# Dog food for incontinent dogs



## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

A couple of people have mentioned that changing the food they fed helped their incontinent dog. I was wondering if you could share what food helped or what characteristics were in the foods that helped? Still wanting to help my daughter with her leaky dog!


----------



## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

I don't know about food, but have you tried giving her hormones? I don't think their very expensive.


----------



## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

She's already getting two kinds of drugs, poor girl.


----------



## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I'm not sure why it helped and it's more what food caused problems. We fed all diamond foods natural, chicken soup, totw... without problems. All solid gold foods. Occasional Natural balance. A short time of blue buffalo and before grain. Canidae. Then we went to kent native and had issues. Switched to avoderm and no more issues. Now we are feeding fromm. Most other people seemed to be feeding the lower quality grocery store type brands or bottom of the pet store and increasing quality helped but I don't think anyone is sure of an ingredient. Kent is the first fairly good quality food I've heard of causing such a problem.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

Is this spay incontinence? If so food will not cure it.
This is a good herbal supplement that helps. http://www.botanicaldog.com/proddetail.php?prod=HomeopetLeak&cat=85


----------



## redroving (Sep 28, 2005)

If it is an elderly dog then my vet recommended feeding a lower protein dog food. Elderly kidneys can't keep up with high protein any longer.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

redroving said:


> If it is an elderly dog then my vet recommended feeding a lower protein dog food. Elderly kidneys can't keep up with high protein any longer.


Low protein in dogs with kidney disease has been dis-proven many time now. End stage kidney failure you need to watch phosphorus but that is end stage.
http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneyprotein.html


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

The dog should first be on a top quality food. She should start with a small bag because even a high quality food could have an ingredient that doesn't agree with her dog. How young was she spayed? If she was spayed prior to sixteen weeks, she could have spay incontinence. In this case, get an herbal supplement from a respected health supply store for bladder and kidney support.


----------



## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

We got her at a year old, she was already spayed and started leaking in a few months after we got her. Her spay was not so well done, there was a lot of scar tissue. 

We've had her to the vet and she is on two drugs (sorry I don't remember the names, one of them is a hormone, I do remember that). I believe my daughter has tried herbal supplements too. The drugs help, but she still has a problem. She's seven now, I think. She's such a lovely dog, a smooth collie, there is no question of giving up on her, but somehow we need to manage her problems to keep the carpet clean and let her continue to be the really nice pet that she is.


----------



## redroving (Sep 28, 2005)

Tracy said:


> Low protein in dogs with kidney disease has been dis-proven many time now. End stage kidney failure you need to watch phosphorus but that is end stage.
> http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneyprotein.html


Funny, once I switched to lower protein dog food my dog stopped being incontinent. She lasted another 3 years to the age of 17.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

redroving said:


> Funny, once I switched to lower protein dog food my dog stopped being incontinent. She lasted another 3 years to the age of 17.


Maybe it was a coincidence and when you switched to another food that was lower in protein the other ingredients were not the same as the higher protein food and that some other ingredient was causing issues 

Many veterinarian sources [not my opinion] state that low protein is not needed in dogs with kidney disease till the very end stage. Did you read the links?


----------



## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Dogs are designed for a nearly all protein diet so I don't see how that makes any sense. There does seem to be some ingredient though that sets off sensitive dogs and it's not just in the cheap foods.


----------



## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

BTW, I asked and Malta is on Proin(PPA) and DES. She is not an old dog, has been incontinent since she was about 2 yrs old and had an early/poor spay as far as we can tell. She is a Smooth Collie that is otherwise in good health and weight. 

I'm wondering also if there is some ingredient in some foods that triggers problems in some dogs. Thanks for the replies, I'm still interested in ideas to consider.


----------



## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

An all raw diet should help. Kibble is very dry and dehydrating to dogs - they evolved on a meat diet that is very high in water content. Dogs on kibble drink loads of water to compensate. A raw diet is going to add hydration to her body at a very steady rate which will in turn avoid water chugging and drinking large quantities. Much easier on the kidneys and bladder.


----------

