I have been dealing with urinary incontinence in my older dog for over a year now. She was always flawless in her housetraining, never the kind of dog who would go potty in the house. This is in contrast to previous dogs who may have left ‘presents’ occasionally.
But a year or so ago, at age 12, my sweet dog began to ‘leak.’ Now, she sometimes drips a bit, and sometimes she doesn’t. Overnight, though, she always opens up the floodgates and wakes up in a soaked bed. So our daily routine now includes cleaning her bedding and bed, and wiping her down with a fresh cloth.
To make the situation more complex, she has always been prone to urinary tract infections (UTIs), even as a young dog. For years, I successfully kept them away through regular use of cranberry extract, and I strongly advocate the use of pure cranberry extract as a way to prevent UTIs. I still give her daily cranberry.
However, she is now experiencing more frequent UTIs, which I think is a result of both her old age – our immune systems decline as we age – and her incontinence, which may allowing bacteria to enter her body.
So, what to do now? One of the medical approaches to urinary incontinence, at least in my dog’s case, was giving her estrogen supplements from my veterinarian. I did this for a while, off and on. At first it worked, and then two things happened. First, I really don’t like the idea of giving her (or myself) unnecessary drugs. I know there is some subjectivity regarding what is necessary or not, but I chose to take her off it. Second, it was beginning to work less effectively, so I figured, what’s the point? But it does work in some cases.
Reportedly, the idea behind using estrogen is that as females age, their estrogen levels decline and this can lead to changes in the body that result in incontinence. And muscles get weaker.
This led me to research the idea of using estrogenic foods. For example, the University of Minnesota (n.d) lists some foods that contain natural estrogens. These include:
- Meat
- Apples
- Baker’s yeast
- Barley
- Beets
- Carrots
- Chickpeas
- Cucumbers
- Dairy
- Eggs
- Flaxseeds
- Licorice
- Oats
- Olive oil
- Parsley
- Peas and beans
- Potatoes
- Pumpkin
- Rice
- Sage
- Sesame seeds
- Soy
- Split peas
- Sunflower seeds
- Tomatoes
- Wheat
- Yams
While this is a lengthy list, it is not clear how much of any of these foods one would need to feed our dogs in order to get an estrogenic effect. And do we want to feed our dogs all of these items? Probably not. Maybe some, but certainly not all. I feed my dog meat and many of these vegetables daily, with no success in the leaking department. But perhaps some of the more dog-friendly items (contact me with questions) can be part of your dog’s diet anyway.
Besides addressing estrogen levels, there are a few other approaches to consider in the case of urinary incontinence.
One relatively obvious one is to take your dog out more often, to minimize excess urine and leaks.
One thing I do regularly is put a clean, small towel in between her legs like a diaper, and change these regularly. I have found NO commercial dog diapers that work or are humane / comfortable.
Keep your dog dry and clean. Either give her daily baths, or if this is not possible, wipe her whole back half (legs, sides, between her legs, etc) with a clean, damp cloth, ideally followed by a clean, dry cloth to minimize moisture.
Acupuncture has been investigated as a natural approach to incontinence. I have no further info on that at the moment.
Other things to emphasize include giving your leaky dog immune-boosting nutrients including healthy, whole foods, vitamins C and E, and other compounds that help strengthen immunity. This is important in the quest to fight off any urinary tract infections that may occur as a result of or in connection with urinary incontinence.
It is important to visit your vet and rule out any infections that may be causing the incontinence. Infections, like UTIs for example, can cause urinary incontinence.
Lastly, always remember that your drippy dog is still your dog. Don’t give up and don’t isolate her or change her routine. She needs you always, and especially as she gets older and more vulnerable. Hang in there and contact mewith questions.