18 Month Old Female "dripping" Urine

[rpmpit]

Hello to everyone. This is my first post. I have an 18 month old female rotti named Harley. She is a wonderful dog and have had ZERO problems with her up until this point. A few weeks ago she was sitting on our kitchen floor, chewing on a bone and I noticed a puddle behind her. I called our vet immediately because I thought she might be sick. He told me that if she releases a large amount of urine in her sleep, it could be a sign of a weak bladder. He said it sounds like she was either under stress or excited and that caused the release. It hasn't been as bad as that first time, but every once and a while she'll just be hanging out and "drip" a little. I just want to make sure it's not a medical issue.

More info about Harley:
She is fixed
I also own a male, 9 year old, fixed Black Lab named Dorian
She gets plenty of excercise and is not under ANY stress at all

[frontierrots]

you should take a urine sample in and have it sent out to a Lab for a urine culture to make sure that she does not have an infection before any other assumptions are made

[rpmpit]

Thank you. I will do just that.

Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but how much urine would be enough to perform the urine culture? And can you recommend the best way to collect the sample.

[frontierrots]

about 1/4 cup is preferred. I use a small clean dessert bowl that I put down as the dog pees but many people use a very clean pie plate

[rpmpit]

Thank you again for your help.

I'm very glad I stumbled across this forum during my search. No doubt it will be a great source of information for me and my little girl, Harley!

[majicka]

my vet used a soup ladel to collect a urine sample..but that was my male dog..not sure if it would work on a female.

[BostonRott]

Also, spayed bitches do often "leak." There is a medicine they can be put on (for life) that usually clears the problem up easily. I can't think of the name of it, but I'm sure your vet would know what it is.

[RottiMomCT]

I had to get a urine sample from a male Husky at the local shelter - donned a pair of rubber gloves, grabbed a jar and waitied for him to lift his leg....got pee'd on but also got a nice sample

I think with a female you're better off with a shorter 'catch basin' such as a pie plate that can be slid under her when she squats.

I work in a urine cytology lab- we get specimens ranging from 2mls to over 100mls...can do dipstick analysis on anything over 10 mls... Optimum specimen amount is anything over 30 mls.

[majicka]

Originally Posted by BostonRott

Also, spayed bitches do often "leak." There is a medicine they can be put on (for life) that usually clears the problem up easily. I can't think of the name of it, but I'm sure your vet would know what it is.

My collie shepherd mix was on somehting called Phenylpropanolamine or something like that..It worked fantastically, within a few days of taking it she stopped 'leaking'. I think they've since discontinued making that medication..not sure it was a long time ago.

[JeanT]

Yes, it's phenopropanolamine. I think they've started to manufacture it again, after it was banned in human products because of a study re: stroke. It is a whole lot cheaper than something my sister had to switch her dog to after it was discontinued. Google the phenylpropanolomine. I haven't kept up with it, but it worked wonders and was cheap.

[frontierrots]

and this dog may indeed have spay leaking BUT I have seen a great many girls so diagnosed that after being on Clavamox antibiotic for 4 weeks never leaked again because in reality they had a long term low grade UTI instead

[bfiney]

I would recommend the pie plate. That worked really good for me when I had to get a number of sample for Penny's UTI.

[yogi53]

I have had the same trouble with my 5 month old...she would drip when she was totally exhausted and wouldn't wake herself up to pee...she would have a small puddle under her and her leg was wet...the vet said not to worry as when I saw him it had only happened once...she then had about 4 or 5 episodes and then it went away for awhile and my husband just called 5 minutes ago to say she did it again today- no stress at all - so I will be trying to get a urine sample this weekend also...i will try the pie plate I guess -

[ArwensMom]

I am a vet tech and when we take urine samples we take them via an ultrasound guided cystocentesis in order to get a sterile sample. Basically we pop the ultrasound on their belly to locate the bladder, insert an extra-long needle, and pull out our sample. If it is a bladder control issue, it is a common occurrence in spayed female dogs, and my vet has told me that 1 and 1/2 to 3 years is generally when this can start. We treat it with Proin (phenopropalamine). My rottie was dripping and frequently urinating at about five months of age; we took a sample and it turned out she had a nasty UTI. Once we got that cleared up, we discovered that she also makes crystals in her bladder, which untreated become stones. We have also done emergency cystotomies on dogs as young as a year old to remove stones from the bladder. I would definitely check the urine ASAP just in case it is something more serious than a weak bladder.

[yogi53]

I have an appointment to drop off a urine sample off at the vet tomorrow morning...I am mad at myself now for thinking it was nothing...