Urinary tract issues - Female Bouvier

[titto]

This past Sunday, our 2-yr old female bouvier, Titto, started leaking uncontrollably in the house (about 1/4 cup within 30 minutes). Earlier in the morning, she went out for her regular walk, and everything seemed completely normal. She came back and was basically resting as usual - we started noticing urine (clear fluid, no blood) leaking out of her. About an hour or so later, she began to disply signs of discomfort/pain especially when she stood up to walk about. She clearly had no appetite nor desire to drink water. We took her to the ER and her vitals were all normal - we're still waiting for her blood/urine tests to come back. The doctor did not seem to think this was a urinary tract infection (or urinary incontinence?) but seemed to think maybe she ate something in the park (ie. fertilizer, drugs left from the homeless, etc.?). I'm wondering if anyone has heard of such urinary leaking symptoms, and has any idea what our dog could possibly have? I'd really appreciate any advice/info for my future reference!

[A few hours after Titto came back from the ER, she seemed no longer in discomfort, and that night, she also had a normal stool. The next day (monday), she was visibly back to normal and full of energy. We definitely feel very relieved but also want to understand what happened...]

[Sue]

The two most common reasons that dogs become bladder incontinent are urinary tract infections (both genders) and spay incontinence (females).

From your description of your dog lying down and leaking, it sounds very much like spay incontinence. Typically dog owners report that their females lie down to rest and end up in a puddle.

The first thing to do of course is to rule out a UTI (which you are already in the process of doing). If that's the problem, there are a number of antibiotics that are effective in treating UTIs. You'll also want to have fresh water available to your dog and encourage her to drink. I spike the water bowl with some chicken stock when I want dogs to drink more and I add fluid to their meals as well.

If it's not a UTI causing the problem, ask your vet about PROIN. This is the vet form of a decongestant that we used to be able to get OTC (PPA or phenylpropenolamine). It helps tighten up the urinary sphincter to control leaking. Unfortunately meth heads were using it to cook their drugs and it was taken off the market.


Good luck,
Sue