I haven’t posted here in a really long time, but I thought this was important enough to finally post. I have a dog on PROIN. She had a major incontinence problem from the time I brought her home basically. I took her all across the state, traveling many many hours to find different vets, to get a diagnosis, to find out what was wrong with her. I cleaned my bedding every day, bought waterproof mattress pads, found “comfortable†diapers (even paying a fortune to have some specially made for her because the plastic ones in the store were uncomfortable for her). I was resigned to do this the rest of her life, I was fine with it, I told the vet that she wasn’t going to be put on any medication.
AND THEN, the infections started, even with bathing her EVERY SINGLE DAY, there were times when I wasn’t home that she would pee on herself and sit in it and that causes infections. She was spending more time on antibiotics then she was off of them. When the infections came, the peeing got worse, she was uncomfortable, didn’t ever want to settle down because every time she did, she peed.
TRUE incontinence like this can’t be modified with diet and potty schedule. She had wee wee pads available 24/7. We tried withholding water. Nothing helped. She fell asleep, she PEED. It was as simple as that.
I took her to a top specialist, they explained all the risks of PROIN, she talked to me for a long time. We decided that we needed to at least give it a try, that we at least needed to give her a short reprieve from all the infections, from the antibiotics, from the lack of sleep.
She has been on PROIN for a little over 2 months, she is a different dog. She sleeps soundly all night, she used to get up all night long because she was wet and uncomfortable. She hasn’t had an infection once in that time.
The specialist and I are keeping an eye on her, she is going to be rechecked in a month’s time to make sure she is doing okay on the medicine and we are going to discuss where we want to go from here.
Medical care whether it is for you, your kid, your dog, is a two way street. If you blindly follow anything they say you are asking for trouble. People need to take a more pro-active stance in the care of their pets. Research on your own, ask your vet questions if something makes you uncomfortable. If you don’t feel you are getting the proper answers or information, FIND A NEW VET. You should always ask the vet how any new drug will interact with any other drug they are on, or any medical conditions they have. You should be asking for yearly bloodwork to see if any medical conditions are starting to become evident. Yes, maybe a great vet will ask these questions on their own but it is really our responsibility to be a great pet owner regardless of the vet.
When I see someone saying people like doberluv or elegy don’t love their dogs or are just mad because they didn’t turn out to be the “doll†they wanted, I don’t know whether to laugh or be mad, I guess its kind of funny because most kids in the world would be lucky to be treated as good as Lyric or Luce.
It’s easy to say that incontinence is just an inconvenience but unless you have lived it and seen what it does to the DOG, you really can’t talk about it, because you really don’t know.
Almost everything you put in your mouth, or on your skin, or breath in, or any activity you participate in yourself or with your dog can cause issues, it’s as simple as that. YOU (along with advice from your vet) need to balance the positives with the negatives and do what is right for you and your pet, whether you are talking about giving them PROIN, sending them to daycare, participating in agility, feeding them Beneful, etc.
On a side note, it is much more convincing when you make an argument with personal experience to back it up and not a bunch of second hand information copy and pasted from someone else and a bunch of scare tactics about KILLER DRUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND THEN, the infections started, even with bathing her EVERY SINGLE DAY, there were times when I wasn’t home that she would pee on herself and sit in it and that causes infections. She was spending more time on antibiotics then she was off of them. When the infections came, the peeing got worse, she was uncomfortable, didn’t ever want to settle down because every time she did, she peed.
TRUE incontinence like this can’t be modified with diet and potty schedule. She had wee wee pads available 24/7. We tried withholding water. Nothing helped. She fell asleep, she PEED. It was as simple as that.
I took her to a top specialist, they explained all the risks of PROIN, she talked to me for a long time. We decided that we needed to at least give it a try, that we at least needed to give her a short reprieve from all the infections, from the antibiotics, from the lack of sleep.
She has been on PROIN for a little over 2 months, she is a different dog. She sleeps soundly all night, she used to get up all night long because she was wet and uncomfortable. She hasn’t had an infection once in that time.
The specialist and I are keeping an eye on her, she is going to be rechecked in a month’s time to make sure she is doing okay on the medicine and we are going to discuss where we want to go from here.
Medical care whether it is for you, your kid, your dog, is a two way street. If you blindly follow anything they say you are asking for trouble. People need to take a more pro-active stance in the care of their pets. Research on your own, ask your vet questions if something makes you uncomfortable. If you don’t feel you are getting the proper answers or information, FIND A NEW VET. You should always ask the vet how any new drug will interact with any other drug they are on, or any medical conditions they have. You should be asking for yearly bloodwork to see if any medical conditions are starting to become evident. Yes, maybe a great vet will ask these questions on their own but it is really our responsibility to be a great pet owner regardless of the vet.
When I see someone saying people like doberluv or elegy don’t love their dogs or are just mad because they didn’t turn out to be the “doll†they wanted, I don’t know whether to laugh or be mad, I guess its kind of funny because most kids in the world would be lucky to be treated as good as Lyric or Luce.
It’s easy to say that incontinence is just an inconvenience but unless you have lived it and seen what it does to the DOG, you really can’t talk about it, because you really don’t know.
Almost everything you put in your mouth, or on your skin, or breath in, or any activity you participate in yourself or with your dog can cause issues, it’s as simple as that. YOU (along with advice from your vet) need to balance the positives with the negatives and do what is right for you and your pet, whether you are talking about giving them PROIN, sending them to daycare, participating in agility, feeding them Beneful, etc.
On a side note, it is much more convincing when you make an argument with personal experience to back it up and not a bunch of second hand information copy and pasted from someone else and a bunch of scare tactics about KILLER DRUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Exactly. Incontenence isn't just an inconvience. It isn't just that people with dogs peeing all over their house happen to value their carpet and their own health. Urine sitting on skin day in and day out scalds the tissue and terrible ulcerations which become infected are ongoing and can work their way up into the kidneys as well as the bladder. Most bacterial infections NEED anti-biotics to cure them. Infections aren't healthy and constant use of anti-biotics isn't good either. Like I said, I've had two dogs on this stuff and have had no problems with it. It is basically an estrogen suppliment, as far as I know. Granted, I don't know that much. LOL.
Treatment of incontinence is usually simple and effective. There are many different ways of treating incontinence, and the choice may depend on the cause. Phenylpropanolamine (PPA), a decongestant that helps to tighten the sphincter muscle, is the most commonly used treatment for incontinence in both male and female dogs.
Spay incontinence can also be treated with estrogen supplements, usually in the form of DES (diethylstilbestrol), but estradiol, a more natural form of estrogen, can be used. Neutered males with hormonally-caused incontinence may respond to monthly testosterone injections, though these can also lead to urine marking and aggressive behavior.
Spay incontinence can also be treated with estrogen supplements, usually in the form of DES (diethylstilbestrol), but estradiol, a more natural form of estrogen, can be used. Neutered males with hormonally-caused incontinence may respond to monthly testosterone injections, though these can also lead to urine marking and aggressive behavior.
I've pretty much backed off of this thread because....well, just because. But I had to respond to Poodlemommy's informative and as usual, logical, sensible post.