Dog Overflow Incontinence Symptoms
- Dog leaking urine when asleep or awake
- Dog releasing small amount of urine
- Dog won’t always be aware when they urinate
What Causes Dog Overflow Incontinence?
Although the underlying problems can be quite complicated with this condition, the general concept of overflow incontinence is fairy simple and is caused by damage to the nerve supply to the bladder. The nerves can be damaged in many ways, but most often it is caused by trauma, e.g. car accidents, internal tumours, or spine and nerve conduction problems. Without this nerve supply, or when the nerve supply is damaged, it causes the bladder to be in a paralysed state; in this state it is unable to contract to push the urine through the urethra and out of the body. Because of this lack of control, as the kidneys continue to do their job and provide urine to the bladder it becomes more and more full until the valves that control when the dog urinates give way under the pressure and let urine seep through. The dog will then have no control over when they urinate and should be taken to the vet for further examination.
What Your Vet May Say or Do
In this instance, the overflow incontinence will have much more serious and obvious symptoms which can be a big clue to what the correct procedure should be, but as in most cases, tests will be taken to prove the veterinarians line of thought and then the correct procedure will be followed for the underlying, and often more serious symptoms that are effecting the nerve endings.
Other Possible Conditions
Dog Leaking Urine, Wetting Their Bed, or Urinating On The Floor
Abnormal Bladder Development Causing Incontinence (ectopic ureters)
Incontinence Due to Excessive Urine Production
Dog True Urinary Incontinence
Incontinence in Male Dogs
Dog Urge Incontinence