Gretta is leaking

[Leslie]

Last night Gretta was lying on the kitchen floor and all of a sudden jumped up looking quite confused, to find a puddle where she'd been laying. She continued to leak/drip for 15 min. or so (me following her around with appropriate clean up paraphinalia). Then she stopped. She has never done this before. I'm taking her and a urine sample into the vet this morning. I've heard that spayed females can sometimes loose control and leak(a lack of hormones)....but, puddle? Anyone have experience with this? She's been fine this morning and she cooperated quite nicely giving her first pee of the morning to a small mason jar. Her behaviour, in general is quite normal.

Then of coarse, Sidney can't be left out, so she decides this is a good time to have her glands clog up. She' been licking this morning and I can smell it so she's going for a squeeze.

[Dax]

Ariel did that right after her spay lasted about 4-5 hours and hasn't come back. Vet thought it was pain related. Hopefully it is a urinary tract infection that can be cleared up with some antiobotic.

I remember reading that there are hormonal treatments for incontinence in older spayed females. As for the glands - don't you hate that smell. A skunk has nothing on my girl LOL.

Give her a hug for us. (Did hubby manage to get pictures of you chasing her around for a pee sample? Love to see them LOL)

[Ken Nielsen]

Poor Gretta, How old is Gretta? I always had to wrap my poor old Buddy's rear in a soft absorbent blanket when I left for work as he could not control his peeing.

Bless these dear dogs, they are so sweet.

Keep us informed on what the vet says.

[Leslie]

Just back from the vet. No infection. The vet thinks it's incontinence. Very unusual for a 2 1/2 year old female. Hormone therepy is no longer used for incontinence. They have a new med that tightens the sphinkt (sp-anybody knows how to spell this, please help me out) muscle that controls urinary flow. The vet said she had a young female that had the same problem and she decided to wait and see, the dog had one more episode and never had a problem after that. Even if it goes away, it could become a problem as she ages. So, we are going to wait and see. I hate to put her on ANY meds if it isn't necessary. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm armed with all the usual stuff that takes care of accidents. My house smells fresh as a daisy.

Sidney smells fresh as a daisy too! Her glands were full. A few years back, they became impacted (didn't burst-thankfully!) and I learned the signs to watch for. (I'd never had a dog with that problem before and was ignorant to that area-I learned fast). And YES, Dag, the biggest sign is the smell! Whew! But all better now.

Sorry to dissapoint but, no pics of me chasing Gretta around the yard. Getting a urine sample from her was easy. Both my girls have learned to pee on comand so I just put her leash on her and said "Gretta, go potty" which she promptly did as I slipped the jar under her bum. She was Miss Cooperation.

Ken, you just seem like the most kind hearted man! They are precious aren't they? And we'd do anything for them, to keep them happy and comfy. They bless us in so many ways, it's the least we can do for them.

[Ken Nielsen]

These dogs have made a better person out of me. Buddy taught me the ropes about getting older and losing control. It's one thing to be around cranky old people who need to wear diapers and whine away (I've never been around one and hope to never be one) but dogs are different because they never complain and just throw themselves at our mercy. How could we not do everything possible for them?

[mara]

I think it's "sphincter"--There are some new meds for humans that they use for loss of sphincter control---that's probably what the vet would put Gretta on. They work good on humans. Hopefully, though, it won't be a regular occurance or a once in a lifetime thing. Maybe someone placd her paw in a bowl of warm water---Sidney?

[GretaJack]

We still use estrogen to help with incontinence, but I believe that PPA is prefered. Well, I hope that Gretta starts to feel better soon, poor girl! And glad to hear that Sydney's rear is clear!!

[Leslie]

Ken: They certainly do teach us a lot. I got Sidney shortly after becoming an empty nester (which was extremely hard for me) and she taught me to just get out there and make the best of each new day. Hard to be sad when you have a happy, bouncy canine counting on you to play.

Too funny Mara! Sidney would never do that to her sister! LOL! Thanks for the spelling correction.

Yes, GretaJack, I do believe PPA is what the vet mentioned and a side effect is that it can make some dogs hyper. As if a 2 1/2 year old GSD doesn't have enough energy! Sidney seems much more comfortable this eve....now that her "rear is clear".

This forum has the nicest, funniest, most helpful group of people. I so appreciate you all. Thanks for all your responces. Have a great 4th of July week end!

[Deb's Tiny Dogs]

2 1/2 years old sure seems young for incontinence. Also, what are the other signs for impacted **** glands other than the smell?

[Leslie]

Frequent licking of the area is another symptom. Sidney will even occationally leave a tiny liquid puddle where she's been lying. When the glands leak, she must feel it because she'll jump up and sniff the liquid. Then look embarrased! Silly girl. But the smell is a dead giveaway. It's quite strong. If the glands are truely impacted, nothing is coming out (or very little) and they can rupture and/or become infected. Messy business!