Urinary Incontinence in Dogs

When a dog passes out urine, involuntarily, then that problem is known as urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence in dogs can occur in both males as well as females, but it is the female dogs, especially the spayed female dogs, who are more prone to this problem. Sometimes the infection might be mistaken for a bad dog behavior, hence one has to be very careful (especially, when the dog is no longer a puppy), when you see your dogs urinating quite frequently in the house or has no control over their urination. Of course, no one loves to see man's best friend suffer like this, and that is why it is important for us to know what are the various causes of this dog health problem and also what are the various remedies that are there are in order to treat it.

Causes

This infection, while sleeping, is common when (just like a small human kid wets his bed) the dog, suffering from this problem, too wets its bed. A wet spot might also be created even while the dog is walking or when it is just sitting and the hind quarters of the dog will be wet just after sleeping or lying down. So what are the various causes? Here are some of the important causes behind dog incontinence:

• One main cause of incontinence might be some sort of a bladder infection. This is a common cause specially among all the female dogs, irrespective of their ages. Due to a bladder infection the dog might have a strong urge to pass out urine or if the infection is not treated on time then it may prevent the bladder from stretching in order to hold the urine.
• If the urethra of the dog is blocked due to formation of stone or tumor, then the urine cannot pass out properly, and thus they start collecting in the bladder. The urine now exerts a pressure which forces some of it to seep out from around the blockage. If this is the cause then the dog needs to be treated soon otherwise it could be fatal.
• The sphincter muscles are the ones that controls the passing out of the urine from the bladder. When this muscle relaxes, then the urine is passed out and this is the same muscle which controls the passing out of urine in both humans and dogs. When this muscle relaxes a bit too much in dogs, then canine incontinence occurs.
• Another dog incontinence cause is spaying or neutering of dogs. After this process the estrogen hormone (in female dogs) and testosterone hormones (in male dogs) are no longer produced and these were the ones that are responsible for toning the sphincter muscles.

Natural Treatments

Natural treatments are the best treatments for treating a problem such as this. But before you start off with the treatment, it is best that you find out the cause of the incontinence and depending upon the causes the treatment can be carried out. Some of the natural remedies are grain free diet, wild yam for its anti-inflammatory properties which in turn helps in getting rid of any issues related to urinary tract. Besides these natural remedies there are several other homeopathic treatments as well such as turnera, gelsemium, and causticum. You can also ask your veterinarian for help in case your dog has this problem.

In case you notice this problem in your dog, then either start off with the natural treatments or take them to the vet to make sure what are the causes of this problem. This can happen to dogs of any age and mainly to female dogs. Hence you have to be extra cautious, especially with an old dog. With proper care, they can be cured.