Advice please for peeing in crate

[Murphy's Mom]

We've had Murphy for 3 years and had no problem house training her. She's been very good in her crate until we had her spayed. She had a bit of problem with "leaking" but that seemed to clear up after a few months. My husband changed jobs at work two months ago and subsequently his hours have changed. He leaves a little later in the morning and home later in the afternoon but he's still home before I am. The length of time hasn't changed. Since then we've been having a problem with Murphy almost every day peeing in her crate. She is a creature of habit, likes her routines, so we were wondering if perhaps the difference in routine was bothering her. She drinks a lot of water on normal basis and at her yearly check up in November I asked for a urine test because I thought she was drinking more than normal. Everything came back normal, the vet examined her very thoroughly and came to the conclusion that it was spay incontinence and if it continued we could give her a medication that would help. I could understand it if we had the same problem at night because she is in her crate then too but there's never a problem at night. I could also relate to his diagnosis if the blankets were a little damp but they're not, they're soaking and we don't have any problems with her "leaking" anywhere else.
Any ideas? Is she just upset at the change in her routine and being a stubborn beagle? And if she was upset at the change, wouldn't she have adjusted to the new routine by now? Any ideas as to how we can stop her from peeing in her crate? I don't want to give her medication if it's a behaviour issue. Sorry for all the questions and the length of this but I figured if I was asking for advice I'd better make sure I mentioned everything!

[brandypup]

Yes I think you nailed it with the change that went on. Try to re do her pee scheulde and walking scedule a little see if that helps. The drinking of water could be bladder/kidney/liver. did you do a bloor check recently to rule that out?

Good luck.

[Murphy's Mom]

Yes we had both blood and urine checked. My husband makes sure she goes out before he leaves. It's been so bitterly cold here that morning walks just aren't possible, even if I had the time to get her coat and boots on, it's been -49 some mornings so she's missing out on that morning walk but that's not unusual in the winter.

[brandypup]

Yea that is just really cold! LOL

Maybe getting her to run around in the house before taking her out will help her potty outside quickly. ??

[Dawna]

Has she been spayed? Aparently, it is rather common for females to develop urinary incontinence, even several years after being spayed. There is some kind of hormonal supplement the vet can prescribe that they say helps this. The reason I think it may be that is because you say she is 3 years old. It seems to me that at least a few other winters in her life you had really cold weather at times, and apparently the incontinence just recently started. If it is from the spay it would be urinary incontinence only.

[Murphy's Mom]

You're right Dawna. I spoke to the woman who rescued the litter, she's a very reputable breeder and very knowledgeable and that was the first thing she said to me, spay incontinence. When we had her checked in November the vet said the same thing and that if it got worse we were to bring her back and he would give her something to help the problem, we're seeing him tonight so I'll let you know. Thanks for your help everyone!

[Murphy's Mom]

We saw the vet last night, he still thinks spay incontinence is a possibility but finds it strange we're only having a problem during the day. Brandypup suggested changing up her walking routine and it's been quite mild in the mornings so last week we went back to the morning walk. Didn't make a bit of difference although Murphy loved being out in the mornings again. So, we're trying the estrogen. He figures we'll see a difference in a couple of days if spay incontinence is the problem. If not, we go back in for at least another urine test and possibly some more tests to see if something else is going on. There's been no change in her behaviour, appetite or elimination, she's been her perfectly lovable beagle self. The mystery continues, we'll see what happens by the weekend.

[brandypup]

Hope it all works out
DogAware.com Articles: Incontinence in Dogs