Worried About Hailey--Sleep Incontinence?

[JerseyGirlInOz]

I recently started discovering wet spots on the couch. I initially thought it was drool, but these became larger and more frequent. This morning I noticed that the back of Hailey’s coat was soaking wet, and there were wet spots in her bed.

 

Aside from the adjustment period when she first got here she has never peed inside. It also only seems to be happening in places that she sleeps, which makes me think it’s happening in her sleep. The other thing that’s puzzling is that is doesn’t smell like pee, and neither Hailey nor Mokkah seem bothered by it.

 

I have an appointment with the vet, but would like to know from others that have had this experience what it could possibly be (a UTI, maybe?). She doesn't seem to have any other symptoms.

Edited July 4, 2012 by JerseyGirlInOz

[TheFullHouse]

Could be a UTI. Has she been drinking a lot? If so that could account for the lack of odor.

Edited July 4, 2012 by JillysFullHouse

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Could be a UTI. Has she been drinking a lot?

 

Not that I have noticed, but we have one of those automatic dog waters so it's hard to judge.

[Guest Gillybear]

No advice, but Gill had a period of occasional sleep incontinence. I was perplexed too because the wet spot was way too large for drool but did not smell like pee. I would curious to see if other posters have an explanation.

[tbhounds]

I would try to measure her water intake--if she's drinking more that could explain the bed wetting.

She may also have spay incontentance--medications like DES and Proin are used to treat that. Personally, I don't like to give Ghs Proin-most already have high to higher blood pressure and many have glomerulonephritis (protein in the urine)--DES also has known side effects (bone marrow suppression) -but, at the low dose you would use for spay incontentance the risk for that is very, very low.

I'm sure the first thing your vet will want to rule out is a uti.

Edited July 4, 2012 by tbhounds

[JAJ2010]

I hoow it's an eat uti. My friends pup has some incontinence when sleeping and when she's over we just line everything with the waterproof mattress pads. Nice and easy to wash. poor girl must be embarrassed

 

* hope * easy darn auto correct!

[JerseyGirlInOz]

I would try to measure her water intake--if she's drinking more that could explain the bed wetting.

She may also have spay incontentance--medications like DES and Proin are used to treat that.

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question regarding spay incontinence---could it develop 6 years after spaying? Hailey was spayed at 19 months and is nearly 8 now.

[tbhounds]

I would try to measure her water intake--if she's drinking more that could explain the bed wetting.

She may also have spay incontentance--medications like DES and Proin are used to treat that.

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question regarding spay incontinence---could it develop 6 years after spaying? Hailey was spayed at 19 months and is nearly 8 now.

No question is stupid-and yes, it could be spay incontentance at her age. Sometimes as us girls age things become a bit "looser" :-). Her bladder sphincter may not be as tight (for lack of a better word) :-) at her age.

[JerseyGirlInOz]

I would try to measure her water intake--if she's drinking more that could explain the bed wetting.

She may also have spay incontentance--medications like DES and Proin are used to treat that.

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question regarding spay incontinence---could it develop 6 years after spaying? Hailey was spayed at 19 months and is nearly 8 now.

No question is stupid-and yes, it could be spay incontentance at her age. Sometimes as us girls age things become a bit "looser" :-). Her bladder sphincter may not be as tight (for lack of a better word) :-) at her age.

What is the treatment for spay incontinence?

 

Never mind---I just read back and saw you already answered that it's treated with medication. So THAT was a stupid question

Edited July 4, 2012 by JerseyGirlInOz

[GreytNut]

If it's not a UTI, it probably is spay incontinence. It is very, very common with older spayed female dogs. Raven has been on DES for a couple of years now and has produced no more wet spots on the couch! The vet said that giving it more than twice a week slightly increases the risk of osteosarcoma, but she's been fine with only twice a week. I have heard a lot of accounts of greyhounds having bad reactions to Proin. I seem to recall that VAhoundlover lost one of her girls to side effects from Proin.

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Thanks so much for the heads-up on the meds, tbshounds and Kristen. I'm taking her to her "regular" vet rather than the GH vet, so that's good info to know. If they rule out a UTI, I will take her to the GH vet tomorrow.

[Guest BrianRke]

This same thing was happening with Frank. Just like you described, it did not smell like urine. I finally realized that he was licking the sheets while I was asleep! They can create a large wet area doing this. I was surprised and very happy this was all it was.

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. It was a huge relief going to the vet tonight with at least a few clues.

 

Turns out, she does have a mild UTI, but the vet also thinks that the way it presented, along with her age, also indicated spay incontinence. Good news is, we were able to get a sterile urine sample (thank goodness that Hailey marks like a boy ) and the concentration was good, so there is no indication of kidney problems.

 

She is on antibiotics for the UTI and Stilboestral (DES) to treat the incontinence---1 per day for 5 days, then wean her down to 2x a week. If she responds well I will try to get her down to 1x a week and see how she goes.

Edited July 4, 2012 by JerseyGirlInOz

[Neighsayer]

Bubba licks the bed and gets pretty wet, leaving big spots on his bed or the couch.

Meeka had kidney disease and left large wet spots several times a month at the end. Her urine was so diluted that there was no smell at all. Ant kidney issues?

[Guest greygirls2]

Try the 1% milk.....it's easy, cheap, no side effects and if it doesn't work then no harm done. I've used it with Diamond now for 3 yrs and not a single dribble. It's usually 1/4 - 1/2 c twice a day...I give it in the am and pm before bed. Diamond had a very severe though they tell me rare reaction to the Proin so there was no using that with her and I was thrilled to see this work so well for us after a greyhound friend recommended it.

[tbhounds]

For the record-reactions to Proin in Ghs are NOT rare. I personally almost lost my girl after one single dose.

[Guest LindsaySF]

It helps when they mark for you Good luck with the DES and hopefully the UTI clears up.

[DaisyDoodle]

Have the vets check for a UTI. Also have the specific gravity of the urine checked which can indicate kidney problems and other issues. Incontinence combined with excessive intake can also indicate diabetes or Cushing's Disease (possibly also Addison's, which is the opposite of Cushings, but not sure if incontinence is a Sx of Addison's).

 

Don't assume spay incontinence until you've had everything else ruled out.

[tbhounds]

Have the vets check for a UTI. Also have the specific gravity of the urine checked which can indicate kidney problems and other issues. Incontinence combined with excessive intake can also indicate diabetes or Cushing's Disease (possibly also Addison's, which is the opposite of Cushings, but not sure if incontinence is a Sx of Addison's).

 

Don't assume spay incontinence until you've had everything else ruled out.

The op mentioned they did check for a uti and checked the urine specific gravity already.

[Guest janiek]

Please, please, please be careful with Proin & DES. My Ginger started with a little dribble, then graduated to puddles during sleep, the wet trail of urine as she walked. After the urine test, no UTI. So, we went onto the Proin with no help, so we went onto the DES. Please read my post about it. I'm not tryin to alarm you, really I'm not. I wish I was told about the side effects (other than the bone issue). After surgery to fix the "hang out", we are now re-facing the incontinence and she is still in her diapers and I'm still buying human incontinence pads. My vet said need to be aware that a bit of urine doesn't stay inside to cause the UTI now. What we don't go threw along with our puppers.............You and yours are in my thoughts. What is with the milk? I never heard about this remedy?

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

I think they are talking about soy milk.

[Guest janiek]

SO, you give the pupper the soy milk twice a day without meds? Do you remember where you heard this? Do you use this, or know of anyone who did this?

[tbhounds]

The milk theory goes back to the claim that there's hormones in the milk. I'm doubtful that thers enough hormones in the milk to make a difference but, some folks will disagree with me :-)

[JerseyGirlInOz]

These are her urinalysis results:

 

pH = 6.5

LEU = neg

PRO = 3+

GLU = neg

KET = neg

UBG = norm

BIL = neg

BLD = 4+

 

Is there anything there I should be concerned with?

 

ETA: The vet also gave me a sterile container to do another urinalysis when she has finished her course of AB's.

Edited July 5, 2012 by JerseyGirlInOz

[tbhounds]

The protein and blood should not be present-I'm sure that's why your veterinarian started the antibotics. Everything else is fine.

Was the urine sample that was tested a voided sample?