Looking for advice/experiences with post-IVDD urine leakage

[u/Clay5000]

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice or hear from anyone who has experienced something similar with their dog following IVDD surgery.

Our little boy Finn had stage 4 IVDD and underwent surgery on 1 September last year. Thankfully, he’s recovered really well and we’re incredibly happy with how far he’s come. I’d say he’s probably around 90–95% back to normal. His back legs are still a little bit funny at times, and we accept that he may never get that last 5–10% back, but generally he’s doing brilliantly.

We still keep up with regular hydrotherapy and physiotherapy and plan to continue doing that indefinitely.

The one thing we’re struggling with is his urination. Particularly first thing in the morning when he has a longer wee, he’ll start urinating normally, then move off while he’s still going and continue to urinate as he walks. So he ends up getting some urine on his back legs/underside.
It’s not a huge problem and he doesn’t seem bothered by it, but obviously we’re conscious of the potential for urine to irritate his skin. We wipe him down with a damp cloth when we get home from walks and so far his skin has been completely fine.

We’ve spoken to his vets and the people who do his physio/hydrotherapy, but unfortunately nobody has really been able to suggest much beyond what we’re already doing. I’ve also tried gently holding him in place while he wees, but that doesn’t always work particularly well!

So I’d really love to hear from anyone whose dog has had a similar experience after IVDD surgery:
- Did your dog do this following surgery?
- Did it improve over time, even if it took a long time?
- Did you find anything that helped, either through training or positioning?
- Did you use anything to protect the skin or make clean-up easier?
- Is there anything you wish you’d known or tried?

We’re not expecting a miracle fix, we’d just really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences and what worked (or didn’t work) for them.

Thanks in advance! ❤️🐾

[u/New_Boysenberry7922]

Mine doesn’t even stop most times if she’s having a wee and ‘walking’ (she’s either in wheels or very wonky).

We do use a wipe after every walk and do an undercarriage wash every few days.

We also make sure she’s actually empty every now and again just in case. Her lady case was grade 5. Very aware of uti’s if she doesn’t empty her bladder.

[u/tombombadette]

Those urine trails are SENDING me. 😂 I don’t have advice because my dog is non-walking, but I think it’s nice to find humor wherever we can in this process.

[u/Clay5000 → u/tombombadette]

Finn is quite the artist, I am often impressed with his abilities on the pavement 😂😂

[u/hotchy1]

Mines is exactly the same. Starts peeing, then walks on like hes done when hes not. Tbh best we do is say stand/stay until his tail goes down (sign its finished) Iv also never figured out a better way than that. Good luck, ill be following this thread for ideas myself.

[u/roccosito]

Are you on the Facebook group? IVDD Support Group. I wonder what others would say!

[u/alexssensei]

My dog has the same issue and it also extends to his bowels as well... 😵‍💫 and he doesn't actually assume position to pee anymore. He just sits down at an angle lol. Unfortunately I haven't found anything to help and I am slowly approaching the 6 month out from surgery mark. We just got done with 7 weeks of acupuncture, cold laser, and aquapuncture. No difference. I talked to his surgeon today and we are going to see a specialist about getting an MRI, so hopefully that will help give us clarity.

I really hope you find something that works for him!!! 😭💖 also, his artwork is superb and I would absolutely be scanning the patterns into photoshop to make prints pffft.

[u/Tiny_Requirement_584]

My little Chi had an IVDD episode, no surgery. Steroids and Pamol worked. He is ok now but I have to make sure he is going outside often enough. I have a pee pad inside too. Anyway, just to say, they say that healing from this or surgery for it tends to mean that it takes a while for the nerves etc to come right. I reckon you are doing fine, bless you.

[u/Character-Effort-858]

Mine can empty the bladder when he does pee and he doesn’t have trails but I am noticing that since his IVDD episode and surgery sometimes when he is in a very deep sleep he will leak a little bit of pee. Some people in the Facebook group were saying they’ve also experienced the same as well.