Urinary tract issues - Female Bouvier

[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