Incontinence is a problem you may encounter as your Great Dane gets older especially with spayed females.
“It’s estimated that between 5 percent and 20 percent of spayed dogs develop USMI and urine leakage. The larger the dog, the more likely it is to develop incontinence. In fact, dogs that weigh 45 pounds or more have been reported to have an incontinence incidence of 12 percent to 31 percent. “
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Our first Great Dane, Selar, was prone to UTIs, (urinary tract infections). We eventually got the infections under under control with a daily dose of powdered cranberry. However, later in life she became incontinent.
The cranberry supplement I used to use isn’t available anymore but there are many more on the market today than there used to be. To see all the choices available go to cranberry supplements.
If you want the best rated supplement then Crananidin® is the choice but it is also the most expensive.
K’Ehleyr also developed the same problem as she aged. This is most commonly caused by a weakening of the urethral sphincter resulting in leakage while sleeping. The need to continually wash bedding and the associated odor can become overwhelming to deal with when you’re dealing with Great Dane sized bladders.
First step is to contact your veterinarian
There are different medications which can help with sphincter control. The most commonly used medication is phenylpropanolamine under the brand name Proin®. It comes as a chewable tablet and is safe to use long-term but it does require a prescription. This can eliminate the leakage problem entirely or at least greatly reduce it. While Proin® did help both our girls, its effectiveness decreased in the longterm.
Non-medication solutions to deal with incontinence in Great Danes
Selar’s arthritis eventually needed treatment with prednisone which causes increased urination. I ended up resorting to using diapers on her. They make dog diapers which are expensive so I tried human diapers and cut a hole for Selar’s tail. It wasn’t the best solution as you can imagine..
As K’Ehleyr’s nighttime leakage increased we bought waterproof sheets. These turned out to be a great solution at home and as we traveled. We could cover the car back seat, hotel beds or her bed with one. By having a couple on hand it was easy to switch and launder them.
Solutions for removing pee stains and odors
When K’Ehleyr became a tripawd, it was easier for her to pee on our patio instead of traveling up and down the stairs to go outside our condo. The patio quickly started to smell. I prefer to use green solutions instead of reaching for the nearest harsh chemical so I was washing the patio with lots of vinegar and baking soda.
More about her life as a tripawd and her osteosarcoma can be found in these posts:
A review of Unique Pet Care
Now that I don’t have the stinky patio issue to deal with I’ve found a better solution…. Unique Pet Care products which are more affectionally called Tackle Tinkle. They use a combination of bacteria and enzymes to remove organic waste. Any organic waste is food for the bacteria who break it down with the help of the enzymes. Once the bacteria run out of food, i.e. eat all the organic mess, the bacteria dies. It is nature inspiring science to solve a problem which the scientist in me appreciates. While I don’t need to clean up pee anymore I have had the occasionally Martok vomit or blood from a minor injury to deal with. I’ve been happy with my results using the Advanced odor + stain remover on those occasions.
I now make sure to have some on hand when we travel for any accidents in hotels or other people’s houses. A condo we were staying in for a couple months had the unpleasant odor of cat urine in one of the rooms. In an attempt to get rid of the smell I sprayed some Advanced dog odor + stain in the area that seemed to be the worst smelling. They do make a cat odor + stain but I don’t own any of it since Martok and cats don’t see eye-to-eye. Coming back the next day showed a clean spot on the rug. The smell was still around but significantly less. I probably didn’t find all the marked areas and decided to not spray anymore for fear I would have to clean all the carpet to match
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incontinence in Great Danes can seem like a challenge to deal with but there are solutions out there for you. I hope that some of my experiences help you.
