When the dog urinates it is called urination. Urine is made by the kidneys after filtering the blood. Then urine leaves the kidneys and goes to the ureters. The ureters are two small tubes that connect the kidneys and the bladder. When the bladder swells, the feeling of wanting to urinate appears. When urination takes place, the sphincters which close the bladder relax, the bladder contracts and allow urine to be evacuated from the bladder to the urethra, then the urinary meatus and the outside.

When this urination mechanism is not done normally (or not at all) and the urine comes out alone, without relaxation of the sphincters or without contraction of the bladder, we speak of an incontinent dog.

A dog who urinates at home does not have to be incontinent.

The incontinent dog usually does not realize that he is urinating under him. Urine is often found in his bed and leaks out when he is lying down. You can also drop urine all over the house. The incontinent dog often licks the genital area.

The differential diagnosis of incontinence in dogs is broad. We often think of dealing with an incontinent dog in case of polyuropolydipsia for example. The dog drinks a lot of water because of his illness. Sometimes his bladder is so full that he can’t hold back for as long as he normally would, so he urinates at night in the house. The causes of polyuropolydipsia are for example:

• hormonal disorders such as diabetes, kidney failure in dogs
• certain behavioral disorders leading to potomania (behavioral disorders in dogs that drink a lot of water)
• certain infections such as pyometra (infection of the uterus).

The cystitis but also the territorial urinary markings can give frequent urination in inappropriate places (in the house) which can make believe that the dog is incontinent.

Incontinent dogs usually suffer from quite specific diseases:

First, there are neurological conditions. They can be the consequence of a trauma of the spinal cord, as during a herniated disc in dogs, or of the pelvis. Neurological conditions disrupt or paralyze the functioning of the muscles of the bladder or sphincters.

Incontinent dogs may also have sex hormone deficiency when they have been spayed. Indeed the castration of the dog or the sterilization of the bitch can lead to what is called a sphincter incompetence or incompetence of castration. Due to the lack of sex hormone in the blood, the urinary tract sphincters no longer work properly and the dog sometimes urinates without realizing it. This loss of control over urination most often affects dogs of large breeds (over 20-25kg such as Labradors).

Incontinent dogs may have a congenital malformation (born with the malformation) of the urinary tract. The most common malformation is the ectopic ureter. That is to say that the ureter is badly placed and does not end as it should at the level of the bladder. Congenital diseases are more often diagnosed in young dogs.

Older dogs can develop true incontinence (he cannot hold urine anymore) or age-related pseudo-incontinence and disorientation.

Tumors growing in the bladder or urethra, as well as other causes of obstruction to the outflow of urine can lead to incontinence.

Consult your veterinarian. There are solutions.

Your vet will first check that your dog is incontinent. He will ask you if the incontinence is permanent or if your dog still manages to urinate normally. Then after having made a clinical and possibly neurological inspection. He may do a urine test and a blood test for kidney failure and / or cystitis. These examinations can also direct him to hormonal diseases causing polyuropolydipsia.

If it turns out that it is incontinence and does not have a neurological cause your vet can explore the cause with an ultrasound or x-ray. The causes of incontinence are treated with medication or surgery (damage to the spinal cord or ectopic ureter) in order to cure the dog.

Finally, if your dog has castration incontinence, your veterinarian will give her hormone supplementation medications. It is a lifelong treatment that improves symptoms or even makes them disappear.

Conveniently, while waiting for the medication to work you can use a dog diaper or panties. The same goes for older dogs or dogs with polyuria-polydipsia who urinate at night.