Urinary and Kidney Problems in DogsThe commonest urinary symptoms seen in dogs are an increased frequency of urination, increased volume of urine, urinating in the home or leaking urine whilst asleep.Stopping to pee more frequently is usually due to bladder inflammation caused by infection (cystitis), the presence of bladder stones (uroliths) or more rarely discomfort from bladder tumours or polyps. Entire male dogs are prone to diseases of the prostate gland - either hormonal enlargement, cysts, abcesses or tumours - that initially make them want to pee or pooh more often. Inflammation or infection in the urinary system can lead to the presence of blood in the urine: a lot is obvious, small amounts may be difficult to see. Peeing larger volumes of urine occurs either because your dog is not able to concentrate their urine so well, for example in kidney failure, or because they are drinking more water than usual, for metabolic reasons such as sugar diabetes, infection (eg pyometra), liver disease or hormonal disorders (eg excess cortisol production or Cushings disease). Kidney infections and kidney stones are less common. Leaking urine or urinary incontinence is most common in female dogs that have been spayed. The reduced levels of the female hormone oestrogen can lead to a slight loss of control of the sphincter muscle at the exit from the bladder. Incontinence causes a dog to leave wet patches when asleep, rather than any changes to their conscious urinary behaviour. Male dogs only very occasionally develop urinary incontinence. All of these condition have very specific treatments which need to be prescribed by your vet, but there are a number of general supplements that you can give for your dog's urinary health
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