Question:
Hi,
My friend has a small dog which she had neutered. There is a possibility that the vet during the procedure demaged a nerve which has caused her dog to have an uncontrollable bladder. I cannot explain the connection, but the vet has been injecting hormones to cause the dog to be in heat which has allowed the dog to control herself. Our question is if there is some other alternative to injecting hormones and if this problem is common (and of course what are the alternative treatments)?
Thanks in advance!

Answer:
This is called "spay incontinence" and it's not uncommon in spayed female dogs.

The hormone therapy the vet is using is pretty standard and usually does work.

I don't of any other treatments for this condition, but someone else may.

Ooops - just found this:

Dogs with spay incontinence are best treated with a drug used in the human world for congestion, a compound called phenylpropanolamine. It needs to be given twice a day in most cases, and it works by tightening the urinary sphincter, thereby increasing control. This is a very safe drug and the only side effects I have seen have been restlessness and nervousness. These are easily corrected by skipping a dose and starting over at half the original amount. I have had great success using this drug for my patients with spay incontinence.


Answer:
welcome larrygold, howdy to ya.
that happened to my girl charlie, she is GSDX and rather large. i always thought it was a dodgy vet, she is big so how could he have missed and cut the wrong thing, and i was young was not aware fo the prob till too late, if it happened now i would probably go after the vet, really should your animal come back to you damaged in such a permanant and expensive way??. but you could imagine it would be easy with a little one if the vet was not paying the right attention. i personally would question the vet on how it actually happened, is it the vets fault and are you paying for their mistake? would be interesting to know what the vet who did the op had to say? it continues to be a small but controlable problem for us, 8 yrs later, i personally am not doing injections or anything for personal reasons but i have heard it can be effective. another member on the board has just been through the hormones so i will try and find her and see what happened.let us know how you go, we would appreciate it...

Answer:
It has nothing to do with the vet "cutting the wrong thing", but rather to do with urinary sphincter muscles slackening after spay/neuter. This is why hormones are helpful!

Answer:
so i imagine there is something that holds those muscles in place before the op? and then when it is removed do they loose their physical support?? it just does not seem to be that common to me, i know lots of desexed girls that dont have it, perhaps is it common in certain breeds??

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