How to Diagnose Spay Incontinence in Female Dogs
Observe when your dog is leaking urine., Check your dog’s back legs for urine., Smell your dog., Take your dog to your vet., Let your vet perform a physical exam., Have your vet take urine and blood samples., Discuss imaging tests with your vet.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Observe when your dog is leaking urine.
Spay incontinence occurs when a female dog is lying down to rest or sleep.
The urine may leak in small spurts, rather than continuously.When your dog is resting or sleeping, look for a urine puddle or damp spot start near your dog's back end.
Lying down puts pressure on your dog's bladder.
The urine leakage may become more frequent over time.
Also, the urine puddles may start to get bigger with each leakage episode.Other than leaking urine when lying down, your dog will be able to urinate normally.The sphincter muscle is part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.
That muscle is what normally keeps urine from continuously dripping out of the bladder. -
Step 2: Check your dog’s back legs for urine.
Because your dog will be leaking urine when it’s lying down, the urine will dampen and stain its back legs.Examine your dog’s back legs when it’s still lying down or after it gets up from its resting spot.
The hair on the back legs will be wet.
If your dog has white fur, the urine will stain the fur yellow. , If your dog has spay incontinence, it will begin to smell like urine.Urine has a very strong scent, so it won’t be hard to detect a urine smell coming from your dog.
If your dog frequently lies on a blanket or bed, those items will also develop a urine smell. , Some dog owners get so frustrated with their female dog’s spay incontinence that they end up euthanizing their dog.Do not let your frustration get to this point! If your spayed female dog is leaking urine, do not delay in taking it to your vet.
The sooner your vet can diagnose the spay incontinence, the sooner your dog (and you!) can get some relief from this problem.
Other problems, such as a urinary tract infection or health conditions causing excessive water intake (diabetes, Cushing’s disease), can cause urine leakage.Your vet will need to rule these out in order to confirm a spay incontinence diagnosis. , Female dogs with spay incontinence usually have a fairly normal physical exam.
The main abnormal exam findings will be urine staining on the back legs and urine leakage.
As your vet examines your dog, they will ask you when your dog was spayed, as well as specific questions about the incontinence.
Examples of questions are below:
Does the incontinence occur when your dog is sleeping or relaxed? Does your dog dribble when it is walking? Does your dog drink a lot of water? How old is your dog? , Analyzing blood and urine samples will help your vet rule out other conditions causing urine leakage.
For example, in the urine, your vet will look for signs of a urinary tract infection (inflammatory cells, blood) and diabetes (glucose).
Your vet may also perform a urine culture to see if there’s any bacteria in the urine.Your dog’s blood and urine will probably be normal., Abdominal x-rays and ultrasounds are very helpful for seeing urinary tract problems.
However, to diagnose spay incontinence, imaging tests may not be necessary.Talk with your vet about whether imaging tests would be worth the cost to make a spay incontinence diagnosis in your dog. -
Step 3: Smell your dog.
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Step 4: Take your dog to your vet.
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Step 5: Let your vet perform a physical exam.
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Step 6: Have your vet take urine and blood samples.
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Step 7: Discuss imaging tests with your vet.
Detailed Guide
Spay incontinence occurs when a female dog is lying down to rest or sleep.
The urine may leak in small spurts, rather than continuously.When your dog is resting or sleeping, look for a urine puddle or damp spot start near your dog's back end.
Lying down puts pressure on your dog's bladder.
The urine leakage may become more frequent over time.
Also, the urine puddles may start to get bigger with each leakage episode.Other than leaking urine when lying down, your dog will be able to urinate normally.The sphincter muscle is part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.
That muscle is what normally keeps urine from continuously dripping out of the bladder.
Because your dog will be leaking urine when it’s lying down, the urine will dampen and stain its back legs.Examine your dog’s back legs when it’s still lying down or after it gets up from its resting spot.
The hair on the back legs will be wet.
If your dog has white fur, the urine will stain the fur yellow. , If your dog has spay incontinence, it will begin to smell like urine.Urine has a very strong scent, so it won’t be hard to detect a urine smell coming from your dog.
If your dog frequently lies on a blanket or bed, those items will also develop a urine smell. , Some dog owners get so frustrated with their female dog’s spay incontinence that they end up euthanizing their dog.Do not let your frustration get to this point! If your spayed female dog is leaking urine, do not delay in taking it to your vet.
The sooner your vet can diagnose the spay incontinence, the sooner your dog (and you!) can get some relief from this problem.
Other problems, such as a urinary tract infection or health conditions causing excessive water intake (diabetes, Cushing’s disease), can cause urine leakage.Your vet will need to rule these out in order to confirm a spay incontinence diagnosis. , Female dogs with spay incontinence usually have a fairly normal physical exam.
The main abnormal exam findings will be urine staining on the back legs and urine leakage.
As your vet examines your dog, they will ask you when your dog was spayed, as well as specific questions about the incontinence.
Examples of questions are below:
Does the incontinence occur when your dog is sleeping or relaxed? Does your dog dribble when it is walking? Does your dog drink a lot of water? How old is your dog? , Analyzing blood and urine samples will help your vet rule out other conditions causing urine leakage.
For example, in the urine, your vet will look for signs of a urinary tract infection (inflammatory cells, blood) and diabetes (glucose).
Your vet may also perform a urine culture to see if there’s any bacteria in the urine.Your dog’s blood and urine will probably be normal., Abdominal x-rays and ultrasounds are very helpful for seeing urinary tract problems.
However, to diagnose spay incontinence, imaging tests may not be necessary.Talk with your vet about whether imaging tests would be worth the cost to make a spay incontinence diagnosis in your dog.
About the Author
Debra Tucker
Experienced content creator specializing in crafts guides and tutorials.
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