Why does my dog keep straining to pee, leaking, and going often?

Buster is one handsome guy! It sounds as though you and Buster have had a frustrating few months! In most cases, I would also expect cancerous masses in the bladder to grow more rapidly and cause a worsening of his incontinence issues, but some masses grow slowly or do not metastasize (spread) quickly. Some possible causes of Buster's urine leakage include infection, cancer (transitional cell carcinoma is the most common bladder cancer), hormonal imbalances, or neurologic deficits. At this point, it may be worth considering a urine culture to definitively determine if infection is present. A urinalysis will occasionally miss bacteria or white blood cells, particularly if the urine is dilute. This is a non-invasive test that could allow for a relatively simple fix with a course of antibiotics. If a urine culture is negative, it may be worth discussing trials with other medications with Buster's vet. Some dogs can benefit from phenylpropanolamine or testosterone if this is a true incontinence issue. If there is a suspicion that cancer may be present, it may be worth a trial with piroxicam (an NSAID that can be quite beneficial for bladder cancer) to see if his signs improve. All of these medications are prescription based and need to be prescribed by his vet, if they are indicated in his given case. I hope that all goes well for Buster!

It sounds like Blacky had a urinary tract infection, which sometimes can become recurrent or resistant and difficult to treat. His urine may need to be cultured again to see if the infection has resolved. Sometimes bladder stones or polyps, or diseases like Cushing's or kidney disease could also cause urine leakage. Finally, he may have urinary incontinence due to a neurologic issue and require medication to help stop the leakage. I would recommend talking to your veterinarian to see if there are any additional tests they would recommend.

He could have a urinary tract infection so he should be examined by a vet. Your vet can run a urinalysis to look for infection and other potential causes. He could also have urinary stones, prostate problem, tumor, etc. If he has an infection then he will need an antibiotic to treat.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The urinary tract symptoms you describe could be due to a urinary tract infection, urinary stones, a tumor, among other possibilities. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Further diagnostics would include abdominal imaging and lab work. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a good night!

Hi, and thanks for your question. These signs are definitively compatible with a urinary tract infection/inflammation. Stress related (idiopathic type of inflammation) infection and presence of crystals are the most common causes of it. Another clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Ultrasound or x rays of the abdomen may be needed as there may be stones inside the bladder (which does not show up on urine analysis). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Treama. After bladder surgery, there is a quite a bit of inflammation in the urinary tract and this can cause urine leakage. It should resolve with time, but is worth discussing with her veterinarian. Some middle aged spayed female dogs will leak urine due to a lack of hormones. This is unrelated to bladder stones, but could be a contributing cause in her case. This condition is known as hormone responsive incontinence and can be asked about as well. I hope this information helps!

I am so sorry that Puffy is having this issue. I would recommend having an x-ray performed to rule out or in stones. If she has bladder stones then ideally she would have surgery. If she is about 10 years old I wouldn't be concerned about the surgery as long as her physical examination is good and her blood work is good. If she does not have bladder stones I would recommend getting a urine culture performed and potentially an ultrasound of her bladder. The urine culture will definitively rule out a urinary tract infection while the ultrasound will make sure there is no mass in her bladder. I hope Puffy feels better soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.