Dog Urinates While Asleep

by Moses
(India)

I have a 4 month Irish setter female, not yet spayed. Lately I have noticed that she urinates in her sleep. She is house trained and during normal day hrs will go out into the yard and urinate. At night before she goes to sleep she urinates in the yard. Sometimes she pees in her sleep, as I have noticed the fur on the croup is wet and the dog is still sleeping.

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Hi Moses,

Based on the description of your dog’s problem and her age and the fact that she has not been spayed, I would be most concerned that she has an anatomic abnormality within her urinary tract that prevents her from holding urine in her bladder overnight.

But, I can’t rule out the possibility of a urinary tract infection, kidney disease, or other problems that can cause similar symptoms.

You should definitely get your dog in for a checkup with your vet. If she were my patient, I would start with a urinalysis and maybe some blood work. If the answer wasn’t apparent there, I’d move on to x-rays of her bladder, which sometimes require the use of special contrast agents to get a good picture, and maybe an ultrasound.

Regards,

Jennifer Coates, DVM