Incontinence in spayed 3 year old and a little bit of a rant

[baleria.m]

Hi everyone it’s been a long time since I made a post here.
My girl Luna is almost 3 and a half years old and was spayed about 6 months ago. I did a lot of research and wanted to wait to have her spayed to prevent incontinence problems.

Guess why we are at the vet today? incontinence issues.
She started leaking urine a couple months ago, we brought her in, they treated it as if it was a bacterial infection, gave us some medicine that did help for a bit since she did have some minor bladder inflammation.
Well we are back because so is the leaking, there is no inflammation or bacteria so they are saying this is a secondary effect to her getting spayed earlier this year.
And they straight up said there is nothing. they. can. do.
I asked about getting her on estrogen and they don’t do it here, that I would have to seek out a vet that does, but that most of the time, considering she got spayed at a later age, putting her on estrogen increases her chance of developing tumors in her mammary glands?
I’m feeling very discouraged and sad for Luna. She gets embarrassed every time it happens and puts herself in the kennel and it makes me feel awful that I can’t help her.

I know there are many threads here of people who have their girls on estrogen and even some supplements and I wanted to ask what your experience has been like with them? And what other ways have you been able to help your dog if you’ve been faced with the same issue?

Picture of her, as a treat. Thank you all.

 

[remy]

I’m sorry she is dealing with incontinence issues, this seems to be a common problem with spayed Dobermans. I have no personal experience with this, but I’ve heard of many dogs who are prescribed Pronin which tends to be successful!

 

[JanS]

Sorry you're dealing with this. Our first girl had it and I tried natural remedies first so that might be a good option on where to start. I can't believe your vet doesn't have anything to try since this isn't an uncommon issue at all. Here's another thread on it with a few suggestions.

Thread 'Urinary Incontinence?'

Jun 26, 2024

Been noticing a little wet spot here and there but did not want to admit or acknowledge it.

It has been hot down here and I mean walking outside being slapped in the face hot. I know what the heat does to me running, practically shuts me down from a 8/10 to a 5/10. So I chalked up Freyja be more mellow lately to the onset of our heat.

But then, the girls called me at work and told me that Freyja was dripping urine repeatedly and I came home to see it firsthand…I made a vet appt.

Vet appt:
Urine analysis was clear.
Heart is good.
Eyes are good.
Demeanor is good.
Etc….is good...

• Ddski5
• Replies: 103
• Forum: Doberman Health Issues and Questions

• 

 

[Ddski5]

So sorry this is happening, just went through the entire ka-bang with my Freyja. And you are correct, they know.. get depressed and embarrassed when they are leaking involuntarily.

You have any questions, just ask.

 

[JanS]

We were posting at the same time @Ddski5 LOL

 

[Ddski5]

We were posting at the same time @Ddski5 LOL

Yes… I posted the UI link and then saw you did so I went back and deleted it. Great thing about this forum is everyone is out to help everyone.

 

[baleria.m]

Sorry you're dealing with this. Our first girl had it and I tried natural remedies first so that might be a good option on where to start. I can't believe your vet doesn't have anything to try since this isn't an uncommon issue at all. Here's another thread on it with a few suggestions.

Thread 'Urinary Incontinence?'

Jun 26, 2024

Been noticing a little wet spot here and there but did not want to admit or acknowledge it.

It has been hot down here and I mean walking outside being slapped in the face hot. I know what the heat does to me running, practically shuts me down from a 8/10 to a 5/10. So I chalked up Freyja be more mellow lately to the onset of our heat.

But then, the girls called me at work and told me that Freyja was dripping urine repeatedly and I came home to see it firsthand…I made a vet appt.

Vet appt:
Urine analysis was clear.
Heart is good.
Eyes are good.
Demeanor is good.
Etc….is good...

• Ddski5
• Replies: 103
• Forum: Doberman Health Issues and Questions

• 

What kind of natural remedies have you tried that worked for you so far?
And I know! I asked her “so what do you do with all the other incontinence cases you get?” And she said this was the first one
Maybe her first one since she was fairly young, another vet ended up stepping in and told me about Propalin, which seems to be the same as Pronin, they didn’t have it there so I’ve been calling around trying to find it and no luck so far.
I’ll continue my search

 

[baleria.m]

Yes… I posted the UI link and then saw you did so I went back and deleted it. Great thing about this forum is everyone is out to help everyone.

I am incredibly grateful for this community, I come back and revisit whenever any questions come up and I’ve always felt the support

I guess one question I’d have is how are/were you going about pee proofing your home?
She is a couch dweller when she is in Off mode but now we only let her lay on the lowest section which we have covered with many, many towels and blankets and I just ordered some waterproof blankets as well.
I’ve seen some people talk about diapers but eh, I don’t want to humiliate her even more when she’s already uncomfortable
So lately we have resorted to just that and constantly, constantly doing laundry.

 

[JanS]

What kind of natural remedies have you tried that worked for you so far?

I can't remember what I tried anymore since that was close to 10 years ago but maybe someone else can chime in with natural remedies that worked.

 

[Ddski5]

I am incredibly grateful for this community, I come back and revisit whenever any questions come up and I’ve always felt the support

I guess one question I’d have is how are/were you going about pee proofing your home?
She is a couch dweller when she is in Off mode but now we only let her lay on the lowest section which we have covered with many, many towels and blankets and I just ordered some waterproof blankets as well.
I’ve seen some people talk about diapers but eh, I don’t want to humiliate her even more when she’s already uncomfortable
So lately we have resorted to just that and constantly, constantly doing laundry.

I stored the fabric/velcro pull ups from when Freyja was in heat so I just started using them again. I put a female pad in there to soak up the urine. It may seem to be a pain- to take off the pull-up everytime she went outside- but it was better than her lying in her own urine and/or getting the furniture wet. This worked really good until I figured out what medication to use. I really don’t think she minded the pull-ups- I know for sure she was very unhappy about her involuntary leaking all over.

 

[jazzies mum]

No personal experience with natural remedies but a friend had success with corn silk for her elderly terrier.
My girl, (Dobe mix), has spay incontinence and is totally dry with one weekly Stylboestrol tablet, and has been for over 7 years now with no side effects. It's not the end of the world but imo you might need to find a vet who can offer a good solution sooner rather than later. There are quite a few options including surgery in some cases if medications don't work.
A waterproof mattress protector on the couch might work in the meantime, but she will still know and be unhappy.

 

[GennyB]

What kind of natural remedies have you tried that worked for you so far?

Corn silk is probably the most common. Most say they have good results with it. Absolutely worth a try because the lack of side effects. Ground flax seeds are another.
I did tons are research when a had a rescue girl that was spayed as a very young pup. What I found worked for my girl was a combo of corn silk and an herb called saw paletto. There are more options and a simple search can give you tons of info. that I have no doubt will yeild you some helpful results.
I would add finding a good holistic vet can be helpful with nailing down the dosages and combos that work best for your dog. https://www.ahvma.org/find-a-holistic-veterinarian/

​

 

[baleria.m]

Thank you so much everyone. I’m going to start looking into corn silk and other supplements to see if that helps a bit.
The two waterproof blankets got here overnight with Amazon too.
Going to tackle this new adjustment period head on and hopefully get some good outcomes.
I will report back hope everyone and their pups has a great week.

 

[CRDobe]

I've been using this for over 2 yrs with my 10 yr old girl. All natural, cornsilk, pumpkin seed, etc. For us, 99% success. Very rarely a tiny dribble, but nothing else. I'd notice, as she sleeps with me!