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By Andrea S. Mullen, DVM |
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Sasha is a joyous 9-year-old Irish
Wolfhound/ Bearded
Collie who lives with Michelle Tamme and several four-legged siblings in
Northridge. One of her pack,
a dog named Lucas, has many medical ailments, including insulin-dependent
diabetes, a slipped disk and severe arthritis, among other things.
So it was not unusual Michelle overlooked Sasha's little
dribbling spots of urine for a while.
After all, she was in good spirits and was even happy to me,
knowing full well I am “the vet that makes housecalls.”
When we focused on Sasha’s problem,
I diagnosed “acquired urinary incontinence,” a fancy way of saying a
dribbling of urine that happens with older female dogs who have been
spayed. When Sasha would get
up from a nap, she would leave behind spots of urine on the floor.
Acquired urinary incontinence is not uncommon in older female dogs,
especially if they are overweight. Urine
dribbling occurs most often when the dog is relaxing or asleep.
They may be able to hold their urine fine when they are awake and
fully alert.
The reason this dribbling occurs in
older female dogs is because of reduced estrogen from having been spayed. Estrogen helps regulate the muscles of the bladder, which in
turn give the dog control over urination.
Conventional medical treatment calls
for use of a drug called DES. A
potent drug, DES (diethylstilbesterol, a form of estrogen) was recently
taken off the market for humans because it has been linked to anemia and
certain forms of cancer. It
is still approved for use in dogs. Another
drug that has been used traditionally for treating urinary incontinence is
phenylpopanoline (PPP), also used as a diet pill for humans under the name
of Dexatrim®. However, the
common side effects include irritability, tremors, rapid heart rate,
increased blood pressure, irregular heartbeats and excessive urinary
retention.
Instead of exposing Sasha to the
possible drug side effects, Michelle and I decided to try a natural
remedy: soybean tofu from Michelle’s local Ralph’s supermarket.
Michelle simply mixed the tasteless tofu with Sasha’s food and
she ate it—probably without even realizing it.
Within a week, Sasha’s dibbling stopped. No more carpet spots after her naps. For eight months now, Sasha has been “dribble-free” on
tofu.
Even in patients who do not get
“complete” relief by eating tofu, I have been successful in reducing
the dosage of drugs necessary to give these dogs back control of their
bladders. And when it comes
to DES and PPP, less is better. This
simple remedy has made Michelle’s life easier, not having to clean up
after Sasha all the time. As
for Sasha, she doesn’t know the difference—she just goes about her
job being the “happy dog” of the family. |
