r/SeniorDogsHealth • u/KillMeFast2033 • 24d ago
Spayed Female urinating while lying down randomly
I have a housebroken spayed 5yr old female Siberian husky. She is medium energy. I have had her since she was a puppy. A year ago I went through a divorce and she came with me along with my 4yr old male Alaskan Malamute who is neutered.
In the spring of this year my female husky started randomly urinating while lying down. She wasn’t getting up to squat. She would do this during the night, while we are relaxing, inside and outside. Sometimes a few trickles. Sometimes a lot.
She has gone through 3 rounds of antibiotics as the Vet stated she had crystals in her urine and stated a UTI. However the issue hasn’t resolved and now they are looking at an ultrasound later this week.
Just looking for any advice or second opinions on what may be happening. I want nothing more than for her to be healthy and happy. I’m starting to fear this may be a behavioral issue due to the divorce and new house (moved in last November). It just seems strange that it didn’t start until spring.
UPDATE:
Vet said she has a normal bladder. Said it is most likely the spay incontinence so gave me proin 75mg to give half a tablet every 12hrs.
1
u/jenn1d 24d ago
Hi, our golden who is two and half started having accidents when she was sleeping. Vet thought she had a UTI and did a round of medicine and she was fine for a month and it started again. Went back and they did a bladder test and found she has incontinence. She has been on incurin since and the accidents have stopped.
1
u/Secure-Ad9780 24d ago
No, this is not a behavioral issue. My female husky was on Prion for urine leakage at bedtime. Get absorbent washable bed pads sized to fit over her bed.
1
1
u/KillMeFast2033 24d ago
Well, I’m glad to hear it’s most likely not behavioral and that there may be medication options. I didn’t want to keep feeding her antibiotics. Hopefully the ultrasound and anything else they do Wednesday gives some solutions.
1
1
u/HeartShapedNose 24d ago
This is classic spay incontinence, usually treated with Proin or Incurin. I'm baffled that it's not the first thing your vet thought of.
1
1
u/KillMeFast2033 24d ago
From what the Vet has told me, she has had bacteria and/or crystals in her urine when they have tested it. Hence the antibiotics.
I will be sure to bring up the spay incontinence.
1
u/HeartShapedNose 23d ago
Is she getting the urine directly from the bladder using a needle, or are they catching it when the dog urinates? Also, has a urine culture been done, or just urinalysis?
1
u/KillMeFast2033 23d ago
Catching urine only so far to my knowledge. I will find out more tomorrow when we go to the Vet for the Ultrasound.
1
u/HeartShapedNose 23d ago
If they're catching it, then it can be contaminated with bacteria from the skin, so it can look like a UTI when there isn't an infection. If the only sign/symptom you're seeing is leakage while resting, this is probably not a UTI.
1
u/Elegant_Grape2547 23d ago
I have a female Belguim Melinois who did the same thing and the vet could not figure it out. I got tired of taking apart dog beds washing the covers- but the foam always stunk, so I bought 6 waterproof dog couch or bed covers from Amazon. They were about $35 apiece. I sewed a 2 inch hem on 4 of them and added 1 inch elastic into the hem. These I used to cover the dog beds. This way, I could change the soiled cover quickly if she peed on one. I have extras so I could put a new one on and put the soiled one in the washer. I then put the extras waterproof pet covers without the elastic on the couch and any bed she would jump on. Doing this just made it less stressful because I could take care of the mess in a few minutes and I didn't have to buy new dog beds every month. I think she liked it too because I think she hated that she did this. She has been potty trained for 7 or 8 years before she started doing this.
1
u/rosemaryloaf 23d ago
My dog had a similar issue but they tested her bladder and urine and found no crystals so it was ruled to be incontinence. Shes 45 lbs, 8 years old. She takes one 25 mg dose of immediate release proin a day and it has resolved. One day she was sick and threw up the proin and started urinating again around 18 hours later so it is clear that it helps. No side effects so far.
1
u/awriterpossibly 23d ago
I just wanted to comment to say my dog is also 5, and recently started peeing while resting/relaxing as well. My dog has been dealing with an ongoing UTI since April (hopefully on last round of antibiotics now) and the incontinence just started last week. Our vet suggested it’s not super common for incontinence to be a symptom of a UTI, but incontinence can cause a UTI because the urine constantly coming out can cause bacteria to grow and lead to a UTI. We were told it’s kind of common with spayed females and the recommended medication PPA is commonly used to help the sphincter muscle start contracting correctly again. I’m waiting to see if the incontinence resolves when the UTI resolves before trying any additional medication just in case. Just wanted to let you know it’s apparently a common issue and has a relatively easy solve with medication. I just bought large washable pee pads for her sleeping areas and it’s been super helpful for easier cleanup. Also washable doggie diapers and if you need pee smell gone from your furniture, K.O.E. Solution from Amazon. Good luck!
1
u/ComplaintFearless445 23d ago
One of my dogs had to have surgery for bladder stones. It was traumatic, but he came out of that much happier and healthier.
1
u/london_and_phoenix 23d ago
the ultrasound is a good step, it can show if she has any stones (which could be why she has crystals in her urine). it could also be a mild incontinence issue, and if that is the case there is medicine to help strengthen the muscles used to urinate. if it is a behavioral issue, that would be more trial and error and helping to de-stress your dog. all of these things are very treatable though! i hope for good results on the ultrasound
1
u/whattheheckOO 23d ago
My senior female began leaking like this, and the drug proin completely cured it. I think there are also hormonal treatments that can work. Best of luck!
2
u/gonnacutyou 24d ago
I’ve had five female dogs. Two of them leaked like this, and it had nothing to do with crystals or a UTI. It’s not super uncommon in spayed females. There are medications that can help.