my dog, probably 14 years old, but healthy and happy, has one problem. - incontinence - A problem that will be many times more difficult to handle on the road than at home.
The two drugs used by vets for this problem - DES (estrogen) and Proin - do not work for her.
I desperately need suggestions for medicating or otherwise dealing with this problem in a motorhome for long term travel.
She has become incontinence at night. Wets her bed. Sometimes the tile floor, soaking herself. This is an involuntary act in her sleep.
I have read up on 'spay incontinence', and have been working with my vet at home. We have tried DES (estrogen), and Proin. These are the only drugs I have found in web search for the problem, ad the only ones my vet is aware of for dogs.
These are not working. The only 'next' is to try both at the same tim, which hasbeen reported as working as a last ditch effort occasionally.
I can deal with this at home, outside dog house if nothing else works. But I cannot have an outside doghouse when traveling in motorhome.
Has anyone found a solution for this problem, other than DES and Proin?
sue.t wrote: Google dog diaper incontinence
and you'll see lots of options.
I agree with Sue regarding many options. We had an elderly dog with Cushing's and diabetes several years ago and the doggie diapers were a godsend. They aren't expensive, now come in both washable/cloth reusable and disposable, are available at most pet stores and over the net, or if you are handy can be made home made using some velcro and material. It makes life less stressful for both you and your pet when there's an accident.
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I'd try both proin and DES together at the same time (under supervision of your vet). Some of the newer incontinence meds for people can be used on animals. They have a different mechanism of action than proin or DES and can be beneficial. The down side is that they tend to be pretty expensive.
Ok, I have web ordered two types of herbals, and some washable/reuseable diapers. We shall see!
Now, a new Q for the experts.
I have recently switched from dryfood (Annie teeth are good) to canned food, primarily due to her becoming more oicky in her food. In thinking ack, this may somewhat coincide with the 'sleep-urination' problem.
Q1: could dry -> to wet be a contributing factor?
Dry food brand/type was varied, and canned food type is varied (for variety of taste, though I suspect all of it tastes the same).
Q2: Senility/Alzheimer's a possibility?
She did have stroke symptoms about 2 years ago, but she fully recovered from that within a few months of care and exercise (no incontinence associated with stroke, just inability to stand/walk/hold head straight).
I am about to try the DES/PPA combo, but am not expecting much since neither works alone.
We went thru this for about three years with our old Cairn--first the stroke, followed by a series of seizures, diagnosed as having Cushings disease, the incontinence (bowel movement in our case), and the general effects of aging.
She held on and we held on for those three years by making sure she got outside often enough to take care of her business. Nightime was a problem for us as well, we kept her close, sleeping on large Depens, for all those three years so we could get up with her when she stirred in the night (and also so we could monitor the onset of the seizures--the length of which we could control a bit if we could get on them early). We enjoyed a few years extra with our efforts and I have to tell you, even with the difficulty and the worry, it was worth it for us. She managed to keep on chugging until the combined effects of senility, blindness, hearing loss, more frequent seizures, and finally, the inability to rest finally signaled that her quality of life had degenerated to the point where she needed relief.
That's a long answer to the your second question--senility does come into play with these conditions you have with your dog. Hopefully you can control some of the symptoms with drugs and some of the conditions with diapers (which we used but as Toots aged, she couldn't move well with them on), and just going that extra bit to make sure she got outside to relieve herself--spent many a cold evening in bathrobes out in the campground doggie area with her! It was all worth it and I wish everyday that we were still enjoying her high maintainence routine. Good luck.
Doug, is there one less expensive or perhaps most effective people-drug for female dogs that has been shown to work safely in dogs? As they are expensive, I do not want to 'shotgun' it!
My vet has not metioned anything other than DES and PPA, and according to the web they are both FDA disapproved people drugs, one is estrogen, the other is a decongestant or antihist.
In your situation, I think I'd recommend trying the herbal approach before trying some of the other human meds. Soy isoflavones are supposed to have some benefit. Try the meds Susan recommended or PM me and I can try to find some doses to run by your vet.
PPA was used in many sinus preparations for people, but was pulled due to increases in blood pressure/ heart problems. Fortunately, this side effect is not significant in dogs. DES was used to prevent miscarriages (I think) in people back in the 50's but caused birth defects in the children. It has promise for use as a chemotherapy agent for some cancers and is being used some, but it's use in dogs is very safe when used at the dose prescribed for incontinence.
I understand not wanting to shotgun therapy, but sometimes response to therapy is the best answer we can get.
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