Last week, a first-timer visited the clinic. Her name is Lucy and her owner confided that Lucy had recently started to pee inside the house – something she had never done before and asked what could she do about it.
Lucy is a three-year-old neutered, black and tan, short-haired, female dog of mixed breed and, slightly overweight at almost 20 kilos. Although I had never examined Lucy before, I could tell she was not in a mood to be examined, particularly about her rear end. With her eyes fixed on mine and her tail well-tucked between her hind legs, it was almost as if she knew exactly why she was there.
Bladder problems can be a common complaint in some dogs and should not be lightly dismissed. There are two extremes of bladder-related problems: incontinence and urinary retention.
Incontinence is the result of a leaky bladder, while urinary retention is the inability to pee. If your dog is peeing in excess and indoors, it certainly compromises house hygiene, whereas if your dog demonstrates difficulty in urinating, then the problem may be acute and should be dealt with immediately since a blockage is excruciatingly painful as well as life-threatening.
There are a number of systemic medical conditions that may have an effect on urinary problems in your dog. Systemic is the term used to describe a cause that is not physically related to the bladder; rather, it is secondary to some medical condition elsewhere in the body.
Your veterinarian is best placed to diagnose such conditions, but prior to visiting the vet, it is always helpful to observe and collect as much information as possible about your dog’s difficulties and also, if possible, to collect a sample of your dog’s urine to take with you to your veterinarian.
Systemic medical conditions that affect an increase in the amount of urine produced are, for example, hormonal conditions such as diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus, Cushing’s disease as well as kidney problems.
Contrarily, medical conditions that affect a reduced urine production may range from a relatively simple but potentially serious case of dehydration to hormonal conditions such as Addison’s disease.
Certain medications may also have a direct effect on the amount that your dog drinks and it is vitally important you inform your vet of any medications being administered to your dog.
Medical conditions that are physically related to the bladder can range from urinary infection (cystitis) to urinary stones (urolithiasis) and other less common bladder conditions, as well as urinary incontinence caused by a weakening of the bladder sphincter that controls the flow of water.
Whereas bladder infections and stones are transient, incontinence is generally a lifetime sentence, albeit not life-threatening, and definitely a nuisance for dog owners. The most common cause of incontinence is the lack of oestrogen in the case of female dogs and of testosterone in male dogs.
Incontinence is the result of a leaky bladder, while urinary retention is the inability to pee
The production of these sex hormones diminishes after neutering and therefore neutering can contribute towards urinary incontinence. Different studies show that incontinence occurs in five to 10 per cent of neutered female dogs and is more common in the larger breeds.
Studies have been made to try and establish whether spaying should be done before or after the first heat, but results have not been conclusive. What seems to be clear is that if a puppy has a tendency towards incontinence, then it is more probable that incontinence will continue or aggravate after neutering.
Having said that, the risk of your dog becoming incontinent should never impinge upon your decision to neuter your dog: firstly, because of the advantages to be gained from neutering and secondly, there are highly effective and affordable treatments nowadays that will help you keep your dog’s incontinence under control. Your veterinarian will advise you in this respect.
Lucy’s examination did, indeed, result in a case of urinary incontinence. She had no signs of a systemic medical condition: her appetite and water intake were normal and she had no sudden weight fluctuations. Her energy levels were also very good, so it seemed likely that a local bladder problem was the more likely cause.
In fact, dialogue with Lucy’s owner revealed that Lucy had been wetting her bed and that, whereas this previously happened only occasionally, it had recently become a frequent occurrence. A sure sign of bladder incontinence is bed wetting, which can occur rarely in young female dogs and more commonly in older, neutered, female dogs.
The cause of incontinence is a weakening of the bladder sphincter, which keeps urine inside the bladder and relaxes during urination. Luckily for Lucy, her owner was very precise with her observations, so Lucy was spared the more invasive tests, which she very clearly had been dreading.
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com
Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.