Tips to Make Expressing Your Dog’s Bladder Easier
Learning how to manually express your dog’s bladder can take time and practice. Your veterinarian will be happy to demonstrate how to express a dog’s bladder, with a little practice you’ll get the hang of it in no time! This process can be overwhelming, but understand that it only takes 10-20 seconds to manually empty a dog’s bladder. Here are a few simple tricks to make expressing your handicapped dog’s bladder a breeze:
Place a hand on either side of your dog’s bladder and apply pressure. It’s normal for there can be a delay between the time you apply pressure and when the urine comes out. This delayed reaction is normal, continut to apply pressure for three to six seconds before repositioning your hands.
How Often Should You Express a Dog’s Bladder?
The frequency your dog’s bladder needs to be expressed will vary from dog to dog. A dog’s bladder is proportional to their overall size. For example a toy-sized dog may need to be expressed more frequently than a larger dog. Work with your Veterinarian to determine the best plan for your dog. As a general rule of thumb, a dog’s bladder needs to be expressed every six hours. Never go longer than eight hours without expressing a dog’s bladder. At night, express a dog’s bladder right before going to bed and again first thing in the morning when you get up.
Here are other bathroom sites pet parents use:
Lying the dog on their side over a pee pad in a quiet room
Expressing in the shower or tub
Holding the dog upright, over a waterproof blanket
Raising your pup to a level that’s comfortable for you, like on a table or sofa.
Wherever you choose, make sure there are plenty of baby wipes to clean your dog’s belly afterward. Urine that’s left on sensitive skin can cause burns and scalding.
Keep the potty location you choose. It’ll go a long way fostering trust between you and your pup and alleviating fears your dog has about the procedure. Remember, expressing your dog’s bladder is a new experience for your pet too.
Here’s one final tip a pet parent told me, “Always praise your dog after expressing them. They need to know you’re proud of their effort.”
It’s important to create and stick to a strict bathroom schedule. Your dog will appreciate the routine and it’ll prevent the bladder from stretching and retaining urine. Incontinent dogs are prone to recurring urinary tract infections. A solid bladder expressing schedule will keep this to a minimum.
Most dogs need to be manually expressed 3-4 times a day or 4-6 times a day for small breeds. To give you an idea of a bathroom schedule, here’s what Sophie’s looked like:
Morning – As soon as she woke up, I took her to the lawn to be expressed.
Afternoon – Another potty break was scheduled for early afternoon.
Dinner – I took her outside about 30 minutes after her dinner.
Bedtime – Sophie’s bladder was expressed one final time before she went to sleep.
Learn To Express A Dog’s Bladder In 3 Minutes!
If your IVDD-affected dog is not managing to pee on their own, your vet may ask you to express (squeeze out) their bladder. The aim is to get your dog through these tricky few days to weeks by emptying their bladder regularly. Hopefully they’ll eventually manage to pee on their own again. It’s important not to let the bladder become so full that it’s overstretched, as this can cause it some long term damage.
The basic technique for emptying the bladder is quite straightforward. Always give your dog a good chance to pee naturally first (carry them to a suitable patch of ground outside, and let him walk on a lead for up to a few minutes, with support from a hindquarter sling if needed). To express the bladder, Start with your dog positioned on a non-slip surface in a supported standing position. Most people find it easier to use two hands to express their dog’s bladder to start with, so have someone else there to distract him from in front. Place a hand on each side of your dog’s belly, and use the flat parts of your hands to apply slow, steady pressure to empty the bladder. Avoid digging your fingertips in, or trying to overpower your dog. For a demonstration, try this link.
In some dogs, the bladder is full but it simply won’t empty even with quite firm pressure. In which case take your hands off, let your dog relax for a moment, then try again. If you still can’t express your dog’s bladder, then ask your vet what to do. Your dog might need medication to make it easier for the bladder to empty. Or your vet may need to pass a catheter into the bladder so as to empty it. In the early stages, it’s sometimes necessary to admit the dog to the hospital and have a catheter kept in place for a few days (an indwelling catheter).
The best place to express your dog’s bladder is on the ground outdoors, with your dog supported in a standing position on soil, bark chips or short grass. Expressing the bladder outdoors will help your dog to associate peeing with being outdoors, thus helping them return to normal function more easily.
If you must express your dog’s bladder indoors, stand them on an incontinence pad, or have them resting or supported standing on a non-slip mat while you express their bladder into a dish or onto some disposable padding. Don’t dangle your dog over a drain, toilet or sink while expressing his bladder. A dangling position leaves them feeling helpless and may be unsafe for their spine.
As the IVDD inflammation settles down, your dog will hopefully start to be able to control their own pee again. This may take days, weeks or even months, but it’s important to help your dog learn. Set them up for success by doing the bladder expression with your dog supported in a standing position, ideally on a suitable patch of ground outdoors.
The IVDD Handbook is a comprehensive home care guide for dogs with IVDD (disc extrusion or ‘slipped disc’). It’s also suitable for those with certain other back or neck problems including FCE and traumatic disc. Use this book in conjunction with talking to your own vet. It contains:
Order the book to be delivered to you from the US if you live in Australia, New Zealand or Singapore. For further details, click here.
Links to the book on this page are provided as part of the Amazon Associates program. Buying the book after clicking on one of these links will earn the author a small commission, thus contributing to the ongoing running of this website.
For bespoke supervision of your own dog’s recovery, you are welcome to contact me to arrange a video consultation appointment. To book an appointment, use the contact form here or email me at [email protected]. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Please note that these contact details are for appointments only. I offer home visit appointments, when appropriate, for dogs and cats living near me in North Herts, UK. Video consultations are available for both local and distant patients.