Help! My Dog is Incontinent!

Finding natural incontinent dog solutions can be tough. When dealing with dog urinary incontinence, natural remedies are not the first thing most vets will suggest.
Most vets will advise using Phenylpropanolamine (Proin), a drug that helps strengthen the urinary sphincter muscle or diethylstilbestrol (DES), a hormone replacement therapy. Both of these drugs, however, carry the risk of significant side effects.
These side effects are what made me pause and do some research when my dog Rose started leaking urine. For Rose, it happened when she was sleeping, or when she got up from her bed. Other dogs drip urine as they move around.
What Rose was experiencing is not uncommon: dog incontinence while sleeping or moving around is a common scenario. Many times, incontinence has a sudden onset: people notice their dog leaking urine out of the blue and have no idea what is causing it.
I read everything I could find online, both about the causes and the treatments. The more I read about the conventional drug treatment’s side effects, the more I wanted to try to find a natural solution that targeted the cause and not just the symptoms.
This article combines what I have learned researching dog incontinence solutions to give you a comprehensive overview of the causes and natural treatment options.
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Causes of Dog Incontinence
**Note: this post contains affiliate links. No one paid me to recommend these products, I recommend them because I like them. However, using the link to buy the products helps support happynaturaldog.com! **

Dog incontinence can stem from a variety of issues. Female dog incontinence is most common, but it occurs in male dogs as well.
Muscle weakness in the bladder sphincter muscle can be the reason urine is leaking, but the root cause of the weakness is what needs to be investigated.
Your natural vet will consider a variety of causes:
- Back Injury: Incontinence can be a result of a recent back injury, or a back injury tracing back to overstretching the spine during the spay operation. Injured back muscles tighten and encroach on nerves controlling the bladder sphincter muscle.
- Ectopic ureters: A common cause of urinary incontinence in young dogs is a physical abnormality called an ectopic ureter. In this situation, the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder connect to an abnormal location, most often below the bladder, bypassing the bladder sphincter and causing urinary leakage. It is most common in young dogs, and is up to 9 times more common in females than in males
- defined as a ureteral opening in any area other than the normal position in the trigone of the bladder. UI is the most common clinical sign in dogs with EUs and is usually diagnosed in dogs prior to one year of age;
- Hormone induced urinary incontinence: Most hormone induced urinary incontinence occurs in female dogs. Low estrogen in dogs can be a result of spay surgery, but low levels also occur naturally as the dog ages. These low levels affect the muscles in the urinary tract.
- Over Intense Exercise: Some dogs may experience incontinence after exercising. Too much, too intense, or the wrong kind of exercise can exacerbate back and/or muscle issues that cause incontinence.
What to Do Before Treating Dog Incontinence

Before trying any dog incontinence treatment, the first thing you need to do is take your dog to your vet to rule out any possible causes that would require medical attention.
Your vet visit should include:
- A thorough physical exam
- Urinalysis: In addition to measuring kidney function, this test will make sure your dog doesn’t have a urinary tract infection (UTI), which can cause incontinence.
- Blood tests: Your vet should run a complete blood count, a blood chemistry, and a thyroid test.
Next, I would strongly recommend a visit to a chiropractor. If spinal alignment or muscle spasms are causing your dog’s incontinence, this visit (and recommended follow ups) may take care of the problem.
If these visits don’t uncover an underlying issue, you will have to choose which treatment/approach you want to take for your dog’s incontinence. Discuss natural treatment options with your natural vet.
Dog Urinary Incontinence – Natural Remedies
Important Disclaimer: I am not a vet. Not even close. I’m just sharing my own personal experience and information I have read. If you think you want to try something you read about here, talk to your vet! But first read this and many more articles to empower yourself for a good discussion in which you can ask your vet great questions about what you want to try.
Knowledge is power – never forget that!
If you choose to treat your dog’s incontinence with natural remedies, kudos to you! As with all natural treatments, be aware it can take a few weeks or months to see results. The advantage, however, is that there are fewer side effects – most have none.
Apple Cider Vinegar

Using apple cider vinegar for dog incontinence is surprisingly common. One person gave her dog a slice of bread soaked in apple cider vinegar daily and her dog leaked less and less until it completely stopped. Another person added a few capfuls of apple cider vinegar to her dog’s water each day.
Be aware that dosage is important. Too much apple cider vinegar can make your dog’s urine pH too alkaline, which can cause other issues. Also, be sure to buy unpasteurized apple cider vinegar that contains the “mother” or it won’t have the healthy properties you need.
If you want to learn more about apple cider vinegar check out my article 9 Surprising Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for dogs.
Cranberry

Cranberry concentrate (most commonly found in capsule form) can help to sooth UTI symptoms while encouraging healthy urinary tract function and providing healthy bladder support. It isn’t known for stopping incontinence, but I wanted to mention it as it’s a staple for urinary tract health.
Kidney Bladder Relief

Urinary and Kidney Relief is something I’ve added to my dog’s daily regimen only recently. Incontinence for her has been a “two steps forward, one step back” process – I’ll make headway with a chiropractic adjustment or supplement, then a few months later will notice leakage starting again.
I started Kidney Bladder Relief after my dog regressed and was leaking so much we started using diapers again. After about 4 weeks on this product the leaking subsided then completely disappeared. We are going on 3 months of her being TOTALLY dry!
I ran out at one point and she start to leak a small amount again, so I can tell that the herbs in this product are really making a difference.
Symplex F by Standard Process

Symplex F (this link takes you to a page where you can find a practitioner who sells it) is a glandular product that supports the adrenal, pituitary, ovary, and thyroid glands. Although a spayed female’s ovaries are removed, the adrenal glands do secrete estrogen in small amounts, and may also secrete substances that help support and stimulate the urethra muscles.
If you can’t find a practitioner near you, you could try Googling it and see if you find a practitioner willing to ship it.
I first read about using Symplex F and Vasculin (next section) in a case study by Arthur Freedman, DVM titled “Nutritional Support for a Case of Canine Urinary Incontinence.” He details a case study of a 10 year old golden retriever with urinary incontinence. Both Proin and DES (conventional drugs) had not helped, and Proin had caused hypertension.
As a last resort they tried Symplex-F. Their golden’s incontinence subsided and was almost completely controlled. The case study contains a detailed explanation of how Symplex-F helps incontinence.
If you are considering Symplex-F, Standard Process unfortunately no longer publishes their dosage chart. I would recommend emailing their customer service at [email protected].
Vasculin by Standard Process

Freeman’s article also mentions that in certain cases it is helpful to combine Symplex-F with a product called Vasculin. Vasculin contains components that support muscles as well as B complex vitamins which enhance nerve conduction.
The Vasculin dosage is unfortunately no longer listed online, I would email Standard Process at [email protected] to see if they will tell you the right dosage for your dog’s body weight.
Incontia Homeopathic Remedy

Dr Peter Dobias has a great article on incontinent dog solutions titled “Natural Treatment of Urinary Incontinence in Dogs.” The article does a great job of helping natural pet owners understand reasons behind dog incontinence and why conventional medications not only ignore the root issue, but have horrible side effects. He sells a homeopathic remedy protocol he calls Incontia. Incontia is a protocol and directs you to buy and use Phosphoric Acid 1M as well as the rest of the detailed protocol to help with symptoms of incontinence.
Bladder Support
It is also important to provide support of the bladder and the immune system. Here are some products I read about that can help do that.
Postbiotics
Postbiotics provides prebiotics, postbiotics, and organic botanicals for gut health and immune support.

Bladder Support
Bladder support Promotes optimal bladder health, normal urine pH & helps prevent and minimize UTI symptoms.

Bladder Support
Bladder support Promotes optimal bladder health, normal urine pH & helps prevent and minimize UTI symptoms.

Probiotics Muti-benefit formula aids with digestion, immunity, gut health, energy, skin and coat
Chiropractic
For some dog owners, a chiropractic visit may identify alignment problems that, when adjusted, reduce pressure and swelling on nerves controlling the bladder muscles and thus help with their dog’s incontinence.
Dog Diapers
This isn’t a solution, but dog diapers can be a lifesaver while you are trying different home remedies for dog urinary incontinence and waiting to see if they work. I buy 6 of them, and when I get down to the last clean one I put that on my dog and throw the rest in the washer on a sanitize cycle with a tablespoon of neutralizer concentrate and soap.
I use these diapers and have been very satisfied with their performance. If you don’t want to do laundry as often, you can put a femine pad in the diaper and then just throw it away when you take the diaper off the dog. The diaper will most likely still need to be washed after a number of uses, but not nearly as much.
Kennel Odor Eliminator
This is the product I use if I have a urine smell in a carpet or rug that I can’t get out. It is very strong smelling (floral), but the ingredients are water, proprietary essential oil blend, and preservatives, so the strong smell is not from artificial fragrance. It is also biodegradable and non-toxic.
Because it is is concentrate one container lasts a really long time.

Bac-Out Enzymatic Stain & Odor Remover
I also use BAC-OUT, an enzymatic stain and odor remover. I haven’t had luck using it for strong urine smells, but it has worked well on poop smells and on yellow stomach bile stains from pet vomit.

Case Study:
(A Fancy Title for “My Dog’s Incontinence – What Worked & What Didn’t”)

Background:
Rose is an 12-year-old Sheltie/Golden Retriever mix that we adopted at age 1. In her middle-aged years, she had two incidences of leaking urine that were caused by ingesting toxic food.
The first time she ate double-chocolate cookies that my kids had left out on the counter to cool when no one was home. The cat pushed the cooling rack off the counter and Rose capitalized on the opportunity. (believe me, the kids received one very crabby lecture…) By the time we got home it was too late to induce vomiting.
Although we knew she hadn’t eaten enough to be life threatening, she did become incontinent for about 2 days (something that can happen with chocolate ingestion in dogs) then returned to normal.
The second time the same cat (notice a trend here?) managed to climb from a stool into our flip-top garbage can in the middle of the night and eventually tipped it over. Again, Rose capitalized on the garbage diving opportunity and ingested some coffee grounds (also toxic, just like chocolate). Same thing happened, 2 days of incontinence.
Fast forward to this year. Rose is 12, possibly older, and started leaking urine on a regular basis, mostly when she got up from lying down. At the vet, blood counts and urine test showed all normal readings.
A visit to the chiropractor revealed some minor misalignments, but after a few visits I knew that was not going to be the sole cure, perhaps just a piece of the puzzle.
My vet, who is open to holistic but his knowledge is conventional, recommended Proin. I began to read everything I could find on incontinent dog solutions.

Finding a Solution
Dr. Dobias’s “Natural Treatment of Urinary Incontinence in Dogs” was my “ah-ha” moment. It changed my way of looking at dog incontinence and gave me hope that it could be stopped without a prescription.
I already was adding apple cider vinegar to Rose’s food each day so I knew that wouldn’t be the right solution for her. I decided to try “Incontia” to see if it would help. The leaking got much better, but did not disappear completely. This improvement showed me, however, that I was on the right track!
I continued to scour the internet for studies and articles discussing alternative dog urinary incontinence treatments, and read about Standard Process Symplex F and Vasculin. I decided to add both to her food daily in order to support her glandular system and urinary muscles. Within a month the leakage had stopped!
For Rose, I think her incontinence had multiple triggers that were stacked. Age, low estrogen, damage from her chocolate/coffee eating incidents, back muscle/alignment issues – all probably contributed to her incontinence.
Rose still has infrequent setbacks, and as she ages the setback leakage lasts a little longer. We keep trying new things and on days when she is dripping I put a diaper on her.
Dog Urinary Incontinence:
Natural Remedies Can Work!

It’s important to remember that if you are dealing with dog urinary incontinence, natural remedies may take longer, but they are so much less risky for your dog that for me, it was worth the trade-off.
The best dog incontinence solution(s) are going to be different for each dog. You may have to try a number of remedies before finding one that helps.
I was SO grateful to be able to stop incontinence without pharmaceutical drugs – google “proin side effects” and you will see why.
I have friends who have tried Proin, experienced success for awhile, then it stopped working. They had to keep increasing the dose – not an uncommon scenario.
Have you found a dog incontinence remedy that worked for your dog? Tell us your story in the comments below: you never know when your solution will change another dog’s life.
Naturally,
Karen
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Interesting! Thanks for posting. My Shepard mix female, Stella, has been on Proin for several years. She first started leaking when she was about 3 or 4 years old. Fortunately, I have been able to reduce the dosage over time and have been recently wondering if she really needs it. I will definitely do more research and check out the suggested alternatives.
That’s really interesting to hear you’ve been able to wean her down Beth. It would logically makes sense that if she was 3 or 4 when it started then perhaps the cause was something that got better over time, such as the chiropractic alignment theory. Definitely let me know what you try and you research possible alternatives, I’ll be interested to see how Stella does.
My dog Ellie, who was a rescue and has been on Proin for a month, well because of the scary side effects that the drug causes, I’m taking her off of it and starting the Apple cider vinegar tonight. I hope it works..Ellie is about 2 yrs old and I want her to have a long life..thank you for your article…
Hi Tori! Glad you found the article helpful for you as you troubleshoot your rescue dog’s incontinence. One thing I would keep track of while giving her apple cider vinegar is the pH level of her urine. The test strips are pretty inexpensive, I check my dog’s pH once or twice a week to be sure it doesn’t get too alkaline as that can be a factor that increases the likelihood of kidney or bladder stones. Another treatment to consider not mentioned in the article is acupuncture. We’re now doing that for my senior girl, her incontinence will resurface sometimes and acupuncture helps immensely. I will get this option added to the article soon. Keep me posted, I would love to hear how Ellie responds to natural treatments!
Karen
I was wondering if your dog also had increased thirst and panting when you noticed her incontinence started. We have been dealing with these three issues for over a month now. We are finally going to have a cushings test. I am nervous abut this test and if she has cushings I am not sure I want to put her on the vet prescription for that. Could the incontinent product help with cushings?
Thank you,
Paula
Hi Paula,
My dog did not have any increased thirst or panting, so her incontinence most likely has an entirely different root cause. I did a quick Google search using “holistic remedies cushing’s disease dog” and found good articles by holistic vets that included Boulder Holistic Vet, White Oak Vet, and Peter Dobias. If you don’t have a holistic vet in your area, one other suggestion would be doing a phone consult with one to come up with a holistic support plan to see if you can avoid conventional meds. Let me know how things turn out with your dog, I hope you get some helpful answers on what is causing her symptoms.
Please can someone help me. I have a 7yr old mini poodle and she’s been incontinent since she was 4. She was on ‘leaks no more’ but recently it stop working. The vet put her on proins and as a result she developed a terrible thirst which in turn has increased her incontinence. I tried phos acid but she won’t let the pellets dissolve under her tongue. This little dog is very fussy with food so its hard to disguise any meds. By the way she was spayed at 6months. At my wits end. Liz
Hey Liz, So sorry you are dealing with this, incontinence is so frustrating. Does your vet do acupuncture or chiropractic at all? The article by Peter Dobias (link above) talks about misalignments that can occur during spays. Right now I’m trying acupuncture and Chinese herbs with my girl, she is 12 so she will make improvement, then slide back, so we keep trying new things.
Do you have diapers to put on your girl when she is inside? When mine isn’t doing well I just keep a diaper on her inside, then I’m not wiping up the floors all of the time and it’s a lot less frustrating. Keep me posted!
One other thought I had, since Leaks No More worked for awhile then stopped working, it might be worth considering a phone consult with an experienced animal homeopath. They might understand why the Leaks No More would stop working, and what remedy would correct that. Good luck!
How much Apple cider, Symplex f, and Vasculin would you recommend starting out with. My vet prescribed proin and all it does is make her Nauseous and vomit so I am trying to figure out other options because if I can’t figure out how to control it then I am going to have to rehome her which she is part of the family and I do not want to do.
Hi Angela,
I’m so sorry you are struggling with incontinence in your dog, I know how hard it is. Kudos to you for trying to find a solution for your dog. Here are some dosage resources: For Simplex F and Vasculin Standard Process has a dosage resource at https://www.standardprocess.com/Veterinary-Document-Library/Flyers/clincalreferenceL4600. Both of these are in the Incontinence section, if the dose says “SID” that means once a day, if it says “BIM” it means twice a day (so split between morning and evening). For apple cider vinegar, holistic veterinarian Jim Carlson of Riverside Animal Clinic recommends 1 teaspoon/day for small dogs, 1 tablespoon/day for large dogs.
For apple cider vinegar it’s important to mix it with their food or water. Since a number of dogs do not like the taste at first, start with a small amount and work your way up. I add it to my dogs food and stir it in, they don’t like it straight up. You can also add a little water to dilute the taste. I prefer not to add it to their water dish because I don’t want them to drink less water.
In the meantime, I highly recommend getting some female doggie diapers. I use these when my dog has a setback, and it takes 95% of the stress out. I bought 2 sets of these on Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MPWS21K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I have 6 that I rotate, and once 5 are dirty I wash a load on hot water with a little urine neutralizer added to the laundry soap dispenser.
If you don’t have to clean up messes on your floors, it makes trying these different solutions so much more manageable, since natural solutions take time and aren’t instantly effective.
I have also heard a number of stories where acupuncture was effective in stopping incontinence. For Rose (my dog) it wasn’t, but it just depends on the source of the problem causing the incontinence.
Let me know how your dog does, I really respect all the work you are doing to try and find a solution, and I know your dog is grateful that you love her so much to keep trying!
Hi Karen, Our much loved four and a half year old rescue dog, Sadie, recently started urinating overnight in the house and having occasional accidents during the day. She is a part basset hound/cattle dog and has the body of a full size dog but with very short legs. She has previously had one UTI so we had her urine tested and it showed no infection and her vet prescribed Proin. We have only given her one dose and she vomited and is showing signs of lethargy which is just not like her. We decided we will not be giving her any more Proin and are definitely going the natural route. It is especially interesting to consider a chiropractor as a solution because she has a very long spine and was recently jumping , running and rolling around with a dog friend so it is a real possibility to think that could be the reason for her most recent problem. Thank you so much for all the valuable information on your website including all the comments from concerned dog owners.
Hi Marilyn, Thanks so much for sharing your story and your kind words – I am so glad the article was helpful! I would love to hear from you once you check into chiropractic issues to see if that helps Sadie, being young (i.e. you know it’s not a senior muscle issue) and having the long basset hound spine it sure seems like it’s worth checking. My dog’s incontinence still comes and goes, but the last chiropractic adjustment she got changed her from leaking Lake Bertha in the mornings to totally dry for 7 weeks now. Good luck and keep us posted!
Thank you, Karen!!! I have been stressing over the pool ast few weeks about my Justice, 14 yo Weim, who started peeing in her sleep. I put apple cider vinegar in her water bucket, but will start mixing it with some wet food. I will also check out the other two products that you recommend and get the diapers. She sleeps with me and I have been washing her covers and I lined her side of the bed with the plastic. I don’t want this to become a daily habit and add to my frustration. I am grateful for all of your suggestions!!!
Thanks for the kind words Cheri! I’m so sorry your Weim is starting to experience incontinence – it’s hard. You are awesome for making it possible for her to keep sleeping in her spot next to you each night, the cleanup is discouraging. The diapers are a game changer, they help you keep your sanity while you try different things. A lot of natural remedies can take weeks to work so keep that in mind as you try them. If Justice had any fall or wipe out recently you might check out a chiropractor as well, but if not, I’m hoping that since she’s older, simply supporting the muscles and organs involved will help.
Also, I just added a product to the article called Kidney Bladder Relief that I would highly recommend, I’ve been using it since my senior girl’s last setback (return of incontinence) and after 4-5 weeks she was totally dry again.
Let me know how it goes, good luck!
Thank you for this article Karen. I’m faced with one of my dogs having what seems to be incontinence. Though she also has bladder crystals that trigger UTI’s. The urinalysis/bloodwork was normal but she started to lose control over her bladder when I started to switch her to a homecooked diet, so I wasn’t convinced by the vet’s opinion that she was suddenly incontinent. There was too much of a coincidence. She’s an older husky mix…I have her in diapers and she soaks them overnight. I let her out at least 12 times a day. She’s on a urinary formula for her food now, it’s supposed to dissolve the bladder crystals, but she’s been on it for a month and there has been no improvement…I’ve been giving her probiotics and cranberry for years. I’m going to look into Incontia and the other supplements you mentioned. I’m tired of washing rugs!! 🙂 Actually I used some Canesten on her the last few days and she is not licking incessantly anymore. She may have several issues going on down there. It’s a “crap shoot” so to speak!
Hi Rain, I’m so sorry you are dealing with so many issues with your husky mix. 🙁 That’s really puzzling that she lost bladder control as you switched to a homecooked diet, I agree it doesn’t seem like a coincidence. If Canesten helped with her irritation (so she licked less) you would assume a fungal imbalance is going on too. Do you have anyone natural you can work with where you’re located? Ideally if you could find a vet that also did chiropractic that would help so they could check if misalignment is involved as well. But it definitely seems like she has some immune, fungal, and/or other imbalances going on. Please keep me updated on her progress, I hope you are able to find someone to help figure out the underlying issue as it sounds like your vet isn’t looking into much of this for other causes. Good luck!
Thanks Karen, no I live in rural Canada, the closest town is a ninety minute drive away and it’s a small town; and I couldn’t find any natural vets there. But I did read your page on ACV…I ordered PH strips and ACV from Amazon, they arrived today, so I’m going to test her. She isn’t licking much anymore (so I guess the Canesten worked for that) but like I said peeing 12 or so times a day and soaking her diaper at night. She definitely has problems with her back legs…I wish I could find a chiropractic vet here! I’ll have to do more research on this! I’ll keep you posted as we go along!
I have a 6 month old Siberian Husky from the first day I got him he has always had problems leaking urine. I have took him to two different vets and nothing has worked for him. He’s been on about eight different medications and nothing works. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t want to keep giving him medications that are just making the problem worse. He is so young and I am scared of all of the possible side effects with all the medications that he has had to take. I will be trying some of these remedies I really hope they work.
Hi Michelle, I’m sorry to hear that your Husky is dealing with this at such a young age. I’m curious, was he neutered when you got him? Also, does he dribble urine all day long or is it more likely to happen when it has been a few hours since he went last? I say this because I fostered a 6 month old dog who came to me completely house trained, was neutered, and leaked from that point on. It would happen the most when it had been a few hours since he had last peed. I ended up adopting him out to a vet, who said she thinks there was a muscle injury somehow during the neuter or in how he was restrained – the procedure was done by vet students in an instructional setting so that may have played into it. At any rate, it took a long time (I feel like 6-12 months) and the muscle healed and the problem went away.
Regardless, do you have belly bands you can use in the meantime so when he does leak it’s not so time consuming or frustrating for you? They are in the article, called “male dog diapers.” Those have saved me so many headaches, they are worth their weight in gold!
Good luck with your Husky and let us know how it goes for you!
Thank you for your reply.
No, he did not come neutered. I got him neutered back in January. He does dribble urine all day long it’s very constant. He’s always licking down there I think he’s also frustrated with it as well. I would try dog diapers but with a husky it’s not the best idea they like to get out of anything.
Hi Michelle, Did he dribble before he was neutered? Has he been checked for a UTI at any of the vets you have been to? If he’s licking to me he’s showing something doesn’t feel good. As far as vets go, keep trying new ones until you get a good feeling, like you “click” with their approach and their skills. It took me a long time to realize that finding a vet I like is like finding a people doctor I like, it takes a long time and lots of trial and error to find a match. Don’t give up, somewhere out there is a vet who has seen this issue before and has the knowledge needed to diagnose the problem!
Michelle I posted your issue on a volunteer rescue group I’m a part of and one person who is really knowledgeable about medical issues said:
“If he was previously potty trained and doesn’t have a UTI then it makes me wonder about an ectopic ureter. Especially if it has been going on since they had him. We have seen this in several young dogs over the years. Usually a fairly simple surgery to correct. Probably needs an ultrasound to diagnose.”
Just another idea you could run by your vet – hope that helps!
Hi Karen, he has dribbled even before being neutered. I got him when he was six weeks old and he was always dribbling. The first time I took him to the vet they said he had a UTI. They gave him medication but that didn’t stop the leaking. He hasn’t been diagnosed with another UTI.
Thank you for the information provided! I will be making another vet appointment to possibly get an ultrasound done to check if that could be the problem causing it.
Good luck Michelle, let me know what you find out!
Hi Karen,
I have a 12 year old corgie/schnauzer mix that has clean as a whistle blood tests but did have cancer removed from her hind leg. She does also suffer with fatty tumors but she has been on a raw diet for the last year and a half and she’s flourished! Within the last few months she’s suddenly become incontinent. I recently switched brands of raw food so that could be it….but I have ordered the Symplex F and Vasculin and plan to add those and ACV to her diet. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
Sam
Hi Sam! I’m assuming you’ve checked with your vet since you ran bloodwork, so that’s a good start, you always want to check for medical issues first. It it were my dog I think the next thing I would do is switch diets back to her old raw food diet. You never know if the new diet is lower in some nutrient that is throwing her system off. The other thing I would do, especially since it appeared suddenly, is have a dog chiropractor check to see if something is out of alignment and impinging on a nerve that controls the bladder sphincter muscle function. The article by Dr. Peter Dobias (link in my article) talks a lot of his experience in finding that many incontinence issues are related to this problem. As always, keep in mind that I’m not a vet, these are just things I would check with my dogs. Keep us posted on what happens, good luck with your girl!
For Simplex F and Vasculin Standard Process has a dosage resource at https://www.standardprocess.com/Veterinary-Document-Library/Flyers/clincalreferenceL4600
This link is dead. Do you have any other sources for dosing of these two?
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for pointing out the dead link, I just sent an email to Standard Process to see if they still have the resource. In the meantime, I found one website that has a Symplex F dose recommendation, I know nothing about this website so can’t verify if it’s the same as what Standard Process recommends, but here it is: https://nutripetpak.com/products/symplex-f-360-tablets. I will let you know when I hear back from Standard Process. Adult dose is listed on the Vasculin bottle, sometimes you can extrapolate by weight, but best bet is to try and find a vet versed in doses if possible.
Update: I heard back from Standard Process, they have pulled the reference sheet that had dosages on it. 🙁 They recommended emailing [email protected] for dosage questions, I hope that works!
Hi, the link for Symplex F does not work, FYI. are these for dogs? I looked both supplements up and they don’t say safe for digs.
Thanks for all your great info, I just ordered the Inconita and trying ot find the supplement that goes withit.
Hi there, I updated the listing to explain the link, I had to put one in that takes you to the “find a practitioner” page because Amazon stopped selling it. If you find a practitioner near you, then you can call them to see if they carry Symplex F or could order it for you. If you don’t find a practitioner, I also found some willing to ship by Googling Symplex F. Hope that helps!
My 16 month old labradoodle who is very active has been just diagnosed with spay incontinence. However, she has leaked only after heavy exercise and drinking water, and then stops. I am not convinced to start her on hormonal treatment so want to explore natural options. Please advise!
Hi there, I am not a vet so can’t advise you on how to treat your dog, but I would strongly encourage you to continue educating yourself on possible causes – kudos to you for doing that! – and then take your dog to a holistic vet for a second opinion and to develop a treatment plan.
For my dog, I bought diapers to use while I tried some more holistic approaches like chiropractic and supplements, because I know natural methods can take a while and with the diapers I didn’t have to stress about urine in the house. Good luck and let us know what you find out!
We just rescued a new dog back in January. She was an owner surrender for a bad situation and was said to be 4. She looked like she had recently had puppies so I’m sure she had more than one litter. She was spayed In January. A few days after we got her she was leaking pee and blood. Her X-ray showed there was debris in bladder and her bladder was thickened. Her leaking was mainly only in the mornings. She eventually quit leaking. Well until a couple days ago she had started leaking again from morning-noonish after she goes out to pee in the morning. We are taking a urine sample to vet today but I’m just lost on why it’s suddenly returned. I’m looking into holistic methods because she’s so young and I just lost my other female pitbull to cancer in October after being on lots of meds for severe allergies. It may be a coincidence but when she was leaking originally she was on a lamb and rice food. We switched foods around the time she quit leaking.. I bought lamb and rice food again about 1.5 weeks ago and now she’s leaking again.
Hi Pam, I’m so sorry your dog is still struggling with leaking, it’s so frustrating when something like this comes and goes, it makes it so much harder to figure out. I think you are wise to be taking another sample to the vet and working with a vet to try and find the root issue. Some thoughts re your food question: like you said, it may be a coincidence, but if it were me I would definitely try switching back to the food she was eating when she quit leaking – you have nothing to lose and you just never know! I would also try and find a dog chiropractor to ensure her spine is in alignment and not impinging on a bladder control nerve, when my dog had intermittent incontinence chiropractic did help her. And maybe give Peter Dobias’s Inconcia remedy a try to support the urinary system (link in article), you could run that by your holistic vet. Finally, if you have a holistic vet in town, they may be able to recommend some supplements that would help based on what they think the root issue is. Good luck – please keep us posted so we know what worked and what didn’t for your dog! She is lucky to have you.
Hi Karen, Thank you for writing this – it gives me hope that I will be able to deal with my dog’s incontinence without Proin. My 2 year old Golden Retriever, Akira got neutered 10 days ago (he also got his kennel cough vaccine the same day because they wouldn’t board him otherwise, the boarding was also required by the vet) and he was given Rimadyl Carprofen for pain. The night after his surgery, he started leaking urine and still does. I stopped giving him Carprofen since noticing this. He also drinks an excessively large amount of water and every 1-2 hours, he starts leaking a few drops and I take him out immediately. The vet doesn’t have an explanation and said he can prescribe Proin, which I don’t want. I am giving him Cranberry chews from Zesty Paws and also going to try the Apple cider vinegar.
Hi Vaishnavi, I’m so sorry to hear about your golden retriever leaking after his neuter. I had this exact same thing happen with one of my foster dogs. The night of his neuter, he was waiting to be let outside (and I didn’t notice right away) and he suddenly peed an insane amount – huge, huge puddle, on the floor. And from that point on he leaked and dribbled. It slowly got better, he wasn’t dribble free for almost a year. I ended up adopting him out to a vet, she used a belly band at first (the one on this article) and it kept her sane and not having to clean up urine all the time. The vet who adopted him didn’t understand how the neuter could cause a leakage either, but the correlation was unmistakable. He was completely housetrained then leaked like crazy. I will have to research this more, you could try Googling “neuter incontenence” and see if there are any good articles. Don’t trust Google to give you the best articles right away, they are changing their algorithm and ranking is becoming a game that doesn’t always reflect article quality, so check results even a few pages in.
I would be so grateful if you would keep us updated on this comment thread, I know others have had this problem and there just isn’t enough out there about it to help other dog owners!
Thanks for responding Karen. And sorry for the multiple posts, my bad. I will definitely keep you posted. I tried to limit his water intake to a reasonable amount (don’t want him to get dehydrated, where we live it’s hot right now) and he can go close to 3 hours before he starts leaking. Based on Google searches and talking to some people I know, this has happened to their dogs and gone away anywhere in between a week and a few months. I hope that is the case with my dog too. He leaks only when he is lying down or immediately after standing up.
His stitches come out tomorrow, desperately hoping the situation improves gradually. Again, will keep you posted.
Thanks for the additional information Vaishnavi and for being willing to post updates – I know there will be countless people who read your story down the road – and knowing what to expect and how long improvement took for your dog, will be so helpful to them. Fingers crossed you start to see gradual improvement every week from here on out!
I wanted to share some updates – 6 months after the surgery, Akira is still leaking. Recently we started seeing a holistic vet and she has been doing chiropractic adjustments on him and it seems to help. The traditional vet kept trying to push PROIN (which was very frustrating) and I strongly felt that this was not a hormone related issue (he leaks less when I give him Vitamin E oil and we haven’t figured out why) and so I was totally against giving Akira PROIN. So grateful we were able to find a good holistic vet. I will be back in a few weeks with an update on the progress of the holistic treatment.
Thank you so much for the update Vaishnavi, I’m so glad you found a holistic vet and the chiropractic treatment seems to be helping. Akira is so freaking lucking to have you as his owner, you are wonderful to do so much to make sure that you are treating the root of the problem and not the symptoms. The vitamin E part is expecially interesting, I’ll be interested to hear if you find out why that helps. Fingers crossed that your next update will be even more good news!
Vaishnavi: I don’t know if your dog was given antibiotics after his neuter, but I have a story for you. My dog had lyme disease years ago and was prescribed doxycycline. He had 3 doses of that antibiotic when he suddenly started drinking vast amounts of water and needed to go out constantly. I can’t remember if he became incontinent at that time (I have been dealing with that for years thus being on this page) but I immediately stopped the doxy and took him to the vet. His liver values were literally off the chart – his ALT was over 1000. Turns out that a small percentage of dogs’ bodies cannot process that particular antibiotic through their kidneys and it has to go through the liver, which is not good at clearing it, so he got an overdose after just a few doses. It took a week after stopping the doxy for him to stop drinking and peeing so much. This scenario is not known by many vets but it says it right in the Merck veterinary manual, as a friend of mine who was at that time in vet school discovered when I told her about my dog’s situation. I hope your dog is recovering well from his neuter!
Wow Corinne thank you for sharing this, that is crazy. Glad your dog is ok!
Thanks for sharing your story Corinne. Glad you realized what was going and stopped giving him the drug on time.
We did blood work before and after the surgery. And nothing has really changed. His ALT values look good. And he does not have UTI. His stitches were removed yesterday (it needed an extra couple of days to heal) and the vet said we will watch if that makes any difference since the urethra is directly below where the stitches were. His water intake has seem to gone down a little bit. Still fingers crossed this is a temporary thing that will go away soon.
My dog got neutered 10 days ago and has had incontinence since then. He drinks a significantly large amount of water and dribbles urine after 1-2 hours, after which I take him out and the whole cycle repeats. Poor guy doesn’t understand what is happening. I am already giving him yogurt, cranberry chew from Zesty paws and now apple cider vinegar mixed in his water. Hoping this gets resolved soon. The vet said he can prescribe Proin but I don’t want to go that route.
Hi again Vaishnavi, I would definitely get some belly bands while his body heals, then he’s not getting any urgent human response trying to get him outside (which you have to do if he’s on carpet or rugs!), it takes the stress down on you both.
Hi my border collie almost 3 years old had started struggling with incontinence, he also has itchy paws from allergies so he is always licking. We went to the vet and did a full blood panel and a urine test and everything came back normal. He prescribed Benadryl for his allergies and said he wants to see if that helps with the incontinence too. If not he wants to prescribe Proin, I saw that you recommend cranberry supplements and apple cider. And we found these dog friendly ones do you think these will be okay to try?
Cranberry for Dogs – 120 Chewable Tablets – Urinary Tract Support, Bladder Support for Dogs, Dog UTI, Bladder Stones, Dog Incontinence Support, Cranberry Supplement for Dogs https://a.co/d/1DrxBSN
Hi Mariah! I have not used this brand so can’t comment one way or another, but here are things I would think about. First is the ingredient list, I noticed this one has artificial flavoring (bacon) plus some words I don’t know what they are (dicalcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, etc). Compare that to other options, for example this one (https://amzn.to/3VFDEoT) has fewer ingredients and I know what each one is (rice hulls, rice powder, cranberry, capsule). But, I have to add the apple cider vinegar separately so it’s more inconvenient. If your dog is a picky eater you might need the chewable/flavored ones, but my dogs just wolf down the capsule no problem. There’s no right answer, the important thing is you’re trying some natural approaches before starting Proin at such a young age. Good luck, please let us know if your dog improves, fingers crossed!
Thank you Karen, we are trying these supplements first because we don’t want to put him on Proin without trying all of our options first, he is so young we don’t want to put him on lifelong medication without trying other options. We are looking into taking him to a chiropractor as well like you suggested he is a very active frisbee dog who is always jumping and twisting in the air so we think that the chiropractor would be something worth looking into. They vet said all of this tests were normal but they wanted to give him Proin right away. I appreciate your response and am glad I found this article. Thank You!
Your dog is so lucky to have you as his owners! I will be very interested to see if chiropractic helps as well, like you pointed out with all the frisbee jumping and twisting it could definitely be playing into it. Please let me know how things go!
Lovely article … if you live in the US or somewhere else where all these products are for sale. For someone like me who live in SA and cannot find these products locally … a totally useless article. If you could take the time to write an article listing all the natural INGREDIENTS I would have rated your article 10 out 10,
Hi Elmarie, I’m sorry you are unable to get these products where you live, I was hoping people in other countries might have access to them on Amazon or from Ebay International sellers. Because I do this on a volunteer basis out of my own pocket I unfortunetly did not have time to copy and paste the ingredients of each product in the article. Many of the products in the article will have ingredient lists on the product page on the Standard Process page you sometimes have to click “View Fact Sheet.” That said, I know it may be hard to find similar ingredients in a product available in SA and I’m sorry I don’t know of any good resources to suggest for purchasing this kind of product.
Hi…I’m in Canada…..just happened to find your post, thankyou for giving up so much time for our 4 legged friends and I appreciate it very much…as they say , “let your fingers do the walking”. Having said that: I have a just 13 year old female Border Collie, Sophie…absolutely the finest animal for me…she is my Co-Pilot 24/7. So when I noticed she was dribbling a bit on her bed lately (last few months actually) I was unaware that she could have problem down under …over the last few weeks though I have clued in after her latest leaking on our bed…she loves my bed….so being concerned I realize she is becoming incontinent here and there mostly at night…We go out often with her, both of us are outdoor people /pet kinds…but over the last few weeks its become concerning as cleaning up and washing our stuff can be a daunting task …So I finally decided a Vet call…the initial appointment was usual , tests, urine, stools and now blood tests…..something the vet noticed was the urine (in office)the urine was more watery? I believe that is what she mentioned ? So we did a blood test yesterday….On our first app. two days ago they wanted me to try Stilbestrol 1mg. just to test to see if her dribbling stopped (1 tablet daily for 3 days) than report the findings see if it stopped the leaking….I was apprehensive using the drug as there is side effects….So I’ve been searching for alternative approaches…Its an Education to this research…being Male I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs of female problems…any way right now , Sophie is doing well , she is a very smart and still eager Border Collie. Sure she is slowing down a we bit ….Her diet is natural, I make Beef stew for her with blueberries , broccoli, carrots , yams, apples, pears, beef liver , and cook this up twice per week in a big pot. I add fish oil to her meals,..she loves her meals….Sophie is lean has a lovely figure and her coat shines. Also she has a Chiropractor and we are making app for her this week…my Question to you are we doing all the right things to narrow down her issues and what more can I do if anything?
Hi Dusty, I’m sorry to hear your BC is having urine issues, but how AMAZING that she is 13 and going strong! I think all the things you are doing are right on point. If the urine is watery, is the vet checking her kidney function? I’m assuming so if they did bloodwork. It will be interesting to see if the chiropractor appts help at all too, please keep me posted! Sophie is a lucky girl. And also, I love that you found my site, I’m a dual citizen, half Canadian! 🙂
Karen , Hello again ….well Ive just received an overview of my Sophie’s Urine and Blood test…the Vet gave her a clean bill of health overall …..thats wonderful….although the Vet mentioned she still showed signs of blood work shows blood as been a little more than usual water in the blood….therefor they conclude Sophie possibly has early signs of Renal Disease….for now we can manage it and merely watch if it progresses ….Vet suggested to start to change her diet to a commercial Early Renal diet to help Kidney’s deal with poss. potential Disease in its early stages…….at this time to pay attentions to Sophie’s water intake and take note of blood in Urine …..As to home care, they suggest once again commercial Early Renal Food and make sure Sophie is drinking her water but pay attention to any un normal activity with any excessive water intakes and make sure she has before bed walks so she can eliminate her bladder curbing any leaks during the night …..So , right now the news for me was a little overwhelming and must think it through and become settled with it all ….
Wondering if you have any information that could be of interest to me regarding above statement….always interested in searching out all poss. avenues which will keep my pet in a healthy state….I will continue making sure Sophie is well cared for regardless at all costs…
Oh , thought I should get back to you and clear up my last post…..regarding Sophie, re: urine analyses . The vet said her Urine had more than normal water in the Urine not in the blood…
Hi Dusty, I don’t know a lot about renal disease in dogs but would recommend reading what Peter Dobias has to say. I Googled and found two articles, https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/natural-remedies-for-kidney-failure-in-dogs?srsltid=AfmBOopIUQISh5rTjSRyDCSQh7P15P6HlBVaHtjX0VKgGzCeVX8ZObLk and https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/71371333-one-myth-that-can-rob-you-of-precious-time-with-your-senior-dog?srsltid=AfmBOoohKZO9zA2tGsooE1Y7nhJ2HX-XVDwDw3joYKI6GXRiqNZPoHZ2. You could also take a look on this site: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/. Best of luck, keep me posted! 🙂
Karen, Hello and Thank you for taking the time to reach out ….I have listen to one of Peter Dobias’s video’s this morning the second video will follow. …that was refreshing considering that what he had mentioned regarding the typical thread of information one gets when one goes to the Vet in todays world.. He was and seems like a very caring genuine person …The information he offers is very supportive and gives me hope….Sophie is a very young 13 year old and very intelligent BC….my Co-pilot 24/7…how could I not feel blessed in this relationship with her…my only thoughts are to keep her safe and do what ever I am able to keep her here…I am aware she is showing the typical signs of this Kidney dis-ease…My understanding of Kidney disease and its symptoms is of limited knowledge up to this point so its another chapter in my life too…just to get educated …the amount of material out there is daunting from the Veterinarian side of things to the internet feeds..are.overwhelming …I take it very seriously to try to understand what I and Sophie are dealing with right now…I have to be prepared as emotions can fly, without knowledge you have no power therefor I am working on feeds like Peter Dobias’s . Even though I have been told by the Vet that , Most likely the signs do indicate KD therefor I was asked to change her natural diet she has been on to one of Commercial Low Protein diet, right there Peters views are different than the Vet, and to start her on the drug that helps curb dribbling when lying down….its easy to get caught up in the typical approach that Veterinarians prescribe and they have more knowledge than I on the subject and I do value their wisdom but I want not to put Sophie through the possible side effects that drug can eventually have on her health her life, am I playing God , I don’t believe I am that arrogant .. Peter Dobias’s information makes sense that I am on the right path from what I understand from his video still ,.I understand time is of the essence and I want to do what is the most beneficial outcome for Sophie wellbeing therefor I will continue keeping a watchful eye whilst following a natural approach and try to follow the true science of it all through video’s like Peter’s….
Thankyou for your suggestions and help and honesty, this I need to keep going on a positive path.. I will continue to connect with your site and perhaps by doing so we will gain the wisdom and strength and insight to best manage what we are faced with…Regards, Dusty
Hi Dusty, I’m so sorry I didn’t reply until now, I’m having issues not being notified about comments on my blog. I agree with you wholeheartedly, knowledge is power! I hope Sophie is doing well and you are getting quality time together.