Person cleaning up a dog accident in the kitchen

Urinary incontinence is the lack of control over the flow of urine. Bowel or faecal incontinence is the uncontrollable passing of poo. Urinary incontinence is most common in middle-aged to senior dogs, particularly those of medium to large breeds, and spayed females, but any dog can be affected.

Bowel incontinence mostly affects senior dogs with cognitive dysfunction (dementia) or younger dogs due to injury or nerve problems.

Understanding How the Bladder Works

Urine is produced in the kidneys and passed through tubes (ureters) to the bladder, where it's then stored until the dog releases it. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the vulva or penis.

The urethral wall is composed of muscles and elastic tissue that remain flattened, preventing urine from flowing out. When the bladder wall is stretched, the dog is alerted to needing to wee. The bladder muscles contract to increase the pressure and allow the urine to flow through the urethra. Normally, the dog can hold in the wee until it reaches an appropriate place to toilet.

What Causes Dog Incontinence

Urinary incontinence in dogs can be caused by the following:

  • Age: Older dogs have weaker bladder and urethral muscles.
  • Anatomical abnormalities: Ectopic ureters (the ureter tubes are in the wrong location due to a birth defect), urethra hypoplasia (underdeveloped urethra), and abnormalities of the vulva.
  • Back problems: Cause pressure on the nerves to the bladder.
  • Bladder stones: These may occur in the bladder but cause the most obvious symptoms if they're flushed through into the narrow urethra.
  • Obesity: Excess weight puts added strain on the bladder and weakens the muscles.
  • Prostatic disease: Causes inflammation and increased pressure. Affects male dogs.
  • Urinary tract infection: An infection in part of the urinary tract.

Urethral Sphincter Mechanism Incompetence (USMI)

The most common cause of urinary incontinence in spayed female dogs due to lower oestrogen levels. Also common in large dog breeds and those with docked tails, like Rottweilers and Old English Sheepdogs. The urethral muscles become weak, and urine may leak. Incontinence is most likely to occur when the dog is lying down.

Causes of Bowel Incontinence in Dogs

The causes of bowel incontinence can be categorised into two main groups: sphincter or reservoir dysfunction. Sphincter incontinence is when the sphincter muscle is unable to remain closed due to nerve damage, an anal mass or wound.

Nerve damage stems from the spinal cord and can be a result of degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (much like a 'slipped disc'), intervertebral disc disease (degeneration of spinal discs) or a traumatic spinal injury.

Reservoir incontinence is when the rectum is unable to store poo as it should because of diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease, or cancer.

Can Arthritis Cause Incontinence in Dogs?

Arthritis is one of many other possible causes of inappropriate toileting including:

Seizures usually result in large amounts of urine or faecal loss.

Signs of Bowel Incontinence in Dogs

The most obvious sign of an incontinent dog is dripping urine and toileting in inappropriate places. You'll find wet patches where your dog has been lying, or their bed may be completely soaked.

If the urethral muscles are weak, leakage is most likely to occur when the dog is lying down, due to increased pressure on the bladder, or when they're excited. Leakage after urination is most likely due to an infection, cancers or abnormalities of the ureters.

Bowel incontinence can cause inflammation, redness or leakage from the rectum. Your dog's poos will be softer than usual and may contain blood or mucous. If there is nerve damage, you'll notice changes to your dog's mobility.

Obsessive cleaning between their hind legs is common for both bowel and urinary incontinence.

Diagnosing Incontinence in Dogs

Your vet will want to perform a full physical examination of your dog to work out the cause of the incontinence. A urine or poo sample will test for an infection or parasites, and blood tests can help to rule out other diseases that may be causing excessive drinking and urination.

X-rays and ultrasounds will help your vet to find spinal injuries or any anatomical abnormalities in the bladder or ureters. These will need to be done under a general anaesthetic. Your vet may also carry out an ultrasound scan to look for ectopic ureters, anatomical defects, cancers and chronic thickening of the bladder wall caused by infection or trauma. They may also wish to perform a CT or MRI scan. 

Treatment for Incontinence in Dogs

Dog incontinence treatment depends on the cause. If your dog has an underlying condition, this will need to be managed to resolve the symptoms.

Urinary tract infections can be treated with medication, and anatomical abnormalities, like ectopic ureters, can be surgically corrected. An anal mass or wound will also require surgery.

If your dog has USMI, some drugs can help strengthen the muscles in the urethra. They will need to continue taking dog incontinence medication for the rest of its life or the symptoms will return.

Old dog incontinence due to cognitive impairment is unfortunately untreatable. Nerve damage is also difficult to treat.

Should You Put a Dog Down for Incontinence?

In most cases, dog incontinence can be treated or managed. But if the treatment isn't effective, you've exhausted all options, and your dog's quality of life is being affected, then it may be time to say goodbye. Your vet will be able to help you decide if euthanasia is the kindest option for your dog.

Living With an Incontinent Dog

While there is often treatment available to help resolve or reduce the symptoms, there is a possibility that you'll have to live with an incontinent dog. In which case, the focus is on managing the condition.

Make sure you give your dog plenty of opportunities to go to the toilet outside. You can get dog incontinence pants that will catch and hold any wee or poo that leaks out. Nappies for dogs may seem like a laughable idea, but they'll help to keep your home clean and are useful when you need to leave your dog alone for a short time.

If you choose to use them, make sure to change them regularly and wipe your dog clean to prevent any irritation or skin infections. You'll need to start letting your dog out at night again, too, or introduce some dog incontinence pads.

How to Help an Incontinent Dog

Whether you're using incontinence pants for dogs or not, you'll need to make sure you help your dog to keep clean. Wee and poo can get stuck in their fur, causing irritation. Wipe your dog down regularly and keep the fur around their backend short. Keep an eye on your dog's skin for signs of redness and inflammation, as this could be a sign of an infection.

Keeping your dog at a healthy weight and feeding them a balanced diet will remove added pressure to the bladder and prevent other health problems.

There are many causes of dog incontinence and inappropriate toileting, so if you notice changes to your dog's toileting habits, speak to your vet. They'll want to run some tests to find out what's going on and how it can be treated. If there is no treatment option, there are things you can do to help manage this medical condition, like using incontinence pants for dogs.

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Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Canis – www.vetlexicon.com/canis

Vetlexicon is the world’s largest peer-reviewed online clinical reference source. All our content is written and peer-reviewed by over 1,000 of the world’s leading veterinarians, ensuring relevance, accuracy and quality.

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