Daily Care
Bladder & Bowel Support for Dogs with IVDD
IVDD can affect how some dogs urinate, empty their bladder, pass stool and keep themselves clean. Use this page to understand what to monitor, when to ask for help and when to move into our detailed bladder-expression guide.
Urgent: If your dog is unable to urinate, repeatedly strains without producing urine, seems very painful, or suddenly deteriorates, contact a veterinary professional urgently.
Why this can happen
IVDD can affect more than walking
Bladder and bowel changes are not all the same. Your veterinary team may need to work out whether the issue is poor emptying, leakage, constipation, bowel incontinence or something unrelated to IVDD.
Some dogs do not empty fully
Neurological injury can make voluntary urination difficult. A dog may pass only small amounts, retain urine after trying to urinate, or need assisted bladder care.
Leaking does not always mean the bladder is empty
Urine can leak or dribble when bladder control is reduced. Overflow leakage can also happen if the bladder becomes overfull, so changes in wetting or dribbling still need veterinary assessment.
Bowel control can change too
Some dogs may drop stool without awareness, struggle to hold it, or become constipated because of reduced mobility, dehydration, medication or other causes. The pattern matters.
Important: do not assume that a wet bed or urine dribbling means your dog is emptying their bladder normally.
Bladder monitoring
What should I actually watch for?
A simple written record can help you and your veterinary team spot changes faster.
Watch the pattern
Note when your dog urinates, whether they produce a normal stream or only small amounts, whether they strain, and whether urine appears on bedding while resting.
Watch for changes
Contact your vet about a new change in urine colour, blood, unusual smell, discomfort, sudden leaking, difficulty expressing, or a major change in how much your dog is producing.
Notice drinking too
Changes in thirst can affect bladder routine and may also point to a separate medical issue. Keep fresh water available unless your veterinary team has specifically advised otherwise.
If bladder expression is needed
Keep the technique on the dedicated guide
This page explains the bigger picture. The detailed technique and day-to-day practical tips live on our bladder-expression page so we do not duplicate or dilute them here.
Get hands-on instruction first
If your dog cannot empty their bladder normally, ask your vet or veterinary nurse to show you the technique on your own dog and check that you can do it safely.
Make sure the bladder is actually emptying
Passing a little urine is not the same as emptying well. Ask your veterinary team what a satisfactory emptying routine looks like for your dog and what changes should trigger a recheck.
Use our focused practical guide
Our separate guide covers supported positions, what we learnt with Loui, hygiene, overnight routine and four demonstration videos.
Never keep increasing pressure if the bladder is difficult to express or your dog seems painful. Stop and contact your veterinary team.
Bladder complications
Know when the pattern has changed
Possible urinary complication
Blood, discomfort, a new strong or unusual smell, cloudy-looking urine, lethargy, feverish behaviour or a sudden change in bladder routine should be discussed with your vet.
Suddenly harder to express
If a bladder that was usually manageable becomes difficult to express, do not assume you simply need more force. The reason needs veterinary assessment.
Little or no urine
Repeated straining with little or no urine, especially with pain, vomiting or lethargy, can be an emergency and needs prompt veterinary care.
Skin & urine scald
Keeping clean and dry is part of bladder care
Keep skin and bedding dry
Change wet bedding promptly and clean urine from the coat and skin gently. Persistent dampness can irritate the skin.
Check the underside every day
Look around the belly, groin, hind legs, paws and skin folds for redness, broken skin, discharge, odour or areas that stay damp.
See our practical hygiene routine
The bladder-expression guide includes the bath, drying, paw-care and barrier-cream precautions that helped us with Loui.
Ask your vet before using barrier creams or human skincare products, especially anywhere your dog may lick.
Bowel support
Bowel accidents and constipation are different problems
Keep a note of frequency, consistency, straining, awareness and accidents. This helps your vet distinguish neurological bowel-control changes from constipation, diarrhoea or another gastrointestinal problem.
Bowel incontinence
Some dogs may drop small amounts of stool without seeming aware of it. Others know they need to go but cannot hold it long enough to reach their usual toileting area.
Constipation
Watch for repeated unsuccessful squatting, hard or dry stool, straining, discomfort, reduced appetite or a longer-than-normal gap between bowel movements.
Soft stool or diarrhoea
Loose stool can make accidents harder to control and can have causes unrelated to IVDD. Blood, mucus, ongoing diarrhoea or a clear change from normal needs veterinary advice.
Do not start laxatives, enemas, supplements or major diet changes without veterinary guidance. The right approach depends on the cause.
A small but important reminder
Accidents are not bad behaviour
If your dog leaks urine or passes stool unexpectedly, please do not tell them off. With IVDD, some dogs lose part or all of their normal bladder or bowel control. Urine leakage can happen for different reasons, including neurological changes or an overfull bladder, so speak to your veterinary team if the pattern changes.
Your dog is not choosing this. They may no longer be able to control what their body is doing in the way they once could. They are relying on us to protect them, keep them comfortable and help this new routine feel normal.
Make the home easier for both of you: washable bedding, pee pads and easy-clean flooring can help, and temporarily removing rugs or carpets from the main care area may make accidents much easier to manage. Clean calmly, reset the space and move on.
Daily routine
Make the routine repeatable
Keep one simple log
Record bladder expression or urination, bowel movements, accidents, medication, drinking, appetite and any skin changes.
Make care easy to hand over
If someone else helps, give them the same routine, timing, movement restrictions and emergency contacts rather than relying on memory.
Train trusted backup help
If your dog has ongoing bladder or bowel needs, consider training a trusted caregiver before you urgently need one.
Urgent care
Contact a vet urgently if…
Unable to urinate
Repeated attempts with no urine, or only tiny drops, needs urgent veterinary assessment.
Pain or marked illness
Severe pain, vomiting, marked lethargy, collapse, a tense or swollen-looking abdomen, or blood alongside difficulty urinating should be treated as urgent.
Sudden neurological deterioration
New or worsening weakness, loss of movement or a sudden change in bladder or bowel control should be discussed with a veterinary professional promptly.
If you are unsure whether your dog is emptying their bladder, it is safer to ask for a veterinary recheck than to keep guessing at home.
What do you need next?
Use the detailed bladder guide for technique, the caregiver sheet for handovers, or return to the wider Recovery & Care hub.
Make daily care easier
Useful products should reduce mess and handling — not replace bladder care
Absorbent pads, waterproof liners and easy-clean layers can reduce unnecessary moving and make accidents easier to manage. They do not tell you whether the bladder is emptying properly.
Trust & safety
Bladder expression should be taught hands-on
Aubenord can explain what to monitor and how to organise the routine, but it cannot teach a first-time bladder-expression technique safely through text alone. Ask a vet or veterinary nurse to demonstrate the technique on your dog and check that you can do it safely.
Evidence base