Signs of Female Incontinence After Spaying
You will most likely notice that your dog dribbles while walking or lying down, so you will probably find wet spots on the bedding or areas where she sleeps. This may be side effects of the anesthesia but if it lasts longer or re-occurs months after the surgery and your dog seems to not be getting better from the leaking, consult your vet as it may be spay incontinence. You may also notice your female dog is licking the area of skin that has become irritated by urine. These are symptoms of spay incontinence.
Your vet will diagnose spay incontinence through your dog’s medical history, clinical signs, blood tests, and urine tests. They may also perform a bladder radiograph (X-ray) and ultrasound on your dog to make sure their diagnosis is not confused with other diseases.
Can spaying cause incontinence in dogs? Unfortunately, yes, it can be one of the side effects of spaying a dog. Incontinence after spaying appears on your furbaby first before it actually appears on your floor.
You will occasionally notice and wonder why your female dog is leaking urine when lying down or while resting. Or, you might notice some of these common signs of dog incontinence after spaying:
Each of these can be considered a spay incontinence symptom. Incontinence after spaying typically develops immediately or some months after the actual spaying procedure. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, urinary incontinence occurred on average at 2 years and 10 months after surgery and occurred each day, while the dogs were awake or during sleep.
Sadly, many of these dogs will develop a urinary tract infection because of the constant licking of the vulva and its constant exposure to urine, which can make the situation worse. Since the sphincter is weak, it allows bacteria to travel inside the bladder. And all of that licking is creating a breeding ground for bacteria. It’s the perfect storm of sorts and makes incontinence even worse.
If your dog has recently been spayed and has any of the symptoms mentioned, you should schedule a follow-up appointment with your vet, who will want to do a urinalysis and blood work, and perhaps even culture to determine the kind of bacteria that is present if an infection is occurring.
“Will my vet know if my dog will develop incontinence after spaying?”
Your vet cannot predict if your dog will be the one to develop incontinence, but according to Dogs Naturally Magazine, obese dogs and pets that are spayed under the age of six months are more at risk. This is because of the common cause that is a hormonal imbalance that occurs after spaying.
For the urinary tract tissues of your furbaby to function well, it greatly depends on the amount of estrogen that its exposed to. After your pets ovaries are removed, her estrogen levels become too low to supply proper function of the tissues in the urinary tract, thus exposing pets who are spayed early to the possibilities of incontinence.
What Causes Spay Incontinence in Female Dogs?
Spay incontinence can be caused by many different things. Dog incontinence after surgery can be because of, but not limited to:
A dog losing bladder control can happen because after a female dog is spayed, the strength of her urethral sphincter decreases in the years following her surgery. As she gets older, this decrease of strength of the urethral sphincter only worsens. This is so because the decline in the estrogen levels after spaying may cause a decrease in the functions of the urethral sphincter and its supporting tissues. According to studies, roughly about 20% of spayed female dogs will develop incontinence within three years of being spayed.
But as they say, all dogs are different. Large breed dogs are more likely to develop spay incontinence than small dogs. Also, dogs who are spayed before their first heat have a higher chance of developing spay incontinence in female dogs, however, the veterinary community currently believes that spaying before three months of age may increase the potential of its development. To catch it early, you can look out for signs of spay incontinence after surgery.
It’s important to mention that spaying your female dog is very beneficial to her health. Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs. So, while you may be concerned about potential dog incontinence after surgery, the issue of spay incontinence can often be solved much easier than a more serious disease.
On the brighter side, spay incontinence in dogs is not the only result. Spaying actually offers a lot of benefits for you and your furbaby.
If you are noticing your female dog is having more accidents, you may want to take her to her veterinarian to check for spay incontinence. The veterinarian will then perform exams like urinalysis and a urine culture. These exams are important because the urinalysis will uncover any other health issues that may be going on that could be causing your dog to over-consume water.
Your vet may also recommend complete blood work and, depending on your dog’s age, x-rays or ultrasound to make a definitive diagnosis. These will help rule out bladder stones and cancer.
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5 Possible Complications After Spaying Your Dog
It is still controversial whether a bitch should be spayed before or after the first oestrus. It would be desirable to spay bitches at an age that would minimize the side effects of neutering. With regard to the risk of mammary tumours, early spaying must be recommended because the incidence of tumours is reduced considerably. The aim of the present study was to determine whether early spaying also reduces the risk of urinary incontinence. The owners of 206 bitches that had been spayed before their first oestrus and for at least 3 years were questioned on the occurrence of urinary incontinence as a result of spaying. At the time of the enquiry the average age of the bitches was 6.5 years, and the average age at the time of surgery was 7.1 months. Urinary incontinence after spaying occurred in 9.7% of bitches. This incidence is approximately half that of spaying after the first oestrus. Urinary incontinence affected 12.5% of bitches that were of a large body weight (> 20 kg body weight) and 5.1% of bitches that were of a small body weight (< 20 kg body weight). The surgical procedure (ovariectomy versus ovariohysterectomy) had no influence on the incidence, or on the period between spaying and the occurrence of urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence occurred on average at 2 years and 10 months after surgery and occurred each day, while the animals were awake or during sleep. However, compared with late spaying the clinical signs of urinary incontinence were more distinct after early spaying.