Incontinence Problem

[DNeff]

I'm looking for some help with Osa. We recently got her thyroid medication back to a good level and she has put on the few extra pounds she needed to. The problem is that she seems to be having an incontinence problem. The incontinence is mainly during the night while she is sleeping. She has also been drinking a fair amount of water. She has always been a heavy drinker, but it's been a bit worse lately. Osa is about 11 years old now and was spayed last April when she went in to foster care.

Next Thursday she is scheduled for a full thyroid panel, glucose test and full blood panel to check her kidneys. Is there anything else I should have the vet check? My normal vet is out until the end of February, so I am a bit reluctant to hand her off to just anybody, but I don't want to wait much longer to have her checked out.

Any other thoughts on what might be wrong? Is it possible this is just because she is getting so old? She is doing great otherwise. She has a wonderful appetite, gets around well, plays regularly with Riven.
Thanks!

Dawn + Osa
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld

[Judi W]

This type of thing is almost always caused by hormone deficiency. Leaking while sleeping is called spay incontinence and there are medications that pretty much take care of the problem.

[mmgy]

Hi Dawn, you're smart to get her checked, but if they don't find anything else, Judi's right, it's spay incontinence. Either PPA or DES will usually knock it right out.

Delilah took PPA (phenylpropanolamine, aka Proin). Ages 7ish to 10ish, she took it 3 times a week, then we upped her dose to 25 mgs a day. My 3 y/o brittany takes it twice a week in the summer only.

Also, you can restrict water after 7-8 pm in the evening. This is now our routine with all dogs. After the last walk at 10 or so, they only get a swallow or two.

[DNeff]

Well the good news is that all of Osa's levels are fantastic! Her thyroid is still a bit high, which means we get to reduce her thyroid medication yet again. The vet was very impressed with how well she is doing considering how old she is.

It turns out Osa has a urinary tract infection. She is now on a ten day course of antibiotics. She started them last week and she is already doing better. :)

Any suggestions on preventing another infection going forward?

Dawn + Osa
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld

[mmgy]

Dawn, there are a bunch of homeopathic remedies that promote urinary tract health. It probably wouldn't hurt to try one of those.

Are you coming to Charlotte next month? I'll show you one then if you haven't found something by that time.

[Rott-Wiley]

One thing you could try is giving her cranberry capsules. Years ago we had a bitch that was prone to getting infections, in her case she was not a big water drinker at all and we lived in Miami where it was constantly hot. We put her on an adult dosage of the capsules and she did real well on them with no further infections. BTW she was a doberman but that shouldn't matter.