My spayed female shiba inu leaks small amounts of urine when she is lying down or sleeping. I suspect she has spay incontinence. What are the complications of untreated USMI and what are the indications for initiation of medical therapy (e.g. with PPA)?

Updated On February 20th, 2022

Pet's info: Dog | Shiba Inu | Female | spayed | 3 years and 1 month old | 18 lbs

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

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Hello, thank you using PetCoach. Sorry Toro is having this issue. Based on your description of the problem I would agree that urinary incontinence seems likely however, you need to get a diagnosis first before making any plans or worrying about medications. There are other possibilities like ectopic ureter, UTI, bladder atony, etc that need to be considered. Your vet will most likely do an exam and urinalysis (with culture and sensitivity) to start with and go from there. In many instances we do not treat incontinence unless it is happening very frequently (like every day or a few times a week). If it is just once a week or once every couple weeks we often delay treatment until needed. If it comes to the point where she does need medications and you chose not to use them, complications can arise as the urinary sphincter is weak and will allow bacteria to travel up the urethra and into the bladder so they will get recurrent UTIs. Bacteria can also ascend higher up the ureters and into the kidneys and they can get a kidney infection which may be fatal. PPA is the drug we usually start with to manage incontinence. If PPA fails to control the issue we will either add in DES or use it instead of PPA. I have attached a link to an information sheet about these drugs. ( https://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/drug-library/library/phenylpropanolamine-proin-ppa-for-dogs-and-cats/ ) ( https://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/drug-library/library/diethylstilbestrol-des-for-female-dogs/ ) Hope this helps to answer your questions. Best wishes.

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