Willa came to The AMC today. Her owner was worried she might have diabetes because the dog bed was smelly and soaked with urine the last couple of mornings. Dogs with diabetes (and cats too!) will drink and urinate excessively, often having accidents in the house. When I questioned Willa’s owner, the “accidents” only happened when the dog was sleeping and there was no increase in water consumption or urinations. A quick test of the urine the owner brought with her dog determined diabetes was not the problem.

Causes of Urine Dribbling
Simple and complex disorders can lead to urination abnormalities in dogs. Infections, bladder stones and hormone problems are common causes of urine leakage and can readily be identified with routine blood tests, analysis of urine and x-rays. The x-ray to the right shows a dog with four large stones in its bladder. In some cases, a special diet will dissolve bladder stones. In this case, surgical removal of the stones resolved the urine dribbling.

In Willa’s case, testing showed no urinary tract infection, no stones and no blood test abnormalities. Because she is an older spayed female dog, I thought she might have “urethral incompetence.” Large breed, older, spayed female dogs are at risk for developing this condition, which may be related to a lack of estrogen in spayed female dogs and occasionally neutered males.

Treatments for Urine Dribbling
Commonly it is treated with medications including drugs to tighten the urethra (known as α-blockers), such as phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, or with estrogen replacement therapy using diethylstilbestrol. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved estriol for use in dogs.

If your dog resists taking medications, specialists at The Animal Medical Center can inject collagen into the urethral wall using special noninvasive endoscopic equipment to help narrow the urethral lumen and prevent urine dribbling. For refractory cases, AMC specialists also use a hydraulic urethral occluder.

Willa quickly responded to treatment with estrogen and once again has a dry bed in the morning. With all these options available to plug the leak, no dog should have to suffer with a stinky, wet bed.

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This may also be found in the “Tales from the Pet Clinic” blog on WebMD.com.

For over a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit amcny.gbtesting.us. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.