I'm again asking for your help or suggestions on a specific topic - thanks in advance!
Testing to date:
Ultrasound of Bladder - Normal
Urine Culture - Normal
Urinanalysis - Normal
Complete Blood Profile - Normal
Indepth Thryoid - Normal
Cushings - Normal
Three year old bitch is having sudden episodes of incontinence. Bitch was/is potty trained. Weeks will pass with no "accidents", then suddenly immediately after being out for potty, she'll loose her bladder - more "leaking" than full on emptying her bladder. This is not submissive peeing. She does not have an inverted vulva - her physiology is normal. Other than the last 6 months, there have been no incontinence issues prior. The bitch was spayed at a year of age - no complications. As a puppy there was not incontinence, so I'm thinking it wouldn't be Ectopic Ureter although that is what it acts like. Has anyone had EU occur in older females?
Any ideas/suggestions on what to consider or test next?
Consider the possibility that the hormonal changes associated with spaying MAY be playing a part in the intermittent incontinence. Last year I placed a 2-1/2 year old bitch that had been spayed the prior year. While she'd never had any issues with urinary leakage prior to the spay, she began to experience loss of bladder control issues, usually during sleep, a few months post-spay. Vet says it does occur in some bitches due to the reduced amounts of estrogen. In this case, she will have to be on low-dose medication for life as the problem did not respond to short-term medication.
I'm not sure of the spelling - but proin (?) helps the spincter (sp?) muscle hold better.
We just had an EU on a puppy and she had the surgery, but once in a while would have a leak (when she was sleeping - which the vet called nocturnal, involuntary - as opposed to voluntary leakage).
I have heard that this can happen from spaying, also.
