Potty Accidents in Dogs: Incontinence versus UTIs

What should you make of it when your dog starts having potty accidents? Do urinary incontinence, and urinary tract infections (UTI’s) look the same?

What are the general causes of urinary accidents in dogs?

Emotional causes aside, the two elemental reasons behind your dog’s urinary accidents are that they either

• could not hold it any longer
• didn’t know it was happening

The first thing you want to do is to see a veterinarian. Is it a urinary tract infection (UTI)? Does your dog have a condition that causes excessive drinking?

Confirming or ruling out the above conditions is relatively straightforward. If your veterinarian ruled those out, what are the next steps?

• is your dog’s urethral sphincter (the muscle that guards against leaking) weak and unable to hold urine?
• is there an anatomical abnormality?
• do the sphincter and the brain not communicate?

Spay-related incontinence is commonly diagnosed in spayed female dogs. That said, Cookie was diagnosed with it and yet it seems there is more to the picture. Cookie might have a bouncy bladder rather than the typical hormone-responsive incontinence. Her leaks are directly related to how much bouncing she does.

One way or another, Cookie does not know that the pee is on its way out.

While we are doing our best to keep Cookie dry, getting to the bottom of her leaks is still work in progress.

At the same time, if Cookie got an infection on top of that, would we be able to tell? Which brings up the question – could one tell the difference?

If you already identified one problem, would you miss a new one that looks similar?

For instance, a friend’s dog was sick and treated with steroids and chemotherapy drugs. The side effects of steroids include excessive drinking and, consequently, lots of peeing. Unless you’re always around to let your dog out, some accidents are inevitable.

The dog’s urine was also incredibly stinky. But it was chalked up to the chemotherapy.

Everything they observed seemed to have a perfectly reasonable explanation. I wasn’t until the dog virtually exploded with blood when they discovered she had a massive UTI.

Since Cookie already has potty accidents, would notice if she had an infection on top of it?

I think about that every time I find Cookie lying in a pool of urine. It’s on my mind when because of the black flies she’d rather hold it all day instead of going outside to pee. Because urine sitting in the bladder for too long is one of the risk factors for developing an infection.

Risk factors for getting urinary tract infections (UTI) in dogs include:

• sex–female dogs are more likely to get UTI than male dogs
• spay
• anatomical anomalies
• suppressed immune system
• chronic disease such as diabetes or Cushing’s disease
• reduced mobility such as IVDD
• incontinence

For example, Cookie is healthy but she is a girl dog, was apparently spayed way too early. As a result, she has issues with incontinence. And who knows whether Cookie’s past pelvic injury plays any role with either of the problems.

So, wait, not only Cookie’s pee accidents could mask a UTI but be a contributing factor too? That’s right–incontinence itself can make it more likely for Cookie to get a UTI. At the same time, a UTI can make potty accidents worse.

Can you see why the subject is on my mind?

Short of having Cookie’s pee analyzed regularly, would I be able to tell that she has a urinary tract infection before it gets bad?

Which brings me to the question what would be the telling difference.

Urinary accidents in dogs–incontinence or a UTI?

And when is it both?

What could you tell from the urine?

Other potential signs associated with an infection:

• licking of genitalia
• fever
• lethargy
• decreased appetite

Incontinence in itself doesn’t come with any other signs except the urinary accidents.

At the present time, Cookie doesn’t have any suspicious symptoms other than her leaks. But knowing that her incontinence does put her at a higher risk of UTI, I keep a keen eye on her.

In conclusion, things can get complicated.

If you’re dealing with only one or the other–urinary incontinence or UTI– the differences are usually obvious. In the vast majority of cases, one is puddles while at rest while the other is an increased frequency of attempts to urinate producing only small volumes at a time.

Always pay attention to your dog and make sure that a new problem doesn’t hide behind an existing one.

When in doubt, arm yourself with a home urine test kit such as Petnostics or PawCheck. If your dog’s urine doesn’t contain any traces of blood or protein, it is unlikely that your dog has a UTI.

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Bladder stones and urinary crystals can come with the same symptoms as a urinary tract infection:

• urinary accidents
• painful urination
• frequent urination
• straining to urinate/difficulty urinating
• discolored or bloody urine

The two most common types of bladder stones in dogs are struvite or calcium oxalate stones. If your dog has struvite bladder stones or crystals, and underlying chronic UTI is likely. If that is the case, you should also ask for urine culture because there is an increased chance of resistant bacteria.

Conversely, calcium oxalate stones are a predisposing factor to bladder infections.

If your dog is straining to urinate they require medical attention as soon as possible. Male dogs are particularly susceptible to this medical emergency.

As you can see, nothing happens in isolation.

Fortunately, you don’t have to try and diagnose your dog–you do need to know when you might have a new problem on the top of the old one.

Related articles:
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog: Changes in Urination/Urinary Accidents

Further reading:
Urinary Incontinence in Dogs
Urinary Tract Infection, Lower (Bacterial) in Dogs