potty training an older dog after bladder surgery

Question
I rescued an older Bassett Hound from the pound a couple months ago.  She was leaking a little bloody urine and the pound thought it was just because she had recently had puppies ( she still had milk)and she was starting her period. SHe is a bit stretched so she porbably has had alot of puppies. Our pound does not check dogs out with a vet.  I took her just to get her checked out before I officially decided to adopt and she had a bad bladder infection and a palpable bladder stone. After trying the prescription dog food for the couple of weeks, it was not getting better. We did the bladder stone removal surgery and the spay at the same time. It has been about a month since surgery or so. She has been able to hold it longer than before , but she still strains when she goes. THe longest she can be in without an accident seems to be three hours, I did stretch her to 3.5 one time. I have tried the kennel training several times, but after the 3.5 mark she pees even right where she lays. I don't know if it is incontinence or just behavioral at this point. She defeinetely can't make it through the night and so I don't leave her in the kennel all night for 9 hours. I leave her in a confined space ( mud room) with a training pad. Do you have any additional advice on training her? I know some people think the only thing I should be doing is kennell traning all the time, but I honestly don't think she can physically hold it for more than a few hours, so that seems cruel.

Emily

Answer
Emily, this definitely sounds medical. It could be a number of things related to her surgery or post-op complications.  Please go back to your vet and get help there.  I had an older female who leaked urine and was helped by medication, but only your vet can diagnose your girl's issue.  Good luck!