Dr Liesel van der Merwe is a small animal medicine specialist. Send her your questions: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dr Liesel van der Merwe

Does your dog leak? Dogs with urinary incontinence leak without being aware that they are doing so. They usually have an underlying condition which affects the kidneys’ ability to concentrate urine.

Incontinent dogs will leave puddles where they lie or sleep. They will also lick at their back ends more, especially the females.

Dogs which suddenly can’t make it through the night inside without making a puddle are not incontinent. They know that they want to urinate.

Another condition which can be confused with incontinence is a urinary tract infection, especially in bitches. About half the affected animals will constantly feel the need to urinate even though the bladder is empty. These dogs also know that they are urinating.

Depending on the cause, most incontinent dogs are intermittently symptomatic during the day. This is related to where the urine is pooling in the tract and how that pathway is angled to the exit point. If the pooled area  is lower than the vulva, the dog will not dribble urine if standing or lying on her tummy, but may dribble if sitting on her haunches or lying on her side.

Incontinent dogs are also much more prone to bladder infections; bitches much more so than male dogs as their anatomy predisposes them – short, wide urethras compared to the male dog, positioned just below the anus.

In young animals the causes of urinary incontinence are usually congenital. This includes abnormal implantation of the ureters (kidney pipes) into the bladder. The ureters both run just under the dog’s spine from each kidney and join up to the last portion of the bladder.

As the bladder fills, it expands away from the neck of the bladder. In dogs with abnormal position the ureters will often go too far backwards and insert into the bladder pipe (urethra) rather than the bladder itself. The urine will not accumulate in the bladder but leak out of the dog as it is formed.

In some patients the whole tubing is not right and the pipes are dilated and do not have proper valve actions preventing the back flow of urine. In these animals the kidneys can become damaged. Special diagnostics and surgery is required. Huskies, poodles and Labradors are among breeds predisposed. This condition is more common in female dogs and will be present from a young age.

Another condition affecting mainly females is called an intrapelvic bladder where the bladder neck is too short. Instead of lying against the lower tummy wall, the bladder is back in the pelvis, which results in incorrect pressure during urine accumulation. A variety of surgical techniques can be used to pull the bladder back and down into the abdomen where the pressures are more normal.

By far the most common cause of urine leaking is hormonal incontinence in older or sterilised female dogs. Oestrogen adds to the tightness of the bladder sphincter tone. As levels drop with age, the bladder closes less tightly and may leak. Because small amounts of this hormone are produced by glands other than the ovaries, these signs sometimes wax and wane as hormone levels change.

Hormone replacement is the treatment of choice, but has varied success. Many of the drugs we used to use to manage this condition are no longer on the market. In these dogs infection worsens the signs and is a constant threat.

One important cause of sudden incontinence, especially in a male dog, is when a bladder stone blocks the ureters and urine leaks around the obstruction due to pressure build-up. These dogs will make frequent unsuccessful attempts to urinate. This is an emergency. Dalmatians are especially predisposed to bladder stones.

With incontinent dogs a concomitant condition, such as kidney problems or infection, can worsen the signs and the dog can become manageable once these co-factors are under control. Please realise that there is no quick fix. Often the best specialist surgery and treatment result in control of symptoms rather than cure.