Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband and I have a 5 year old Doberman, she's his baby. Over the last couple of days she's been acting kind of strange. She sleeps in the bed with us and last night about five minutes after she jumped onto the bed she peed. While laying down. Then of course she wouldn't lay down. We were just about sleeping when we figured out what had happened. We put her outside and she went again, after she came back inside about five minutes later she had to go again. What concerns me is that she peed on herself. She peed on herself a couple of weeks ago, and then slept in it. We didn't find the mess until the morning, my husband figured it was just because he hadn't let either of our dogs out before he went to bed.

Now I'm a bit concerned something bigger might be going on. He doesn't want to take her to the vet because he'll be devastated if something is wrong. Any advice

Hi and welcome to the DogHobbyist. I don't have a Dobe, I have 3 Shiba Inus.

My best advice would be to get your girl to a vet as soon as possible. Peeing on herself or peeing in her bed and sleeping in it is not normal dog behavior and could mean some underlying medical condition. It could very well be a urinary tract infection(UTI). It could also be she sustained some sort of injury to her spine or back area and may have lost the sensation when it's time to pee. Whatever is going on, in spite of your husbands misgivings, take her to your vet. The quickest diagnosis can result in a quicker return to good health. Good Luck with your girl and please post any updates. Thanks
-----

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

I'm going to guess that she's spayed? If so, spay incontinence is somewhat common in Doberman females. It's not uncommon for them to leak as they sleep. They are quite unaware that it's happening. The good news is that there is medication to help alleviate the problem so yes, you should see the vet (and it's absolutely insane to not want to go to the vet "in case something is wrong".)

Some dogs also respond well to a change in diet. Eliminating corn and wheat from the diet sometimes alleviates the problem. It worked for one of my girls, not the other. In my case, I switched those girls to Canidae because it has no corn, wheat or soy - it's a premium food, very good quality.

Additionally, some report good results taking the dog to a canine chiropracter for an adjustment. I know of 2 that head to the chiropracter when their girls start leaking and an adjustment usually takes care of the problem for a period of time.

I'm not sure she's "leaking"...I'm talking there was a puddle underneath her...it was kinda nasty.

Um, that IS leaking.

>>My husband and I have a 5 year old Doberman, she's his baby. Over the last couple of days she's been acting kind of strange. She sleeps in the bed with us and last night about five minutes after she jumped onto the bed she peed. While laying down. Then of course she wouldn't lay down. We were just about sleeping when we figured out what had happened. We put her outside and she went again, after she came back inside about five minutes later she had to go again. What concerns me is that she peed on herself. She peed on herself a couple of weeks ago, and then slept in it. We didn't find the mess until the morning, my husband figured it was just because he hadn't let either of our dogs out before he went to bed.
>>
>>Now I'm a bit concerned something bigger might be going on. He doesn't want to take her to the vet because he'll be devastated if something is wrong. Any advice

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chances are she either has a urinary tract infection or simple hormonal incontinence, both fixable with medication. It's unlikely to be anything that will devastate your husband, but you do need to take the dog to the vet.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47