Dog Symptoms Guide

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Incontinence
Incontinence can affect urination or defecation. In some cases both are affected at the same time, but often only one of the two is affected.

Urinary incontinence is often seen in bitches, especially at older age. This may be due to a weakening of the sphincter muscle of the bladder. There may also be an influence of neutering on incontinence. Urinary incontinence sometimes affects young dogs, of either sex. This can be caused by a congenital problem involving the implantation of the ureter, the urinary tube from the kidney to the bladder, into the bladder neck. This is called an ectopic ureter. We also see urinary incontinence after paralysis of the bladder, when the bladder is overfilled. This is often the result of trauma, such as a road traffic accident. Sometimes a tumour in the bladder causes incontinence as well.

It is important to distinguish incontinence from inappropriate urination! The former is an unconscious loss of urine from the dog, the latter is urinating in the house for some other reason.

Faecal incontinence is often caused by a weakening of the sphincter muscle of the anus. This can be caused by a generalised weakness, anal disease, such as a tumour, or loss of nervous control due to paralysis. The latter is most common after trauma to the pelvic region, such as in road traffic accidents.

Urinary or faecal incontinence can cause further problems for the dog due to urine or faecal scalding on the perineum, the area of skin surrounding the anus and urinary opening. This can lead to secondary skin infections and pain.

If your dog develops incontinence, you should seek veterinary advice.

Itchiness
Itchiness is often the consequence of parasites on or in the skin. By far the most common reason for dogs to be itchy is a flea infestation. Fleas on dogs are usually cat fleas and can be picked up from the environment and from other animals with fleas. Fleas bite and suck blood and can cause itchiness either due to the bites themselves or due to an allergic reaction of the dog to the flea saliva. Treatment for a flea problem is usually straightforward, ask your vet for advice on the best treatment in your case.

Another possible reason for itchiness is mange. There are several types of mange possible in dogs, but the most common one is Sarcoptic mange (scabies), or fox mange. This is caused by a burrowing mite and can cause severe itch, scabs and redness of the skin, mainly on ears and front legs, but sometimes all over the body. Another type of mange is Demodectic mange. This type of mange does not always cause itchiness though. It often leads to bald areas on the body, mainly on the head, but sometimes also all over the body.

Lice can also cause itchiness. These are larger than fleas and are visible on the skin. Most commonly you can see the eggs of the lice, called nits. The lice suck blood and can cause anaemia as well as itch.

Skin infections can cause itchiness due to the inflammation associated with infections. Bacterial infections are quite common, especially secondary to for instance parasitic conditions, as mentioned above, but also after trauma or wounds and in moist skin folds, like we see in certain breeds of dog. Fungal and yeast skin infections are also possible.

Severe dandruff can cause itchiness due to the large numbers of loose scales in the fur. Sometimes dogs have dandruff due to incorrect nutrition or due to malfunction of the glands in the skin. Lack of grooming can also cause itch due to large quantities of dandruff and loose hairs.

As there are so many different conditions which can cause itchiness in dogs, it is advisable to have your dog checked by your vet to find the correct cause and subsequently the correct treatment. Your vet may need to perform several specialist tests to diagnose and treat skin problems.