Spaying-related urinary incontinence and oestrogen therapy in the bitch

Abstract

Some aspects of spaying-related urinary incontinence in the bitch still remain incompletely clarified. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence of the disease among spayed dogs, to detect differences in risk related to the type of surgery, to describe the characteristics of incontinent bitches, to assess the influence of age at surgery on the onset of incontinence occurrence, and to assess the effectiveness and long-term side effects of oestrogen therapy in affected bitches. Among 750 bitches submitted to ovariectomy or ovariohysterectomy, those showing spaying-related urinary incontinence were evaluated. Oestrogen replacement therapy consisted of administering an effective dose followed by an individual maintenance dose. The results showed that the disease occurred in 5% of neutered bitches, the type of surgery did not affect the disease occurrence, affected bitches frequently represented large or giant breeds or large-size mongrels, the body weight of the affected bitches at surgery was often ≥ 20 kg, the disease seems to be associated with tail docking, the age at surgery influences the onset of incontinence, with earlier occurrence in older bitches, and that a strong co-operation between owners and veterinarians is necessary to achieve successful response to oestrogen replacement therapy. Long-term administration seems to be unrelated to oestrogenic side effects.Key words: Bitch, spaying, urinary incontinence, oestrogen therapy Urinary continence results from the combined effect of anatomical and physiological factors leading to normal urinary bladder storage, bladder neck

A literature review on the welfare implications of gonadectomy of dogs

“…Urinary incontinence typically develops 3 to 5 years after gonadectomy. [129][130][131][132] It affects 2% to 20% of spayed females and occurs most often in larger dogs. [129][130][131][132] Females spayed before 3 months of age have the highest risk of developing urinary incontinence that requires medical treatment.…”

“…[129][130][131][132] It affects 2% to 20% of spayed females and occurs most often in larger dogs. [129][130][131][132] Females spayed before 3 months of age have the highest risk of developing urinary incontinence that requires medical treatment. 4,131 Spaying females between 4 and 6 months of age does not appear to increase the risk for urinary incontinence, compared with the risk for those spayed after the first estrus.…”

“…4,131 Age at gonadectomy may also influence time to onset of urethral incompetence, with a shorter interval to incontinence reported for bitches spayed when they were older. 132 A breed-specific study 21 on German Shepherd Dogs found that urinary incontinence was considerably less likely to develop in sexually intact females. However, this was only a significant effect when sexually intact females were compared with female dogs spayed between 6 and 11 months of age.…”

“…This may be because patients typically respond well to medical management or because urinary incontinence may not be viewed by owners as a sufficient inconvenience or impairment to consider relinquishment. 3,28,[130][131][132][133] Investigators of a recent systematic review 134 categorized the causal relationship between gonadectomy and urinary incontinence as weak. However, similar to the previously mentioned systematic review on mammary gland neoplasia and gonadectomy, 41 information must be weighed with the acknowledgment that a lack of qualifying literature will negatively impact the statistical power of such a systematic analysis.…”

Inconvenient Desires: Should We Routinely Neuter Companion Animals?

“…1% of intact bitches (Holt and Thrusfield 1993), but incontinence rates after spaying have been reported as being between 3. 1% and 20% (von Ruckstuhl 1978;Arnold et al 1989;Holt and Thrusfield 1993;Okkens, Kooistra and Nickel 1997;Angioletti et al 2004;Veronezi et al 2009). Thrusfield, Holt and Muirhead (1998) reported that neutered bitches have a 7.8-fold greater risk of developing urinary incontinence compared with entire bitches.…”