Help!..peppers sprung a leak!

[*jean*]

poor pepper has started wetting herself now and again when sleeping.
following advice from jane s I took her to vet and yes  lack of oestrogen due to spaying is the cause. the smooth muscle at the bladder sphincter is missing the "tightening" effects of oestrogen and relaxes a bit too much when she does ie when she is in a deep sleep.
 propalin drops can be prescribed to help combat this problem but my vet feels that as its early days and peppers incontinance is sporadic and usually after a hard day out perhaps in water a lot.. (  she probably drinks more and is more tired than normal) ... so she wont prescribe the drops yet.
 she said if it became a weekly event she would commence treatment.
Is this liable to worsen quickly or will it take a while? my other spayed bitch liath is fine. no leaks at all.
 what should I expect? have any other col's got experience of this?

[*jean*]

a couple of my friends bitches also have recently having the odd damp patch so after speaking to me about pepper they are going to see vet if it gets worse. does anyone know how quickly it progresses or is it different with every dog.?

[*Jay*]

I think it might differ with every dog My friend's 18 month old spinone bitch became incontinent after spaying and it was deemed bad enough to start her on Incurin tablets straight away

[cazza]

Is there a reason this happens? E.G. spayed too youg etc?

Asking as I would like to get Fern spayed, but am waiting until she has had a season first

[Jane S]

It's supposed to be more of a risk in bitches spayed very young but it can happen to any bitch at whatever age they are spayed. Our girl who had urinary incontinence was spayed at about the age of 6 or 7. I should stress that it's not very common - out of all the bitches we've had spayed, only one so far has had this condition.

[redmal]

We have had several bitches spayed at "3 months after the first season" in the past, no litters. Fay (setter) was spayed at 4years due to a pyo, she'd had one litter & was done at about 5 or 6 weeks after a season. Jas was done last year at age 8, one litter. Missy at 3, no litters, my sons boxer at age 5 or 6 (allegedly), ex puppy farm bitch so many litters. Fay & Zena(the boxer) are incontinent. My son thinks it may be because of having litters, I wonder if its because of the litters + not being spayed in between seasons? Just wondering. Anyway its not a big problem with Propalin or similar. 

[*jean*]

Pepper was spayed between 1st and second season. she is 8 and a half, and its only now and again she does leak, but she really did have a flood the last time which is what prompted me to do something about it. she was sound asleep and totally unaware and when she woke was obviously distressed by it ,she moved to a dry area and left the puddle behind her.. her back end was wet too.
 Liath was  spayed at same age and she is fine at the moment.. shes 7. but Pepper was fine at 7 too. so is it an age related thing? Pepper is getting into late middle aged and like a lot of late middle aged ladies is  getting  a bit weak in the bladder department.
 my main question really is how long before shes wet on  say a twice weekly basis, form the onset of this condition? So I have an idea what to expect. I mean I dont want to medicate her until she needs it, what are the side effects of propalin? if any.??
 all help gratefully received.

[Jane S]

my main question really is how long before shes wet on  say a twice weekly basis, form the onset of this condition? So I have an idea what to expect. I mean I dont want to medicate her until she needs it, what are the side effects of propalin? if any.??
all help gratefully received.

Don't think anyone can answer that to be honest as it varies with each individual bitch. It took a few months between us noticing the first symptoms with our girl and starting her on the medication but there's no hard and fast rule. Propalin can suppress the appetite and cause lethargy if the dose isn't exactly right (our Daisy did go off her food when she was first started on Propalin but when the dose was reduced, her appetite came back). I think there are now other treatments available too - Gill mentions Incurin earlier in the thread so you might want to ask your vet about this alternative.

[*jean*]

thanks will do tho drops will be easier as pepper hates tablets.