Grooming for a Bedwetting Pup
My question is to those of you who have survived this ordeal, how did you keep your sheepie clean? So far, I have been bathing just the wet areas but it gets a little time consuming - and then the next thing I notice is that her face is really dirty, so back in the tub she goes! But daily bathing seems a bit excessive. In the interest of her skin, and the time I am consuming bathing, drying and brushing daily, I am wondering if there might be a better solution. Should I use a rinseless shampoo? Diapers? Shave her legs? 
Thanks in advance for any and all solutions ya'll can offer. ~n |
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| Is she weeing in her sleep or is she weeing and then lying down in it?
Is she doing this in a crate or is she loose in the house? Just wondering if there might be a medical reason for it or if she simply can't hold it any longer. If she just can't hold it, taking her out more frequently might fix the problem. |
| I had a cocker spainel who was a bedwetter as a pup, We spent tons of money on an evaluation at Cornell only to be told he was perfectly healthy and would out grow it. He did, at about 1 year of age.
I used a a belly band and pad at night. |
6Girls wrote: Is she weeing in her sleep or is she weeing and then lying down in it?
Is she doing this in a crate or is she loose in the house? Just wondering if there might be a medical reason for it or if she simply can't hold it any longer. If she just can't hold it, taking her out more frequently might fix the problem. She is weeing in her sleep. She does it when she is soundly asleep - in her crate and on the floor. She never does it when she is in my bed, but I am guessing that is because she is never deeply asleep in my bed. Once she settles down, I put her in her crate for the night. Of course, she hasn't seemed to do it for the last two days. The reasons she is doing it is another issue: She goes out at least every hour, but when she is sound asleep and I wake her and take her out, she just lays down. I suspect she is adjusting to the very dry desert climate from her very humid seaside birthplace and is just consuming way too much water. I am working on the cause, but for the moment, I am wondering about how to deal with the "outcome" (no pun intended!  )
Thanks! |
Tasker's Mom wrote: I had a cocker spainel who was a bedwetter as a pup, We spent tons of money on an evaluation at Cornell only to be told he was perfectly healthy and would out grow it. He did, at about 1 year of age.
I used a a belly band and pad at night. Yes, I did a search on bedwetting and read your posts about it in the archive. It prevented me from making one of those panicky phone calls to the breeder and the vet. Thank you it was really helpful. 
Though, I don't think I saw your solution, regarding the belly band and pad. What is a belly band? And what sort of pad? Thank you so much! |
| I've had a similar problem with Stella. I found that she gulps down large amounts of water and then when she is sleeping she has leakage.
I have a new vet and he suggested soaking her kibble in water, until it gets all fluffy- and that will help her hydrate without the need to gulp water down. I also started using diapers on her so that there wouldn't be a mess and so far in a month she has only had one accident- that's really great for her. As for the clean up- Nothing you can do, but wash and dry |
| It sounds like she's just sleeping very soundly. You might consider picking up the water dish a 1-2 hours before you go to bed unless there is a medical reason to leave it down or it's real hot. And let her out to potty for the final time just before you go to bed.
I would talk with the vet if it continues and look into girl-britches to make cleanup a little easier. http://www.kennelkomforts.net/Merchant2 ... y_Code=BB1 But she'll still need to be washed off as you mentioned. If you're concerned about her skin, you might try diluting puppy shampoo, maybe 1/3 shampoo to 2/3 water, and using this to wash her off each day, then rinse her well. You'll want to keep the odor down but also be gentle on the skin. This does nothing for the time required to dry her though... only shorter hair would help with that. 
We worked through an OES rescue's bladder defect so I sympathize with anyone dealing with these wetting issues. The rescue thought she had a behavioral issue but it was anatomical instead... |
cinemarco wrote: .... he suggested soaking her kibble in water, until it gets all fluffy- and that will help her hydrate without the need to gulp water down.
I also started using diapers on her so that there wouldn't be a mess and so far in a month she has only had one accident- that's really great for her. As for the clean up- Nothing you can do, but wash and dry Oye. I already add water to her kibble, per the breeder's instructions. Her food is very fluffy! I really don't care about the floors. We are bullet proof on that. I am concerned about the puppy's hygiene and what all the bathing will do to her coat. (Course, it didn't seem to matter the other day when she launched herself into the pool twice - at least it is a saltwater pool!) Thanks for the info about the diapers. I assume they are the same ones one would use for a bitch in season? Thanks. ~n |
| Cinemarco...How old is Stella now? I have Bella on Proin for spay incontinence, she was having accidents in the house. She hasn't had 1 since we started it and she is almost through her first bottle.
Quailtrail...I would agree about taking the water away a few hours before bedtime. She is still so young and it is hard for them to hold it. You might want to have the vet check her as well. I have never had one that peed while sleeping except for some spay incontinence in an older female. It seems strange in a pup unless she is getting too much water at night. Try giving her ice cubes instead of water at night close to bedtime. Good luck and let us know how she is doing. |
6Girls wrote: You might consider picking up the water dish a 1-2 hours before you go to bed unless there is a medical reason to leave it down or it's real hot. And let her out to potty for the final time just before you go to bed.
I would talk with the vet if it continues and look into girl-britches to make cleanup a little easier. http://www.kennelkomforts.net/Merchant2 ... y_Code=BB1 But she'll still need to be washed off as you mentioned. If you're concerned about her skin, you might try diluting puppy shampoo, maybe 1/3 shampoo to 2/3 water, and using this to wash her off each day, then rinse her well. You'll want to keep the odor down but also be gentle on the skin. This does nothing for the time required to dry her though... only shorter hair would help with that. We worked through an OES rescue's bladder defect so I sympathize with anyone dealing with these wetting issues. The rescue thought she had a behavioral issue but it was anatomical instead... The breeder specifically told me not to limit water intake for her. She has just relocated from the cool beach climate to a very toasty desert climate (we are still parked in high 90s and low 100s temps here) so she suggested I wait a week or so. The issue really isn't at night. I am sorry, the term "bedwetting" is misleading. The weeing occurs when she is fast asleep during the day and early evening. I am up late at night, so she goes out every few hours until about 4 a.m. One night there was weeing in the crate overnight, but that only occurred once. Thanks on the suggestion about watering down the shampoo. Will do. I am guessing that once I am able to limit her evening water intake, this issue will begin to diminish. In the interim, it sounds like it is "rub a dub dub" time! Thank you so much for the info. I truly appreciate your help! hugs, ~n |
| I think I took Nigel out every half hour at Betsy's age. They really just can't hold it very long yet. She should get better about it soon. Nigel ALWAYS spilled his water when I had him in the x-pen at that age. I spent more time wiping up water than pee. lol. |
wendy58 wrote: It seems strange in a pup unless she is getting too much water at night. Try giving her ice cubes instead of water at night close to bedtime. Good luck and let us know how she is doing.
Oh... now that you mention it, I think that is what the breeder suggested on the day I picked her up - ice chips at night.  oooopps!~
Hey ... thanks so much! Yeah, I will let you know. I am going to call the breeder tomorrow. She has 30 plus years experience with the breed. I am sure she will have a suggestion. And I think you are quite right. I think it is a matter of over saturation since she doesn't do this every day. Thanks so much for your help!  |
wendy58 wrote: I think I took Nigel out every half hour at Betsy's age. They really just can't hold it very long yet. She should get better about it soon. Nigel ALWAYS spilled his water when I had him in the x-pen at that age. I spent more time wiping up water than pee. lol.
Oh yeah.. she tumbles her food dish and the water dish when in her crate for that hour or so when she is alone. So did you use an Xpen instead of a crate? Or in addition to Nigel's crate? Currently Betsy has a 48" wire crate in the living room, where she is contained during meal time and when I am away for short periods of time. She has a smaller soft crate that is next to my bed. She spends her nights there and never complains much about that. I do have 3 other dogs that have free run of the house and access to the yard, through a dog door. I suspect Betsy wants to be with her pack, unrestricted. But giving her free run of the house at this age is just too dangerous. And I won't teach her how to use the dog doors for some while, as a further precaution. And I won't be able to turn into "The Crazy Dog Lady" that never leaves her house, until Nov.5th! 
Thanks... ~n |
| I crated Nigel at night, or whenever I left the house. I kept him in the x-pen during the day so he could be with us in the living room, but not run free throughout the house. I started letting him out of it when he started knocking it over. lol. He is 16 months old now and I just started leaving his crate open at night and leaving him in the house while I am gone. We also have dog doors into a dog run. |
| Ah, good to know.
The breeder used an Xpen. But I am not certain how I would use one. The crate seems safer to me, despite how the Whirling Dervish, aka Betsy S Ross feels about it! Our dog doors go from the living room into the garage and from the garage into the yard. It is a huge yard, fully fenced with 6' high fences. However, at 12 weeks old, I do not want Betsy unsupervised with full roam privileges in the garage, house or yard. I like the comfort of knowing that my dogs can be in the yard or the house. As a doomsday planner, I rationalize it by thinking that in the event of a fire or an earthquake, my dogs can find safety in our yard or in our home. And of course, we have been together for five years and I am confident about their behaviors. Betsy is another matter! 
Yikes... if I keep up this sort of thinking, I will never leave the furkids alone again! Thanks for the info.! ~n |
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