter Mia from the Rescue Shelter. After having her for a few days, we discovered that she has urine incontinence and often leaking while resting or sleeping. She is also unreasonably consuming allot of water, just like she has run for a long time. As I contacted people who were fostering they confirmed that Mia has this problem for a long time We did her blood, urine test and x-ray and my vet discovered only a bladder infection which we are treating now with antibiotics Clavamox. He also mentioned that she might have a missing hormone but more tests need too be done. In the meantime he has prescribed DDAVP, saying that this might help and if it does she will need this drug support for her entire life. My question is if this is necessary to put her right away on such an expensive tablet, if there is any other way to treat incontinence, how can he diagnose a missing hormone(sorry for my poor language) with a simple blood or urine test and can DDAVP be taken along with other drugs, in particular Clavamox. She is a happy doggy and fell uncomfortable and guilty when she does accidents

[sccrjnke]

You are not alone with this issue.  We also adopted a female Boxer from rescue, 3 yrs old at the time,  who "leaks".  I have found that a consistent schedule of outdoor potty breaks, no more than two hours apart and cutting off her free access to water about an hour before putting her in crate for the night will usually keep her from having an accident over night.  She usually only leaks when she is in a really deep slumber, or is in really warm snuggly type situations. She also has the "I'm so ashamed" look when this happens.  But the small bit of inconvenience is handily outweighed by the immense joy this dog gives to all members of this family.  We have all adjusted our schedules so that someone is home at least every two hours, since the dogs do not stay outside unattended.  She is 5+ yrs old now, and healthier than ever.  Cross your fingers, she hasn't had an accident for at least two weeks.  It is usually the human in the house that I blame for not catching onto her signals that she needs to go out, or for not paying attention to the time. Get a waterproof mattress pad for your bed, use washable "puddlepads" in her bed, that is how we deal with it.  Sheets wash, carpets can be cleaned, but giving that little furbaby a forever home is well worth it, in my opinion.  If you would like to find out about the "puddlepad" give me a private email, and I will be happy to help you with securing some at no cost to you.

[Fourpaws]

My female dog "leaks" too. My vet told me it happens to females after they are spayed because it creates a hormone imbalance. He told me not to worry about it unless it gets really bad, then we can try medication. She is 6 and only does it in occasion-thank goodness! If its not to bad, maybe you could wait a while longer before you put her on permanant meds?

[Misfits4Me]

First of all: Thank you for adopting a fur kid. I'm alittle surprised that the fosters or the rescue did not mention the incontinence to you. I'm wondering, since they said she's had it along time, was she ever treated for anything pertaining to this problem? If you don't know, I'd call and ask. That would give you an idea of what your dealing with. I know that there is a medication (From the Vet)  for incontinence, but I don't know the name of it. Sorry. I believe I'd wait to see if the antibiotic works before I started the other medication. You might try to post this question on the "Ask A Vet" forum. This is an excellent question the the vet will help you.....Good luck....Karla