Why does my dog dribble urine when she sleeps and how should this be treated?

Hi Heidi,

Thanks for your question.

The urine dribbling during sleep is likely caused by either weakening of the urinary sphincter, a bladder infection, a neurological problem or structural abnormality of the bladder. If she was recently spayed, the most likely reason is the reduced oestrogen production she’ll have and it’s effect on the urinary sphincter. This is a common side effect of spaying a female dog. The reduced oestrogen weakens the urinary sphincter and they tend to dribble urine when they sleep.

The other very important point you mention is that she has already had multiple bladder infections. My concern would be that these aren’t independent infections and in fact, they could be the same infection recurring. Most infections that are being caused by resistant bacteria will still get better on antibiotics, but then return days to weeks later after the antibiotic stops. I would recommend you perform urine testing with a ‘culture and sensitivity’. I can’t overstate the importance of this particular test to determine if an infection is present and what type of bacteria has caused it. It is much more sensitive than a simple urinalysis and it should be performed again after the antibiotic course is completed which will grow any bacteria that might be present in the bladder to confirm that the inciting infectious agent has been eliminated. General blood and urine testing would be ideal to see if there are any underlying conditions that could be contributing to the problem. Also having your veterinarian look at the structure of the vulva would be valuable as well. If it didn’t form properly, there could be urine collecting or pooling at the urethral opening which could be contributing to repeated infections.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Dr. Clayton Greenway