leaking urine

[KrisK]

It appears as though Cricket is having some mild incontinence during the night but not on a regular basis. There are no puddles, just some damp 'dribbles'. She is just over 10, and is spayed. She also has hip dysplasia which hasn't been a problem since her surgery at 6 month old but she is getting a little stiff now.

A couple of years ago, I switched all my dogs to a grain free kibble. I am now wondering if the higher protein content might be adversely affecting Cricket.

She is due for her annual vet check in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, would it make sense to take her off the grain free diet altogether or at least mix with something less high in protein?

 

Thanks!

 

[Blackdawgs]

My older girls also leak in their sleep. I had a urinalysis performed and it was within normal limits so I did nothing (although I'm not buying new furnature in the near future )

[PSmitty]

My 11 year old has had incontinence issues for the last few years. Switching foods made no difference. I'm not sure it has anything to do with the higher protein content in grain free, I think it's just a pretty common occurance for spayed females as they age. Lilly has been on low dose Proin with no ill effects, and it took care of the leaking.

[waffles]

From the internet reading I have done (my male has incontinence, which only 4% of all incontinent dogs are male , lucky me) many people claim that grains exacerbate the problem. Seems like there is no evidence other than peoples anecdotal evidence but it kept coming up in my search for answers for male dogs. Many recommended switching to a grain free food or raw meaty diet.

 

Many female dogs seem to do well on Proin. I still don't understand my male's incontinence but we did try corn silk. It did increase the time between peeing episodes but when I ran out of his kibble I stopped the corn silk and switched to a raw diet. He has now gone 6 weeks between episodes which is much longer than with the corn silk. We are only 2 months into the raw diet and again, it is not proof of anything but I am happy to experiment to find out what helps. The corn silk though, was $5 for a 2 month supply at a local store so it sure doesn't hurt to try it if you wanted.

[Smalahundur]

Many recommended switching to a grain free food or raw meaty diet.

In my experience with the internet info is the raw meat diet is religiously pushed by its disciples as cure for any problem.

As far as I know there is no evidence too support those claims.

[waffles]

I never said it had any evidence (by the way, the evidence for dog food comes from dog food companies. Raw diets don't have that luxury of multi million dollar companies doing research, plus everyone feeds it differently and every day the dog is eating something different. Just like every day you eat different food, so there is not evidence to support your diet is healthier than your neighbors). The grain free idea as helping came up more than raw but my dog was already eating grain free so I switched to raw. Am very glad I did as it is saving me money.
I do agree though that with many people the raw diet is thought to do more than it may but the yahoo group that I read clearly states many times that it is not a substitute for medication or a cure for serious ailments. Just like humans, a diet full of healthy, fresh food is better than a diet full of junk food. To each their own.
With that said I switched to raw and my dog went from peeing in his sleep every week to going 6 weeks. Now we are 3 weeks from the last incident and still doing well. Obviously it isn't scientific evidence but it appears to be doing something. And if it isn't, then I am still happy to not be buying commercial food anymore. Please let's stay on topic though. Incontinence is not fun to deal with both for humans and dogs. Anything to help that isn't turning to meds is good to pass on. Proin is said to have some unsettling side effects and I wouldn't want to use it unless I felt it was necessary. Plus only 43% of males respond to it (according to a vet journal I read). The number is higher for females though.

[simba]

Companies sell raw food diets as well. The research showing dogs have evolved to digest and thrive off many different types of food, including grains, comes from lots of different sources- not just dog food companies. Zoos, for example, are anxious to get the best quality of life for their animals (at least the good ones are) and conduct research and document observations on how their animals do. For most carnivores they'll feed some kind of meat, captive wolves often get fed a commercial dog food because wolves fed like that tend to live longer. http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/raw-meat-and-bone-diets-for-dogs-its-enough-to-make-you-barf/

 

When people are researching, doing the right thing by their dogs I hasten to add, if there's a widespread belief that grains are bad for dog incontinence then more people will see or report improvement when taking their incontinent dog off grains. That's just how it works.

 

Krisk- With your dog, it could be just like with humans- a 'normal' part of getting older, rather than as a result of anything more serious. I hope so, anyway. I had a bitch who was incontinent for a short period, and then it stopped suddenly. Nothing wrong with her by the time she got to the vet.

[waffles]

Sorry I brought up the food topic. But with incontinence your options are limited so if you don't want to come home with a urine soaked dog and couch, you'll do anything to help the situation. I don't need science to tell me my dog went 6 week without waking up in a puddle. You do what works for you. There isn't much science corn silk working either for dogs but that is another option that may work for the OP since her incontinece is probably age related (my boy is only 4). It did seem to help when I used it for 2 months. Again, just giving my personal experience not scientific evidence. Also commercial raw dog food is not at all what I feed. I don't care whether or not dogs have evolved to digest grain. We have evolved to digest fruit loops and donuts but I don't care to eat those regardless of whether or not people seem to thive off it. Plus that research can be as short as 6 weeks and just a few dogs of the same breed. I can thrive off McDonald's for 6 weeks too.

I just want my dog to not be upset that he woke up in a puddle of his own pee.

Sorry this is off topic again. I hope the OP can figure out how to help her pup.

[BCjetta]

I would get her blood/urine checked first to assess her kidney function. If she is drinking too much, that could make her more likely to leak. If everything looks good, its most likely estrogen responsive incontinence. Hannah would leak slightly when she was older but she did have kidney issues and did drink more than she used to. If she happened to have a huge drink right before bed, the leaking would be worse that night. Putting her on stilbesterol once a week did help the issue. I had her on a lower protein diet because of the kidney disease - high protein is hard on them.

[KrisK]

Thanks everyone. She is going in for her annual visit on the 25 of May so I will have her blood checked at the same time. Her leakiness is quite intermittent and it isn't a large quantity at any time so I'm not overly concerned. I just was wondering about the higher protein food having an affect on her.