There are times when clear fluid or any substance comes out of the animal’s vagina. Most of the time, these conditions are called urinary incontinence or vaginal discharge.
If you have a pet in your house, you have to identify the medical condition first. Yes, you don’t need to know about advanced medication. However, you better understand the reasons.
Anyway, urinary incontinence is a common medical condition for spayed female dogs. Most of the time, your female dog leaking clear fluid unaware. Even though they have proper training they cannot control it. But you can identify the medical condition fast.
Now, you need to know the reasons for it. The good news is that consulting a veterinarian will help you with medication. We are going to discuss all the basics of urinary incontinence.
What Does It Mean When A Female Dog Is Leaking Clear Fluid?
When a female dog is leaking clear fluid, it means the dog is suffering under a medical condition called urinary incontinence. This condition may lead your dog to vaginal discharge which is a severe medical condition.
Now, what does the medical condition mean anyway? It means unintentional urine leakage of your housetrained dog.
Well, this is a common medical condition for dogs. About 20% of spayed dogs suffer under this condition. As dogs get older this condition becomes more effective.
Now, this is not intentional for your dog. Also, it’s not susceptible to self-control. Pet owners can easily control the problem by training behavioral control.
Now, here are the main points of urinary incontinence:
- Unintentional urination of your dog
- Fluid comes out from the valve
- The condition is not harmful in itself
- If the condition is left untreated, more problems like skin irritation or conditions may occur
- The common types of fluid discharge include mucus, blood, pus, watery substance, etc.
- The dog may start to drag their hindquarters
- Your dog may start to lick the affected area
So, urinary incontinence is nothing to worry about at first. However, other conditions can occur when it happens. Thus, after identifying the symptoms, you better start to pay a visit to a veterinarian.
What Are The Medical Symptoms Of Urinary Incontinence With Dogs?
It’s important to know the medical conditions of urinary incontinence. Now, there are several symptoms you will find with your dog. First of all, you can spot pools or urines when your dog is sleeping. Yes, a lot of pet owners complain about wet bedding. They cannot understand the reason at first because most of the dogs are trained.
Occasionally, some complaints include conditions about dripping. Their dogs are dripping urine while walking around the house. Even after urinating, the dripping won’t stop at all. Just like we said, the condition often affects 20% of spayed dogs. This is also a common medical condition for larger breeds. Any dog can get affected by the symptoms.
Now, here are the main symptoms of urinary incontinence:
- You will locate bloody, watery, mucus, and purulent discharge from the vagina of your dog.
- The urine will have a bloody or dirty color.
- Your dog will have difficulty holding its urine.
- Excessive urination is another symptom.
- Dogs will have a constant fever.
- Irritated behavior from your dog.
- Will lose appetite.
- Your dog will become weak.
- Likely to cause skin irritation.
- An unpleasant odor will start to come out of the dog’s body.
- Unusual leaking of the valval area of the dog
- Skin irritation problems or disease.
What Are The Main Reasons Behind Urinary Incontinence?
Now, there are various potential reasons behind urine leakage. The condition may occur due to infections, kidney problems, pelvic problems, or any other medical conditions. It’s mostly common with middle-aged or senior spayed dogs. Even larger dog breeds face problems. Now, we are going to discuss the reasons behind this medical condition in brief.
1. Neurological Cause
It may occur due to any spinal injuries. Most of the time, disruption of the nerves controlling the bladder can lead to urine leakage. Brain damage can also lead your dog to urine leakage.
2. Bladder Storage Dysfunction
Well, bladder hypercontractility can lead your dog to urine leakage. In such a case, the bladder may contract frequently, and your dog may leak urine unintentionally. The amount of urine is not too much but it’s a huge problem.
3. Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections or tumors are a huge nuisance. Conditions like these will compress the bladder and cause severe problems for your dogs. This is another big reason for the urine leakage of your dog.
4. Urethral Disorders
Such disorders include the urethra. If the muscles around the urethra cannot close it or tightly press them together, urine leakage occurs. Yes, this is the most common cause of urine leakage. However, this condition occurs for hormone-responsive reasons. Not to mention, urine leakage occurs for urinary tract infection or vestibulovaginal anomaly in females.
5. Anatomic Abnormality
This is not a common case but it is another reason for urine leakage. A congenital defect, injury, or surgery can lead to urinary leakage. These things can alter the function of your dog’s bladder. Yes, such things can damage the normal functions of the bladder.
Not to mention, Ectopic ureters (ureters that are not in the correct anatomical location due to a birth defect) are another important reason for a dog’s urinary incontinence. Aside from that, urethral hypoplasia and vulvar or peri vulvar conformation abnormalities are also responsible.
6. Urine Retention
Often your dog will not urinate due to stress, fear, or behavioral abnormalities. But the physical pressure is not going to hold for long. This is another reason for urine leakage.
How Will You Diagnose Urinary Incontinence?
Just like we said, there are many reasons for the medical condition. Whenever you find any symptom, you should consult a vet. Well, the condition is diagnosed based on medical signs, blood tests, urine tests, and the medical history of your dogs.
Whenever you take your dog to the vet, they will first complete a physical examination. They will examine the vulva and vagina for trauma, signs of infection, or an abnormality. They will also check or examine the cross-contaminate of the valval area.
Also, they will try to complete Bladder radiographs (X-rays) and ultrasonography for stones or tumors. Furthermore, neurological examinations like checking the anal area or tail tone. There are many diagnosis methods available for your dogs. However, the veterinarian will decide the medication.
Female Dog Leaking Clear Odorless Fluid
Vaginal discharge that is clinically substantial or atypical in dogs is a disturbance of the body’s natural secretions for cleaning the vagina. This might signify a vaginal infection, damage, or a foreign object. A subsequent urinary tract infection may also be present.
Vaginal infections may cause a vaginal discharge that is either clear or colored. Clear vaginal discharges are usually caused by infectious agents, such as bacteria, fungi, or prions. It is a consequence of irritation and inflammatory changes in the lower part of the vagina. The clinical signs of an infection in young dogs or females that are in season can be classified into three groups.
False Pregnancy Or Pseudo Pregnancy In Dogs
False pregnancy, or pseudo pregnancy in dogs, is a condition that affects females when they do not go into actual heat cycles. False pregnancies are caused by the dog’s heightened sense of smell during their incorrect estrus cycle, which can be detected in some breeds as early as six months old.
Proper estrus cycles typically occur twice a year for a female dog. However, it is not uncommon for females to experience false pregnancies up to five times yearly. The average age for a female dog to share the first false pregnancy is between six and seven months, although it may occur earlier or later.
The intervals between false pregnancies can be as long as ten months or as little as three months. The symptoms of false pregnancy in dogs are very similar to those of a confirmed pregnancy: a swollen/protruding abdomen, decreased appetite, urination more frequently, lethargy, increased affection toward the owners, increased sexual interest, and nesting behavior.
What to Do If Your Older Dog Is Incontinent
As your dog ages, so does their bladder control. Watching them strain and try in vain to go outside is difficult. When this happens, we know it’s time for a change in how you care for your old friend.
Luckily, there are things you can do to make both of your lives easier. Diapers are one option to help with incontinence. Not only do they catch the urine, but if you can prevent them from moving around too much, it also keeps the bedding clean.
If your dog does move around a lot when wearing them, consider cutting leg holes and sewing them to their coat. Ensure that you wash their coat after each time they wear the diaper so that their skin doesn’t get irritated or chafed by it.
Another option is to put a diaper with a tape or plastic cover over their back. This will keep the bedding clean, and they can sleep uninterrupted. They may still need to go outside occasionally but should be able to do so without stressing themselves out.
Reasons Why Your Dog Might Be Leaking Urine
Dogs need to urinate every few hours; when they do, it’s not unusual for them to leak urine. They may leak urine after a bath or while in the crate. Or maybe your dog leaks urine when they start to get excited. Here are some reasons why your dog might be leaking urine:
- Weak bladder
- Urinary tract infection
- Genital disease
- Mast cytosis
- Incisional hernia
- Benign hyperplasia of the prostate
- Disorders of the urethra, bladder, or sphincter muscles
- Renal disease
- Hormonal imbalance
- Bladder or urethral obstruction
- Missed or delayed bladder emptying
- Injury to the sphincter muscles
- Anatomy to urine
What Is The Possible Medication For Fluid Leakage?
Now, the treatment of your dog’s depends on the medication. Yes, there are possible medications for such medical conditions. Infections often require medical attention. The veterinarian will offer antibiotics or other treatments for such conditions. Not to mention, the vet may suggest surgery to clear the infection once and for all.
But the complexity comes with cancers or tumors. The treatment depends on the type of cancer. However, the progression or location of the tumor is another important fact.
For any advanced medication, chemotherapy, surgical intervention, or radiation therapy is also used. No need to worry, this medical condition is curable. But you should learn to identify the conditions and take necessary steps accordingly.
FAQ
1. Why Is My Female Dog Leaking Clear Odorless Fluid?
It may be a regular discharge that occurs monthly throughout heat cycles. It also could be signs of canine vaginal infection, such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), which can happen when the pH levels are out of balance in the vagina due to friction from mating.
2. Do Dog Diapers Work For Urinary Incontinence?
Yes, dog diapers can help control urinary incontinence in dogs. These specially designed clothes are designed to be used with a dog’s tail to collect urine and provide an easy clean-up for your pet.
3. At What Stage Of The Estrus Cycle Is The Dog Able To Get Pregnant?
At roughly 6 months of age, most dogs undergo their maiden estrus cycle, which is the reproductive phase in which they are capable of conceiving.
4. What Dog Breeds Need Their Glands Expressed?
Ans: Cocker Spaniels, Chihuahuas, Beagles, Lhasa Apso’s, and Basset Hounds are among the smaller dog breeds that are more likely to need a monthly manual expression of their glands. However, dogs of all sizes may be affected by anal gland problems.
5. My Dog Has A Growth In Its Nose. What Should I Do?
You must get your dog checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. It could be nasal cancer or some other disease. — Often nasal tumors are benign and treatable, but that may not always be the case.
Final Verdict
It’s important to keep your house clean and tidy. Urinary incontinence occurs when an infection is attacking the pelvic area. At first, you don’t need to get angry. Because the dog is not doing it intentionally. It’s unintentional, and you have medication for such a medical condition. But you have to understand the symptoms and conditions.
Keeping your home management tidy is the foremost and important way to reduce such medical conditions. Preventing measures are also available. Thus, you can easily keep your dog’s safe and sound. I hope now you know what to do if your female dog leaking clear fluid.
