The main causes of urinary incontinence in dogs are: neurological problems, loss of bladder urine storage function, urethral disorders, urine retention, and structural problems. Urinary incontinence is prone to diseases caused by middle-aged and elderly dogs and over-obese dogs. Of course, young puppies sometimes experience urinary incontinence due to excessive excitement. In addition, sterilized dogs or female dogs are more likely to be entangled with this disease.
1. Neurological problems
The urine of dogs is stored in the bladder. When the urine exceeds the amount that the bladder can accommodate, it will cause the urge to urinate. If there is a problem with the dog's nervous system that controls urination, then abnormal urinary incontinence will occur. Neurological causes are also the main factor in urinary incontinence in the vast majority of elderly dogs.
2. Loss of urine storage function in the bladder
When the dog's bladder loses its normal urine storage function, or the bladder contracts excessively, a small amount of urine will continue to seep out frequently. The causes include urinary tract infection, pelvic infection, chronic inflammation, tumors, fecal obstruction, external pressure, bladder dysplasia, etc. It is not difficult to diagnose problems with bladder storage, as there are often many other symptoms that need to be distinguished.
3. Urethral disorder
The closure of the urethra is composed of smooth muscles, random muscles and connective tissue around the urethra to prevent urine from leaking out. If the dog's urethra is not closed properly, it will cause urination. Causes include urethral dysplasia, acquired urethral insufficiency, urethral infection or inflammation, prostate disease or prostate surgery.
4. Urine retention
Dogs have incomplete urine due to long-term incomplete urination, which will damage the normal function of the bladder and cause urinary incontinence, which is often secondary to bladder neck obstruction, stenosis in a certain place in the urethra, or neurological damage. This type of urinary incontinence will be more serious, and it will be very difficult for dogs to urinate, and they often drip when they are urinating. It is also easy to cause more serious kidney diseases, such as kidney inflammation or even damage to kidney function, so it must be dealt with immediately.
5. Structural problems
Some congenital structural deformities can also cause urinary incontinence in dogs, such as bladder extubation, open umbilical ureteral catheter, or ureteral ectopic opening in the bladder neck, or acquired damage (such as damage to the structure of the bladder and urethra during surgery of the urogenital system), which may cause structural urinary incontinence.