Why is My Female Dog Leaking Urine While Sleeping?
My Female Dog Leaking Urine While Sleeping? Learning about your house trained female dog’s incontinence can be quite frustrating and concerning. Incontinence is referred to as a condition that occurs when your dog starts to leak urine while sleeping. This problem should not be confused with any behavior since it is a health problem. According to some studies, urinary incontinence can affect more than 20 percent of all spayed female dogs, while in large breeds, it affects 30 percent.
My Female Dog Leaking Urine While Sleeping?
The Most Common Culprit: Spay Incontinence (USMI)
If however your dog is spayed, USMI which is an acronym for Urethral Sphincter Mechanism Incompetence is the cause of the leakage. The act of spaying the female dog entails the removal of the ovaries, and their function is to produce the hormone known as estrogen which ensures that the urethral sphincter remains tight enough to keep the urine in the bladder.
Due to low levels of estrogen, the sphincter muscle gets weak, and hence when the dog sleeps, urine enters the bladder. It is common to discover a wet spot in your pet’s bed while the dog shows no sign of irritation. Interestingly, although spaying is the leading cause of the condition, it should be mentioned that spaying of dogs prior to their first estrus cycle reduces the chances of this disease.
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Other Possible Causes of Leaking Urine
While spay incontinence is the most common reason, other health issues can also cause similar symptoms. A veterinary diagnosis is essential to rule these out:
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI): Bacterial infection is more frequent in females because of the shorter length of urethra. UTI leads to the inflammation and irritation causing frequent and sudden desire to urinate, hence urination accident when sleeping. Also, symptoms can include difficulties and straining while urinating, frequent visits to toilet with small amount of urine output, presence of blood in urine and licking of genital area.
- Congenital Anomalies: There are some dogs that suffer from anatomical anomalies. The most common is ectopic ureters. Ectopic ureters are ureters that skip the bladder and enter into urethra or vagina. This causes continual or recurrent urinary leakage since early age.
- Bladder Conditions: Bladder disorders including bladder stones, polyps and tumors may be responsible for irritation or blocking the urinary bladder; this condition prevents the animal from retaining the urine within the bladder.
- Neurologic Disorders: The neurologic disorder that affects the function of the spinal cord and nerve control of the bladder may result in lack of control due to injury or any other causes.
- Other Systemic Conditions: Systemic conditions that cause polydipsia (excessive drinking of water) and polyuria (frequent urination) include diabetes or Cushing’s disease.
What To Do Next
In case your female dog is urinating while sleeping, the very first step that should be taken by you is to get a consultation from a vet.
- Diagnosis: As a rule, the vet would advise conducting a urinalysis to find any kind of infection or crystals in the urine. Sometimes a urine culture test is carried out to determine the type of bacteria. There may be also the necessity of additional diagnostic procedures such as blood tests, X-rays or ultrasound.
- Treatment options: When the diagnosis has been made, there is a lot of ways to treat the problem.
- UTI treatment: As a rule, in case of infection your vet prescribes a course of antibiotics, which successfully eliminates the infection.
- Spay incontinence (USMI) treatment: In this case after exclusion of infections, your doctor will prescribe you some medication:
- Phenylpropanolamine (PPA, Proin). This medicine helps to tone down urethral sphincter muscles and keeps them tightly closed. According to studies, its efficacy is very high and about 85-90% of dogs have excellent results.
Estrogen hormone therapy
There are many cases where the dogs will react well to either of these drugs, and in other cases, the dog might even need both of them in order to be fully controlled. It is up to your vet to decide the best way to deal with your dog.
Conclusion
It’s very obvious when your dog wets the bed because it clearly shows that she needs some medical treatment. Be assured that for most spayed female dogs, it’s a common problem that can be easily cured. With the help of your vet, you’ll be able to figure out the cause and solve the problem.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why does my female dog dribble urine while sleeping?
The problem is characteristic of urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI). As the dog relaxes completely while sleeping, her weak sphincter muscles are unable to keep urine inside. Her muscles may work properly while she is awake.
Is it normal for my spayed female dog to dribble urine?
This is a very prevalent issue, although it is definitely not considered “normal.” Spay incontinence is one such condition that occurs in 20% of spayed female dogs. Although this is not an emergency issue, it can definitely be treated and the dog will need to be taken to the veterinarian.
Does my female dog dribble urine after being spayed?
Yes. Spay incontinence is caused by low levels of estrogen after spaying and usually appears immediately after the operation or a few years after it.
Can the problem be due to spaying and urine leakage caused by either UTI or spay incontinence?
There is a possibility that the dog might have either of the two diseases. While the UTI and spaying incontinence lead to urinary incontinence, UTI has some other symptoms such as difficulty in passing out urine, small amounts of urine accompanied by pain and bloody urine.
Home remedies for a dog leaking urine?
There is no remedy at home that works effectively in case of urinary tract infection and hormones as the main causes of incontinence. You should never give any medicines or supplements to your dog without a veterinarian’s recommendation.
Is there any cure for my dog’s spay incontinence?
Spay incontinence is not really cured but it is highly manageable. Most dogs are well managed by giving the drug Proin or Incurin.
What medication would you use to treat urine leakage in a spayed dog?
There are several medicines used for that purpose but the most efficient and commonly prescribed are Proin (Phenylpropanolamine) and Incurin (Estriol). Proin tightens the sphincter and Incurin replenishes the deficiency of estrogen. The choice depends on your vet and in some cases they prescribe both.
What are the side effects of Proin in dogs?
The medication should not be used in dogs with high blood pressure, heart conditions and kidney problems. Some common side effects include hyperactivity, excessive panting and increased heart rate. A thorough veterinary checkup should precede the prescription of the drug.
Can a dog with spay incontinence be stopped from taking medication?
Generally speaking, the dogs need the medication for a prolonged period of time because the cause lies in their hormonal system which will keep malfunctioning. Without the medication, the incontinence will occur again although some dogs may have the dosage reduced over time.
Are there any surgical treatments for a dog if the medicine does not help?
Yes, but medication works in most dogs. In case treatment does not work or there are side effects, there are some surgical solutions that can be attempted such as collagen injections to thicken the urethra or placement of a urethral occluder.
