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My elderly male dog leaks urine at night. Is it incontinence or UTI?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | neutered

My elderly 13 yrs old lab (Male) is leaking wee continuously more so at night when he is sleeping...We had him on antibiotics for a month where 2 different kinds where tried but i would say theirs been much improvement. We are wondering what the next step is as the vets want us to try ultra sounds and x-rays but hes an elderly dog and one thats stresses away from me for two long. Would the vet need to test the wee again first of all & also could he just be incontinent & need hormone replacements

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 22nd, 2017

Hi there, Sorry that Blacky is having this issue. Yes, he could just have incontinence although it is not as common in male dogs as it is in female dogs. That is likely why your vet wants to do some diagnostic testing. That being said, if he is truly leaking (especially when sleeping) it sure sounds like incontinence to me. Likely the urine would need to be tested again. I'm guessing the vet was assuming a urinary tract infection was present? Again, not that common in male dogs so I doubt that is the issue. I would suggest you just communicate with your vet that you would like to try the incontinence therapy for a few weeks to see if it helps. If it does, great. If not, then you will need to resort to the testing. That would be my recommendation. If your vet is not open to this you may want to consider a second opinion with another vet. I hope this helps. Best wishes.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on August 15th, 2017

    Hi there! This is a somewhat common occurrence in dogs with lower urinary tract disease. His clinical symptoms could be due to a number of reasons. It could be that he has a urinary tract infection that is resistant to the antibiotics that he is on. Otherwise, other possibilities include bladder stones or even a tumor, among other possibilities. I recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian so that a diagnostic and treatment plan can be initiated. Initial work-up may include bloodwork, urine culture and abdominal ultrasound while treatment will highly depend on what the cause is. Good luck with Blacky! Keeping my fingers crossed for your guy!

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