Our Dobie’s Struggle with Dog Incontinence
Oh, this is so embarrassing!
Ever since our doberman was 2-3 years old, dog incontinence had been a problem for her. Jenna came to us from the Doberman Rescue in our area and she we very hyper and had many dog skin problems from day one.
We had taken her to the vet on several occasions for what started as minor leaking and incontinence. Our original veterinarian was a traditional vet and offered the standard drug “Proin” to maintain Jenna’s incontinence.
While the Proin initially helped, she had other signs that started to progress as well. Her skin was flaky and her coat was coarse, thinning and she was balding in several spots. She also had thin wrinkled skin as well as a pot belly and this is where she got her nick name “jelly belly” 
It’s important to understand that I’m extremely cautious about our dog’s diet and the quality of foods that I feed them. This is what made this situation even more baffling for me. When dogs lack or continue to eat a poor diet, there skin will show some of the same signs that Jenna was having.
As time went on, her dog incontinence grew worse even while taking Proin and grew to the point that she would soil her bed completely. We were letting her out at least once every two hours. So, back to the vet we went and the doctor suggested a thyroid test in which we agreed. The test for dog hypothyroidism came back normal (at least that’s what this vet indicated) and decided to up her Proin medication for dog incontinence.
Although I new that spay incontinence is common in female dobermans, I was frustrated because I felt that we were just masking her symptoms without really knowing the real cause. Since I couldn’t seem to get any other results and the vet didn’t seem to be alarmed, I decided that we would just have to deal with it.
She stayed on the Proin and we purchased some dog diapers for her and continued to let her out like we had been. As time went on things grew worse for Jenna. She started losing weight, she was ravenous and didn’t want to play at all. For those of you that might not know, Doberman’s are at a high risk of Cardio Dilated Myopathy (a heart condition) as well as Cushings Disease and Hypothyroidism. Both Cushings Disease and Hypothyroidism may include dog incontinence symptoms. However, Hypothyroidism symptoms often resemble those of other diseases.
So now Jenna was on a higher dose of Proin for dog incontinence which was doing very little and she was still leaking continuously. I decided it was time to see a holistic veterinarian. The only reason that I hadn’t before this was the drive, but now I felt that it was absolutely necessary and I’m glad that I did.
Jenna’s Holistic Vet
Despite the fact that Jenna was already tested, the doctor ran a complete 6 panel thyroid test on Jenna and also did an Electrocardiogram (EKG) to check her heart. Jenna does have a slight murmur, but not in need of any heart medication at this point.
The thyroid test came back showing that Jenna did indeed have Hypothyroidism. The point that I want to make to anyone reading this is that — traditional veterinarians typically do not run a complete 6 panel thyroid test and if they do, most are not knowledgeable of “Borderline” or “Low-Normal” Hypothyroidism. What this means is that the vet may tell you that the dog’s thyroid is normal, when in reality, it’s not.
The holistic vet placed Jenna on Soloxine which is a very common medication for Hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, Jenna showed no improvement at all. The vet then placed her on Thyrolar 1 and BINGO — Jenna’s incontinence improved dramatically and her skin and coat look 100% better. Her ravenous hunger has improved and she is like a new dog. I do have to say that Jenna is still currently on the prescription medicine Proin, but doing very well and no longer leaking while on the Proin.
Is It The Thyroid – Get The Results Right The First Time
My recommendation for anyone who suspects that their dog has a thyroid issue — is to go directly through Dr. Jean Dodd’s at Hemopet. She is considered the best regarding dog Hypothyroidism. She is located in California, but receives samples from all over the world. Dr. Dodd’s will personally analyze your dog’s test and include her own comments. She will also talk with you over the phone for free, should you have questions regarding your dog’s thyroid panel and she’ll consult with your vet on recommended dosages as well.
Don’t be intimidated about asking your vet to draw blood for a complete 6 panel thyroid test and send it to Dr. Dodd’s. Most vet’s won’t have a problem with this, since they typically draw the blood and send it to a lab anyway.
You will find excellent information on dog hypothyroidism as well as a link to print out the copies for Dr. Dodd’s. The copies must be given to your own Veterinarian so that they can include them with the blood work when they send it on to her.
You can check out my article regarding the latest treatment for canine incontinence.
Like this article? Subscribe to my RSS feed.
Have you run into this kind of situation or a similar problem with dog incontinence?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Janie, my older female Diva also had this problem……..what helped back then was getting her on Evo………….then when I switched to “raw’ no leaking problems even up to the day she went to the rainbow bridge. She was on the P A P pill, it did help but switching to Evo was the big solution…and other then Soloxine..which all 3 of my dobes haven’t had any issues with…fortuntely! I was able to get her off the P A P pill……with raw……….I don’t like meds, much prefer holistic…………..stopped having her vaxxed once she turned 10……..I have a wonderful understanding vet….whom I won’t name as I won’t get him in trouble.
Dillon only gets 3 year rabies….and I’ll be soo please if and when Dr Rima finaly gets it thru the FDA’s heads that rabies shots are good for 7 or more years………we sadly vax kids animals waaay too much. Just my private feelings.
Eve
Most vets say a thyroid reading anywhere from 2-4 is normal. Those of us who know, say 2 is very low! Dillon’s was extremely low when he came to me and he was on kibble probably equal to Old Roy or something like that. I was feeding Evo then but as he gained weight, consistently and had dirty ears, etc. T test time – he ballooned up to 92 lbs — YIKES! For a dog that’s 27″ at withers, on t med and reduced intake for about 2 or so months. He’s been ranging around 72 lbs since he was 2 or so. He was 16 months when adopted to me. Now Dillon is five.
Hi Eve:
I was feeding Jenna raw at one point, but my holistic vet wanted her on a freeze dried formula, but I think it’s because she had other issues such as heart and kidney (failure). So her immune system was already weakened. She has improved a great deal though.
Thyroid issues are such a huge problem in the way that traditional veterinarians read the results. Dog owners go home thinking the dog doesn’t have a thyroid issue – when he does. The thyroid regulates every cell in the body and when it’s off, the body can’t correct itself. So until a vet corrects the thyroid problem, the dog will still have problems no matter the quality or formula of the food.
I’m with you Eve, I prefer holistic for both myself and my dogs whenever possible. This isn’t to say that conventional medicine doesn’t have a place, it does. However, I prefer the natural-holistic approach first and any chemicals (medicines) as a last resort.
I’m really glad to hear that you have an understanding vet. Not long ago, my dog’s vet was a conventional vet and she was the most understanding and dog loving vet I ever knew. Just my luck, she decided to become a nun…… This was devastating for me – I trusted her as a doctor and as a friend.
Another option for incontinence is a decongestant called ENTEX LA. I too, had a female doberman who experienced extreme incontinence and was originally prescribed Stilbesterol which worked wonders. Stopped it completely but due to a move we had to change vets and our new vet wanted to take her off the Stilbesterol and put her on ENTEX LA and this also worked like a miracle. This same vet also did not believe in yearly vaccinations as she said the animals usually still have immunity. She would check every year with a simple blood test to see whether they needed a vaccination booster or not. I was always able to purches ENTEX LA at the pharmacy counter at Wal-Mart.
Hi Faith:
Thanks alot for sharing your comment. I never heard of it. Do you have any idea why the vet chose to put your dobe on ENTEX LA vs PROIN which is the standard drug of choice for dogs with incontinence? Just curious if she felt it was safer, etc.?
I love when people share comments like this, because it truly can help someone else in need. Thanks again Faith.
~Janie – Admin.
{ 1 trackback }