Urinary Incontenence

4171 Views 31 Replies 17 Participants Last post by speedlever, Feb 3, 2008

brooke

Discussion Starter · Jan 14, 2007

Hello-
I am new to this site. I rescued a female red doberman two years ago and according to the vet she is around 5-6 years old. I know she has been spayed. She has hypothyroidism and is taking soloxine for that. After I adopted her she developed urinary incontenency. She leaks mostly during the day and always after I take her out to the bathroom (like she didn't get it all out). Anyways, the vet put her on Stilbesterol and Propogest for this problem. Propogest first, then Stilbesterol because the Propogest wasn't working. Neither of these medications are completely stopping the leakage and she is at the max amounts for each drug.

Basically I was wondering if anyone here has a dog that has experienced this problem and if so, what drugs or treatments worked. I am looking for some alternative drugs or treatments for this problem. I really hate having to put her on all these medications, but I don't know of any holistic approaches.

Also, I have know of a college that is studying a possible link between hypothyroidism and urinary incontinency. Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks for any information or suggestions.

Brooke

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

waiting

· #2 · Jan 14, 2007

Try Leaks No More through Kv Vet Supply. This is a homeopathy remedy for incontinence .
Check to see if the health food store near you carries it. Or go to Washington Homeopathics. www.homeopathyworks.com and purchase it online.

brumwolf

· #3 · Jan 14, 2007

I have been in this situation with a spayed female but Stilbesterol did the trick for us,I would certainly try waitings suggestion to see if it works.

CoAl-s-Mom

· #4 · Jan 14, 2007

Alternative methods I have heard of are adding corn silk to diet or others eliminate corn and other grains for diet.

My girl takes DES (Diethylstilbestrol). It is working for her taking it 2 times a week.

TwoDobieGirls

· #5 · Jan 14, 2007

My 3 1/2 year old girl takes DES. It works great and no side effects that we've seen.

elly

· #6 · Jan 14, 2007

I had the same problem with lindsey, the vet gave her propalin, and she was almost 10 years when she died, she used this several years, and for her it worked, and she had no side affects.

But I think its diffecult to compare one dog with an other dog, there all different.

brooke

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 14, 2007

Thanks to everyone for providing me with some very good advice. I will definitely look into the "Leaks No More" and I will be visiting the vet soon.

Dobesanddragons

· #8 · Jan 14, 2007

The vet has meds that will help control the problem, sounds like they aren't working in your case.

Quite a few Dobe people use corn silk to help. Switching to a grain free diet helps others, might be something to look into further in your girl's case. Some parsley can help too I have heard and cranberry tablets. Solid Gold makes Berry Balance, that helps prevent problems, one of our poster's has used it before but it does not control them or eliminate the problems, it is just a supplement, not a medication.

I have never had to deal with a leaking problem with my dogs so I can't be much help first hand.

I PM'ed you a list of holistic vets, hopefully you can find one close to you, since you seem interested in alternative methods.

Let us know what you find out, sorry you are guys are having to go thru this, best of luck to you and thanks for giving her a good home.

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micdobe

· #9 · Jan 14, 2007

It doesn't sound like her vet has used Proin, only DES, which is a hormone. I have only used Proin, on one dog, and it worked, altho then it was just over the counter PPA. I don't like using the hormone unless necessary because I think it can contribute to mammary cancer, it does in humans.

jul_miller

· #10 · Jan 15, 2007

micdobe said:
It doesn't sound like her vet has used Proin, only DES, which is a hormone. I have only used Proin, on one dog, and it worked, altho then it was just over the counter PPA. I don't like using the hormone unless necessary because I think it can contribute to mammary cancer, it does in humans.

yes weve tried that also but she still leaks,hes tried several differnt antib iodics on her and nothing has helped

micdobe

· #11 · Jan 15, 2007

I was responding to Brooke's question. I don't know what is going on with your dog but hopefully you will find a vet who is more competent than your first one sounds.

yes weve tried that also but she still leaks,hes tried several differnt antib iodics on her and nothing has helped

JavasMom

· #12 · Jan 15, 2007

Ok, I may be barking up the wrong tree here, but did she ever have a litter and there may be some damage done to her bladder muscles during delivery? Or perhaps during spaying? It can happen to humans, so why not to dogs? If it is bladder muscle damage, it may take more than medication to correct.

brooke

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 15, 2007

I wish I knew if she had a litter or not. Because we adopted her we did not have any history, or medical history give to us. We did ask, but the rescue agency unfortunately knew little. The vet did say that she feels like she has scar tissue and that could be from giving birth or spaying. When we first adopted her we thought she may have had a litter of pups because of the size of her nipples, but I have seen many other female dogs (who have not given birth) that have larger nipples.

This is the reason why I am going to have her checked out at the vet. I am starting to wonder if there may be an issue I am not aware of. Good question.

CoAl-s-Mom

· #14 · Jan 15, 2007

jul_miller said:
yes weve tried that also but she still leaks,hes tried several differnt antib iodics on her and nothing has helped

If it's urinary incontinence, antibiotics aren't going to help. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but it doesn't sound like your vet knows exactly what is wrong with her.

speedlever

· #15 · Jan 12, 2008

Leaking issues for Riley too.

Please see my post here and I won't double post in this thread.

Wish I'd seen this thread first. Feel free to reply to here if you have any thoughts to share.

reddobes

· #16 · Jan 12, 2008 (Edited)

JavasMom said:
Ok, I may be barking up the wrong tree here, but did she ever have a litter and there may be some damage done to her bladder muscles during delivery? Or perhaps during spaying? It can happen to humans, so why not to dogs? If it is bladder muscle damage, it may take more than medication to correct.

It would be unlikely to have bladder damage from spaying unless there was something anatomically abnormal in the first place. I have seen very occasionally a bitch that had mild incontinence for up to a week after spay - but this has typically gone away in a few days and I suspect was from inflammation or potentially suture reaction, etc.

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reddobes

· #17 · Jan 12, 2008

I would look for other contributing issues if she is not responding to the meds. Anything that causes an increase in urine production can cause leaking in some bitches (UTI, cushings, diabetes, kidney disease, polydipsia, etc).
Sometimes anatomical abnormalities can contribute as well (recess vulva, abnormal bladder position, ectopic ureter, mass/tumor, etc).
If a urine culture/sensitivity has not been done, I would recommend that (w/ a sterile sample collected by cystocentesis - syrine/needle thru the body wall collected by the vet)

You may want to get a seek second opinion from a veterinary urologist (typically you would find one at a vet school or possibly a referral/specialty practice). Contrast studies of the urinary tract can be done to evaluate/rule out any anatomic probs/tumors. I have had some older dogs that needed to be on both PPA and DES together to control the leaking, but I would look at other factors before doing this.

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Jenny

· #18 · Jan 12, 2008

Isabelle was on PPA for years - it worked well for her.

reddobes

· #19 · Jan 12, 2008

jul_miller said:
yes weve tried that also but she still leaks,hes tried several differnt antib iodics on her and nothing has helped

When treating urinary tract infections, it is very important to treat long enough (at least 2 weeks, but often 3-4 weeks) and have an appropriate antibiotic. A urine culture/sensitivity (collected at vet using sterile technique) is needed to verify that the correct antibiotic is being used.

It is also important that incontinence meds be given regularly and at appropriate frequencies - missing doses will often result in leaking. And as I stated in the other posts, it is important to look at other underlying/contributing issues.

reddobes

· #20 · Jan 12, 2008

micdobe said:
It doesn't sound like her vet has used Proin, only DES, which is a hormone. I have only used Proin, on one dog, and it worked, altho then it was just over the counter PPA. I don't like using the hormone unless necessary because I think it can contribute to mammary cancer, it does in humans.

Propagest = PPA
PPA (phenylpropanolamine) has many different trade names. Used to be in many OTC human products (dexatrim, cold medicines, etc), but was pulled off the human market several years ago.
Proin is a chewable form of PPA that is typically given twice daily
Propagest is a tablet typically given twice daily
Cystolamine is an extended release capsule that is typically given once daily
Note: frequency of dosing is dog dependent and some dogs may require smaller or less frequent doses to control incontinence. You should work w/ your vet to determine what is best for your dog.

I don't typically use DES in younger dogs unless they don't respond to PPA. The biggest potential side effect of DES is bone marrow suppression, so blood counts should be monitored periodically while they are on this med.

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