I received a letter from a reader about what to do when your dog urinates while sleeping:
Her Dog Urinates While Sleeping
Dear Mr. Adam and friends:
There are no words to thank you enough for your site and all benefits I have from it. I have 14 months old Brittany girl. She was neutered when 9 months-old. Two months after such operation she started to pee while sleeping. I asked our vet and he explained that it is possible after such operation. One of 10 dog girls might have such nuss effects. Now she is missing certain hormones that normally other glandula would start to produce. But in her case this didn’t happened. There are sintetic hormones that have its own effects, but we don’t use it now, expecting the body might recover itself. I wonder, is there any other reason that might cause such problem. Could it be reaction on kind of stress (like in people and children…?) or… When it happens she would wake up surprised, jump from sleeping place, sniff the place, sniff herself, look at me and then look like really confused wondering what is going on. I assume it is sort of traumic for her too. She was well housebroken and had normal habits before operation. Please, any comment or advice? To be more precise we live in an apartment, she is out 5 times per day and one and half hour every day free to run or have a long walk. She is well cared and treated. We don’t have other behavioral problems and she lives in accordance with your advice from your books, crate, discipline, exercise, affection etc… All behavioral problems we have require me to be a stronger pack leader and I work on it. Thanks for your time and advices.
When A Dog Urinates While Sleeping, It’s A Health Issue Not A Dog Training Issue
I replied: This is a health problem your dog is experiencing, not a behavior problem. I deal with the dog’s mind exclusively and leave health issues to the veterinarians.
I don’t feel it’s a stress issue. Dogs don’t display stress in that manner, you’d see it manifest in other ways.
What I would do is: Call a few dog trainers and dog groomers in your area and get a feel for which veterinarian is the most thorough. Then make an appointment to get a second opinion from that veterinarian. I’ve found that there is a wide discrepancy between the skill and healing abilities from one veterinarian to the next, so definitely get a second opinion about your dog’s pattern of urinating while sleeping.