Ask Dr Claire

I’m looking for a second opinion, my dog has urinary incontinence in her sleep. My vet says it’s commonly caused from female dogs being desexed

Desexed females can find it difficult to hold their bladder during sleep (hormonal responsive urethral incontinence). This is more common in dogs who are middle aged to older and generally this occurs when they are at rest. These dogs do well on medication to strengthen the sphincter which gives better control of the bladder.

There are other causes for wetting of the bed such as urinary tract infections or medical conditions which cause dogs to drink and urinate more, which need to be tested for first, to assume it’s the hormonal responsive urethral incontinence.

A hands-on examination from your local vet would be a great place to start. They may even recommend a blood test and certainly a urine test, as a great way to assess your pup’s base health.

If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail, as soon as possible.

We’re here to help!

Chat soon,
Dr Claire