Incontinence in Dog

Question
Thanks so much for your response.  I think the reason why the conclusion was incontenince is because she is lying down and relaxed when the leaking has occurred.  It never happens when excited or scared.  I do have a feeling that it is the very beginning stages of incontenince and since the urinalysis came back clear I will keep a close eye to see if any changes occur. I really don't want to medicate until it is absolutely necessary. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't a situation where incontenince is something that you need to catch early before it gets worse.
Thanks again for your help.
Erica

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Followup To
Question -
After a few incidents of leaking urine over the past 3 weeks, I took my 5 year old female shepard/akita mix to the vet.  After ruling out a bladder infection with a urinalysis, he has come to the conclusion that it is incontenince and has prescribed ppa to be given twice a day.  Over the past 3 weeks when i first notice this, she has only leaked about 4 or 5 times.  My question is since it isn't happening very frequenty or consistently, should I hold off on medicating her until it becomes more frequent? Or with this type of thing is it better to catch early and treat before it gets worse? The incidents are so few and far between, I didn't want to start giving her the ppa if it won't be a real problem until she gets a bit older.  Any information you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Answer -
Hi Erica!
I would definitely not consider 4 or 5 times of leaking urine during a 3 week period incontinence.  Incontinence is when there is absolutely no control over the bladder, meaning that your dog would be leaking constantly.
I would definitely hold off on the medication at this point, as I don't feel that there is a real need for it.  Perhaps this is the beginning of an incontinence problem, but I don't feel as though it is severe enough for medicating at this time.
When this leaking occured, was your dog excited/fearful/surprised?  Dogs commonly involuntarily urinate when feeling a strong emotion like those above.  My sister's three year old bichon frise does this often.  It seems to be most common in spayed female dogs.
At this point in time, I would keep an eye on her.  Note what she is doing or what is going on around her when these episodes occur.  It may give you some insight as to whether or not this is caused by her excitement, or by a simple loss of bladder control.  If you are noticing this leaking 4 or 5 times per day, every day, I would definitely say that this is an incontinence problem, but 4 or 5 times during the course of weeks....there may be another cause.
Some x-rays of the bladder region may be helpful as well, as this will give your veterinarian a chance to see if there is a physical problem or not.
Please keep me posted.  I wish I could be of more help.
Hilary

Answer
Hi Erica!  I had sent a response to your last post on the 27th, but I am still seeing it in my unanswered questions.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but if you have a chance, could you let me know if you received my response?
Thanks! And again, I'm sorry for any inconvenience!
Hilary