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My spayed dog pees in the living room but holds it in her kennel. Why?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Akita | Female | spayed | 2 years and 9 months old | 75 lbs

We have a 2 year old Akita. She has no problem holding her bladder for 4-7 hours in her kennel, but as soon as we are hanging out in the living room she will be laying down and will get up soaked in urine even after a couple of hours.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Vanessa Yeager DVM MPH

Veterinarian

Published on September 19th, 2017

Hi and thanks for your post on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It is hard to say exactly what may be causing her urination issue without examining her first, but I can offer a suggestion.

Sometimes spayed females can have a relation of the urethral sphincter causing them to urinate uncontrollably. The good news is this is very common and a medication called Prion can be given to help tighten the urethral sphincter and lessen the amount of accidents in the house.

You will need to see Lexi's veterinarian for this medication.

I hope this helps and best to you and Lexi!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on May 10th, 2019
Yes, these could be signs of a urinary tract infection. There are home test kits you can get to screen for a UTI and if the result is positive you can get her to your vet for treatment.

( https://www.petnostics.com/collections/all/products/uti-test-strips )

That being said, most vets will want to run their own urine test to be sure of the result before just dispensing medications so, if I were you, I would just take her in to your vet for an exam and urine test.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on December 21st, 2016
Some spayed females develop urine incontinence at some point in their life, that is likely to the reason, you need to take her to the vet for a urine analysis just to make sure it is not something else first and then treatment can be given for urinary incontinence.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Amber W
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Published on September 12th, 2017
It sounds like you may be describing urinary incontinence in Yuma. Incontinence usually occurs at night while a dog is sleeping so if you finding pools of urine in Yuma's bed this could indicate true incontinence. Medications like Proin can be useful when treating incontinence.

However urinary tract infections can also cause these signs. I suggest having Yuma examined by your veterinarian. Bring a fresh urine sample to the visit so your vet can check for a UTI.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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