Female pup with "draining issue"

Bulmers1

Hi all, I have a cavichon female pup, approx 7 months old, we had her spayed approx one month ago but since then she can't seem to empty her bladder completely,i.e., she will leave a trail of drops (urine) around the house after her. Brought her back to vet, x2 lots of antibiotics, steroids and now drops x2 a day and absolutely no improvement! She is the most gorgeous pup but obviously we can't let it continue!! Has anybody come across this before and more importantly, does anyone know a cure......we are at the end of our tether and with x3 young kids in the house if we can't cure her, we may not have any options but to put her to sleep which would devastate everyone!!!

cocker5

Bulmers1 wrote: »

Hi all, I have a cavichon female pup, approx 7 months old, we had her spayed approx one month ago but since then she can't seem to empty her bladder completely,i.e., she will leave a trail of drops (urine) around the house after her. Brought her back to vet, x2 lots of antibiotics, steroids and now drops x2 a day and absolutely no improvement! She is the most gorgeous pup but obviously we can't let it continue!! Has anybody come across this before and more importantly, does anyone know a cure......we are at the end of our tether and with x3 young kids in the house if we can't cure her, we may not have any options but to put her to sleep which would devastate everyone!!!

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Put her to sleep , I'm
Sorry OP is that not very dramatic.

What has your vet said?

Knine

If she is definitely leaving a trail or is there a chance it is happening with excitement?

It sounds like a right nightmare to deal with. Who encouraged you to spay a 6 mth old bitch? This is one of the reasons I prefer to wait until they are mature.

In the meantime you can put a little pull up on her or if she is very tiny you can put some knickers & a little pad on her to help prevent some of the mess. She needs to go back to the vets.

volchitsa

If the problem is long term (hopefully it won't though) couldn't you rehome her?

I'm sure there's someone who'd take her if she has a good personality - behavioral problems would put me off more than something physical. Of course we have a tiled floor downstairs, no small children and the dog doesn't go upstairs, so that helps - but that's my point. Put to sleep seems very drastic without being sure it's too huge a problem for anyone to cope with.

tk123

I'd wonder too is it actually leaking or is it nerves/excitement like Knine says. The fact that you're thinking of putting her asleep OP would make me wonder how you're reacting when it happens? A friend's dog leaked as a puppy -iirc it always happened and wasn't anything to do with spaying but she's on medication and it's well controlled. I'd either go back to the vet or get a second opinion.

Cheshire Cat

One of our dogs did the excitment peeing thing, too. It more or less coincided with spaying also. We introduced new calm routines and completely ignored the accidents (just cleaned them calmly) to avoid stressing her further. One of these dap collars also helped to calm her down and the problem disappeared after a while. She's 10 now and we love her to bits!

Bulmers1

Hi All, sorry I may not have explained my situation correctly, Lola has been on x2 antibiotics, steroids and incontinence drops and nothing is working. Not to be too graphic but she leaves maybe 30% of wee where it is suppose to be and the remainder is trailed around the house. I have never been cross or angry with her, she is truely adored by both myself, husband and kids! Have spoke to our vet (20 years experience). And in the past he has seen x2 dogs experiencing the same symptoms and the only surgery that exists to repair issue is only recommended for older dogs and has a 50% success rate. The last thing we would want to do is to put Lola to sleep, Jesus, I have tears in my eyes even thinking about it, but I genuinely don't know what to do.....maybe trying to get her re homed might be an option?

Zapperzy

I'd definitely get a second opinion before doing anything drastic like pts or rehoming. No offence to your vet, sometimes a fresh set of eyes can spot something. In the meantime you can get incontinence pants in most big pet shops or online, vets would be able to order them in either.

Bunnyslippers

Can you also not confine her to say the kitchen or a pen in the kitchen? - makes cleaning up easier, or even crate train her for the hours you're not at home so she doesn't make a mess - then all you have to do is clean her bedding and a small area, then take her outside to play to try and drain off as much as possible. Nappy pads for around the house when you are at home would work too.
I'd also get a second opinion, I have heard the very occasional spayed dogs having this issue, but as your vet said it is very rare. I'd also google like crazy to research as much as you can about the issue as it's rare your vet may not be up to date with the latest treatment, and at 7 months she wont have a full level of fitness.
I think putting her down is rather dramatic as is rehoming her - you took on this dog as a member of your family so getting rid of her because she is causing a bit of hassle and is not perfect is pretty bad.

Ms Doubtfire1

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What Causes Incontinence in Dogs?[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There are several potential culprits behind canine urinary incontinence:[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][*]Bladder infections, stones, polyps or tumors
[*]Developmental urinary tract abnormalities, including ectopic ureters and vaginal strictures
[*]Weakened bladder (urethral) sphincters in spayed female dogs, also known as estrogen-responsive or spay incontinence, which is the most common cause
[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How Do You Treat Spay Incontinence?[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Urethral sphincter strength can be improved with medication — some 50 to 60 percent of incontinent spayed female dogs will respond to estrogen therapy, which works to increase the sensitivity of the closure receptors in the urethra.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Estriol (Incurin) is a new, natural estrogen therapy option that will be available to veterinarians this fall. Although other estrogen formulations have been used for spay incontinence, estriol is the only FDA-approved estrogen for the condition. (FDA approval ensures drug safety and effectiveness, as well as quality and consistent manufacturing and monitoring processes.)[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Another course of treatment is phenylpropanolamine (PPA), which is a nonhormonal medication that directly stimulates closure receptors in the urethra. About 85 to 90 percent of spayed female dogs will show an excellent response to PPA. [/font]

ShaShaBear

I'm going to say what I can't already see here.

Have you tried house-training her?
I know of a multitude of people who had serious issues trying to toilet train Bichons, which your pup is half of. And there's the other word. Pup. She's a baby. A baby who's recently undergone surgery. It could be a simple case of she's going outside just enough to relieve herself so she can come back in and join everyone else and then in the excitement, she starts to wee.
You have kids, I'm sure you can remember that they did exactly the same thing when you were potty training them!

Try toilet training her again from scratch (there are plenty of people who have puppies who still haven't mastered it at 7 months) by taking her outside after meals, drinks, play time and naps and stay with her until she goes. Make a huge fuss when she does. Make an even bigger fuss if she empties herself.