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Dog - Proin Medicine for Leakage & Aggression? Experiences?

Hi All. Our puppy just turned 2 years old and we have had her since she was 6 weeks old. She has always been a very active and happy dog, who needs to burn a lot of energy. We have adapted our lifestyle to more walks and more fetch with her. She recently started taking proin, which helps dogs with urinary incontinence. She is border collie/lab mix and developed this condition a year after getting spayed. She can control her bladder, she just "leaks" little puddles when laying/resting. So, when she gets up there will be a puddle there. The Vet originally prescribed her Proin last winter. We noticed nothing that affected her negatively from the medicine and it also took care of the leakage, so we were ok with having her on it. After a few months the meds ran out and it took a month med free until her leakage came back. After researching Proin more we realized it is a maintenance med and the dogs are usually on it for their whole life. We tried to look into some natural remedies and actually had a little bit of success with Apple Cider Vinegar, but she developed an ear infection shortly after that. We went to the vet to clear up the ear infection and talked about the leakage and they said it is fine to be on Proin long term. So last week, we put her back on the Proin and she has been on for 1 1/2 weeks now. Last night, she reacted towards my niece. My niece was over here 3 weeks ago and was "hitting" my puppy towards her face a few times. I don't think she made contact, but my puppy did not react towards her at all that time. Now this time, on the meds she growled at my niece a few time and snapped at her once. In 2 years the only other time we saw Goldie Growl/Snap was towards a dog she was playing with, she didn't want to share the ball she had. My dog has NOT been around other dogs much or children at all. The dog and cat's she is around she is TOP DOG and I think that played into this a little bit. As you can probably see by my siggy, we are having a baby this month. I am thinking it is the medicine, should I just stop giving the medicine to see if that helps? Should i lower her dosage? I'm so scared about her being aggressive towards our baby or any child, because we DO love her so much and do NOT want to see anything bad happen to lead us to be forced to put her down. Sorry this is sooo long, but this is just killing me and I really need advise on tips for this and how to try to handle the situation!? Or any tips for aggression in dogs? Thank you so much!!!

Re: Dog - Proin Medicine for Leakage & Aggression? Experiences?

  • Frankly with the way you described the situations I think there are some environmental triggers that are causing her fear aggression and less likely related to the medicine.

     

    What dose is she on?  Proin is a maintenance drug and while it is safe long term I always recommend trying to find the lowest dose possible for every dog.  I usually tell owners to stay on a dose for 2 weeks and then taper down.  If you are on it twice a day go to once a day, once a day half the dose, then half a dose every other day.  I have had owners get down to a quarter of a tablet once a week to control the incontinence so don't be afraid to try and wean her off of it and find what works with her.  Given that there was a month between her last dose and her next incident I imagine you can get her on a really low maintenance dose.  Less drugs less cost for you.

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    DD born 1.25.15

  • imageaggiebug:

    Frankly with the way you described the situations I think there are some environmental triggers that are causing her fear aggression and less likely related to the medicine.

     

    What dose is she on?  Proin is a maintenance drug and while it is safe long term I always recommend trying to find the lowest dose possible for every dog.  I usually tell owners to stay on a dose for 2 weeks and then taper down.  If you are on it twice a day go to once a day, once a day half the dose, then half a dose every other day.  I have had owners get down to a quarter of a tablet once a week to control the incontinence so don't be afraid to try and wean her off of it and find what works with her.  Given that there was a month between her last dose and her next incident I imagine you can get her on a really low maintenance dose.  Less drugs less cost for you.

    I agree with all of the above. FWIW, when working with a veterinary behaviorist for our dog's separation anxiety, I asked if proin had any behavioral side-effects and the behaviorist said no. I really think the situation you described was a matter of the dog being put in a stressful situation and communicating the only way she knows how (growling).

    As for prepping your dog for a baby, there's lots of good info and links in the Pets Board FAQ. There are lots of moms on this board, so feel free to come back if you have any specific questions.

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  • I have 2, 3 year old English Mastiffs. Both are very friendly and loving dogs who have always gotten along with every person and dog they meet. We put the male on Proin 5 weeks ago, which helped with his piddle problem. I noticed that he had become restless. 3 weeks ago he attacked his sister sending her to the vet with multiple bite wounds. Last week he attacked her again, this time she fought back in defense. Both dogs were seriously injured. I spoke with our Vet and asked if she thought we should consider rehoming or putting him down. His aggression was so violent for no apparent reason. The Vet suggested taking him off the Proin, and wait and see if his aggression continued before taking drastic measures. The medication is the only thing that has changed in our household. He has been off it for a week now and not restless, back to sleeping through the night and no more pacing. I have read the the study on this drug, before it was approved for use, and 8% of dog in the study showed Irritability or aggressive behavior. So I have my fingers crossed that this was our problem.
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