Ideas for dog with bladder urgency/ control problems

Cyclamen

Thanks May
Yes i agree on the wetroom and not stressing her.. she gets upset when she puddles in the house anyway and has to be reassured.. she is a rescue and still carries some of the nasty stuff from her first few years.

With puppy pads.. do you just spread them everywhere.. or can dogs be encouraged to wee on the pad ? ive never had a puppy always rescued our dogs and they've been mostly house trained.  Our little dog is still house trained but urgency and frequency are an issue.

Getting up two hourly is sadly not sustainable for either of her sets of humans in long term.. both sets have disabilities, medication etc that make that unsustainable. But she is part of the family and we want to do the right thing for her.

I am wondering about making a "puppy pen" for bedtime.. some folding fencing and setting her bed up in an area with puppy pads down in each house .. but also dont want to upset her by not letting her out, and moving her bed out of our bedroom when she has always slept in the same room and takes herself to bed before her humans.   

She really is a lovely and loving little dog.. a bit older, deafer, creakier and leakier  but still full of wags, love and shes happy.. 

topcat105

We've always had cats but I was thinking would a litter tray work ?
After searching it seems there are dog litter trays on Amazon.
Maybe worth a try ?

MayDogsandCoffee

Sorry just seen this - a puppy pen area would be a good idea I think, make sure there is enough space as they don't like to toilet too near their beds.  You can get washable rugs that could go down under the pads, this would help leaving her to sleep where she normally is. I would use a few pads at a time to give a larger area, but it is a bit hit and miss at times and sometimes they go right at the edge meaning most of the liquid misses.  It is going to be a bit of trial and error to start with.  The downside to this all is you are breaking the house training rules that say it is only acceptable to toilet outside, but with an older dog with health issues it is a case of keeping them and the family comfortable for as long as possible.

Cyclamen

Thanks.. we discussed it today with her other humans the plan is to try set her up a 'bedtime pen area' 

a rubber bed sheet on floor with puppy pads in one area and her basket, its plastic with squashy washable bed and blankets the other side.. using the hall with a folding gate.  humans will still offer her the garden when they wake in night, as late as possible and as early as possible.. but if they cant get up quick enough when she asks in the night its contained.. and humans can hopefully get the rest they need. 

In the meantime she is here sat with me.

I like bathmats to scatter around on floor to catch drips, steady her feet as i have lino for wheelchair use and also put them on chair for her so she can still snooze .. easy to wash and when she isnt here great for standing wheelchairs on to drip dry . 

Its the long as possible that worries me... as we get further from the antibiotics the problem becomes worse.. but we are trying this for now

elsien

Just getting back to the medication thing, a second.
This may well be a completely different situation, but my last girl had leakage problems not due to old age but due to a deformed urethra. Most girl dogs with bladder issues get given either incurin or propalin, usually incurin if the problem is down to being spayed. What works for my girl was having both together because without them she was getting one u UTI straight after another.

Obviously one to run past your vet but it’s a question to ask because although they are both for urinary incontinent they have different mechanisms in how they work. 

Cyclamen

Elsien Thank you.. yes she is spayed, I think rescue did it rather than previous owner so age 3ish? She has only really struggled this last year with urgency and puddles, drips. 

I have printed your message and will write question for parents to hand to vet.. that way no chance of message getting muddled. The recurrent UTI is definitely an issue. 

She's here for a couple of nights as her other humans are exhausted.. its so lovely having a dog in the house the wags and wiggles and gentle snores.  I do want to reiterate again that she is happy, not in pain, very well loved its just she leaks. 

sheramber

Hopefully this has been done but

Has she been checked for crystals in her bladder which can cause infections?

Has her urine been tested to confirm what antibiotic  the infection is sensitive to? 

Cyclamen

Hi Sheramber
She's had urine tests and they kept her in for a morning to take the sample from her bladder.  
The thoughts are its a new UTI each time and the antibiotics clear it up.. 


I am wondering if her anti-inflam medicine is affecting things she is on meloxicam which lists urination and increased thirst as symptom.. and looking back we had problems a few years ago when she hurt her leg and was on them temporarily.

I am making a list of questions and hope to get them relayed to her Vet. The vets isnt wheelchair accessible so its really tricky for me to go along to an appointment. 

sheramber

Cyclamen said:

Hi Sheramber
She's had urine tests and they kept her in for a morning to take the sample from her bladder.  
The thoughts are its a new UTI each time and the antibiotics clear it up.. 


I am wondering if her anti-inflam medicine is affecting things she is on meloxicam which lists urination and increased thirst as symptom.. and looking back we had problems a few years ago when she hurt her leg and was on them temporarily.

I am making a list of questions and hope to get them relayed to her Vet. The vets isnt wheelchair accessible so its really tricky for me to go along to an appointment. 

Would the vet come out to the car to speak to you?

Could you use something like FaceTime or zoom to be included in the appointment ?

Cyclamen

Hi Sheramber.. i hadnt thought of asking vet to come out to car.. thank you.  

 I am going to talk to her owner humans and ask them to take some notes in to ask vet or if they are ok with us having a phone appointment with vet.  

she's back to her other humans today so we can rest and we will keep working on things