My German Shepherd is 3 years old and has two surgeries. One exploritory for stomach problems and spaded. She can not hold her water and I have to give her 3 pills a day. The vet said this happens sometimes but I have never heard of this. Can this be caused by surgical procedures?
Karen Taylor

Wow, like totally weird man. My brothers dog just had a blockage removed from her gut. She had some serious tumor action down there. Anyway, she has been leeking pee for a few days now. Vet said the same thing. Sometimes that happens with tummy surgury.
Anyway the bitch is just now starting to "hold her water". Only a little bit at a time. :rolleyes: James is hoping it will continue to get better.

Why the heck does that happen? I'm thinking it has to do with the cuts and soreness down there? Tough to hold yer pee if it hurts?

My dog has had this for the last 2 years so it didn't just happen. This is a permanent thing and it is very much a problem because she weighs 90 pounds and sleeps in my bed sometimes. If I miss giving her one pill during the day she sometimes wets at night whereever she is sleeping. My pets stay inside when I am home and it really presents a problem. I was interested in seeing if there is anything else to be done to aid this problem other than using diapers.
Karen

Chelsea,

If you decide to go with diapers, can I have a photo of her kicking back in your bed with diapers on? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Jason
Thanks for the reply and yes it would definately make a great picture, I bet it would end up on a calendar for Precious Moments.
Karen <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Karen,

Sorry I wasn't much help. Seriously though, if I ever let my dogs in my bed (I wouldn't), wetting it would certainly put a stop to that. If you ever had a good reason to keep the dogs off the bed, this is a good one.

Jason
I agree but I live alone and my pets are my family. My kids are grown with children so my pets are my children now. I started my GS out like this not knowing what would happen health wise over the years and it is a hard problem to brake especially when she gets on the bed after I am asleep. If I closed the bedroom door she would chew through it. She is my shadow, if you know what I mean. Thanks for the reply.
Karen

Did this problem occur after the dog was spayed? While spaying is routine it is still major surgery and it doesn’t take much for the bladder to be cut or nicked. Of course the vet will never tell you if he or she did. I would definitely get a second opinion. Don't even waste your money on another vet go directly to a specialist. BTW I also let my dog sleep with me.

Milt

Spaying a female young (under the age of 1 or before first heat) will sometimes result in incontenence. I advocate not spaying until a dog is older (which does not make me popular with some people) but spaying young or neutering young is not healthy for your dog.

It is politically correct though to do this (no unwanted litters) so most often we do not here the downside of the procedure.

Hormones are not just for reproduction. Incontenience is caused by the lack of hormone control (underdeveloped muscles and supporting tissue) of the urethral sphincter muscles. These muscles become stronger with every season a female is allowed to go through. (It is recommended to give females cod liver oil before /after a spay as this can help strengthen the muscles.)

As well, bones develop more fully in response to estrogen and results in fewer joint problems later on particularly for large breeds. FOr males you don't usually see incontenent problems as they have a longer urethra, but waiting til later (animal starts lifting its leg) , indicates the presence of testoserone , which helps mature muscles and bones.

Another reason to not spay during the 5-9 month period is that this will mean his or her behaviour remains more juevenile. If you want your dog to show more adult behaviours and take more responsibility (training for competitive events, working for a living, SAR, etc.) then one should think about spaying/neutering later. It has been noted that a male not neutered until after one year of age and a female that has gone through 2 seasons is gernerally easier to train for competitive events.

THere was also a study done on boxers and the results were that those spayed/neutered early had a much higher incident of cancer. I might be able to find a link to that study.

I had a dog that had incontenence the ladder part of her life. I gave her estrogen pill , which did help. Another thing you might want to consider is accupuncture. This also helped. I was fortunate that she always slept in the same few areas, so I bought medical pads (large enough for her to sleep on) that are soft on one side and plastic on the other side. They were very absorbant , so they kept her dry. I just kept changing them and washing them.

Milt,
Thanks so much for your reply. The problem did start after she was spayed. I believe as you do but could not get my vet to own up to it. Now she and I have to pay for this, especially for pills Proin I have to buy every few weeks. What kind of harmone pill do you give your dog? When you say specialist do you mean Urologist? If spelled correctly.