As a dog lover, you never want your pet to suffer, but sadly, incontinence is often part of the journey of age and injury. However, when incontinence starts knocking at your dog’s door, you can pursue some natural remedies that may help manage the conditions and reduce the severity of those daily oopsies.
Here are a few natural remedies for your aged or recovering dog to help ease their incontinence woes.
Understanding Canine Urinary Incontinence
Canine urinary incontinence is an often shamed topic in the dog world, and many dog owners still mistakenly believe that when their dog starts bed-wetting or leaving little drips, it’s time to say goodbye. However, incontinence isn’t the end for your dog.
Dog incontinence often starts because of the weakening of the muscles that control the bladder because of aging or injury. Likewise, early-onset dementia may also trigger sudden issues with bladder control.
Dogs that have sustained head or spinal injuries may also suffer nerve damage, which can contribute to a loss of bladder control. Hormone imbalances that result in bladder dysfunction can also be triggered by spaying—especially for large-breed female dogs.
Canine urinary incontinence usually takes one of two forms: the dog frequently urinates to empty their bladder fully, or the dog urinates as usual but then suffers urine seepage, dripping, or involuntary release when they relax or sleep.
Recurring bladder infections may also worsen matters and increase the pain the dog may be experiencing. So, from a holistic perspective, you would want a remedy that offers many gains and little risk to help manage urine expulsion, help reduce infections and stimulate the bladder muscles.
Early Warning Signs of Urinary Incontinence in Dogs
Suppose you can start with a natural remedy as soon as your dog has early signs of urinary incontinence. In that case, it will help manage their symptoms much better and stop the progressive nature of urinary incontinence. So, look out for the following:
- Sudden urine burns around the genitalia
- Dripping urine when the dog has just urinated as part of their regular potty routine
- Sudden bed-wetting during sleep
- Wet spots when the dog has been lying down and relaxing.
- Constant licking and washing of the genitalia (dogs are often very embarrassed by their sudden spills)
Natural Treatment Options for Urinary Incontinence in Your Dog
Here are a few simple treatment options for managing urinary incontinence in dogs. While these are not guaranteed to work, they are known to have properties that manage incontinence in dogs.
If your dog has suffered an injury that triggered the incontinence, it’s always a good call to consult your vet for the necessary tests to determine the extent of the bladder-related damage.
1. Phytoestrogens
Since hormone imbalance is one of the most common causes of urinary incontinence (especially among female dogs), it is possible to boost the dog’s natural estrogen levels with the supplementation of soy isoflavones, which are rich in phytoestrogens.
While there are a few pet-specific supplements available, you can also try Nature’s Way Premium Blend Soy Isoflavones, which offers 40 mg of isoflavones to help improve the muscle tone of the bladder and bladder sphincter.
2. Supportive Management
To help stabilize your dog’s overall bladder health, you can feed them two tablespoons of dried corn silk, brewed into a tea, or a few drops of Corn Silk Tincture.
3. Hormonal Management for Boy Dogs
While saw palmetto berry extract is especially beneficial for male dogs, it’s also helpful to female dogs in managing urinary incontinence. Brew a tea with dried Saw Palmetto Berry, or add the tincture to your dog’s daily food.
4. Dietary Changes
Early onset kidney failure may factor in your dog’s incontinence, and supporting the kidneys can help alleviate their bladder problems. Some dog owners have reported that switching from a dry food diet to a raw food diet for their dogs has improved their kidney and bladder health.
Cutting out grain-based dog foods may also reduce inflammation and help your dog lose weight—thereby alleviating pressure on the bladder and kidneys.
5. Alternative Therapies
You may consider diving into alternative therapies when you’ve added all the supportive supplements you can to your dog’s diet. One such therapy that’s made waves is E-stim, where the dog is connected to a device that allows an electrical current of low voltage to be passed into specific muscle groups, stimulating the muscles and nerves.
A skilled E-stim practitioner can help rebuild the muscles of the canine bladder region and help rejuvenate the dog’s nerve cells to build better signal strength between different nerve receptors that control the bladder sphincter.
Finally, you may also consider acupuncture to help relieve inflammation around the bladder, kidneys, and spine. The acupuncture therapist will insert sterile acupuncture needles into various nerve facia, releasing tension and improving the overall flow of the dog’s circulatory system.
When toxins are flushed, inflammation is released, and nerve cells are supported, the urinary system may function much better.
A Final Word on Natural Remedies for Dogs
It should be pointed out that not all natural remedies are suitable for dogs. What a human may safely drink, a dog could suffer dire consequences for taking. For starters, the dosages of dog-friendly remedies are much lower than human medicines. Human pills (even natural ones) often contain more than four times what the dosage for dogs should be.
Show your pet dog kindness, support, and love. Before you add a natural medicine to their food, especially if it’s one that’s not specifically formulated for dogs, research the correct dosage and any possible side effects. Make an informed decision at all times.
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