I have a 14-1/2-year-old Sheltie, she was spayed when she was 6 months old, so never had puppies. She has had a bit of urinary incontinence for about a year, maybe 2, now. She gets a brown, kind of reddish, build up around her vulvar area and has a bit of mucus-like discharge on occasion. She doesn't have the discharge all the time, maybe three times a week. The vet looked at her and said he did not think she had a urinary tract infection, and did not seem concerned; however, this just doesn't seem normal. She has not lost her appetite, she doesn't seem lethargic or depressed. She has hip dysplasia so she isn't very active anyway. Any ideas from any experts out there what this could be? Thanks in advance.

If she is not showing any other 'symptoms' she should be okay.
Try switching her to a senior dog food if she isn't already eating that type. Also being older and having hip dysplasia giving her omega and hylaronic supplements may help her.
You can get hylaronic acid at Wal Mart in the vitamin section.

At her age you really don't want to do anything invasive. If she is in no pain leave her alone. I agree with nohelp4u but at her age I would give her rymadyl. I know of the side effects for long term use, but at her age it may give her some relief.

Thank you for your advice. I do have her on rimadyl, Hill's Sciene diet and Arthogen Plus which is glucosamine HCl and chondrotin. My vet also said at her age invasive procedures were not an option, and I do agree. I try to keep her comfy and happy, because she is my baby. I just wondered what could be causing that discoloration around the vulvar area and the discharge though. I keep her hair shaved there and clean her regularly, as when I had her on Proin for incontinence she became very anxious so I took her off it. Maybe it is just from the slight urine leak she has, which is really very minimal. Thanks again for your reassurance and advice.

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Originally Posted by XY2

Thank you for your advice. I do have her on rimadyl, Hill's Sciene diet and Arthogen Plus which is glucosamine HCl and chondrotin. My vet also said at her age invasive procedures were not an option, and I do agree. I try to keep her comfy and happy, because she is my baby. I just wondered what could be causing that discoloration around the vulvar area and the discharge though. I keep her hair shaved there and clean her regularly, as when I had her on Proin for incontinence she became very anxious so I took her off it. Maybe it is just from the slight urine leak she has, which is really very minimal. Thanks again for your reassurance and advice.

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Our poodle had the same problem when he got older. I was told by our vet that the discoloration and discharge were due to the incontinence, the fact that the urine was sitting on that area. Normally dogs clean themselves after urinating, but as they get older they start to neglect that area.

Cleaning her with a warm wet sponge after she pees may help.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I kind of thought it was from the incontinence, and I do keep her cleaned up and her hair all cut back. This seems to help, although it takes only a couple of days until it really builds up and can be hard to get off. I don't like to use soap because I am afraid it will get into the urethra and burn and hurt her, so I just use plain warm water on a soft cloth. Occasionally if I notice a rash starting, after cleaning I will use a bit of aloe from one of my plants, and that seems to sooth it and it heals right up. Thanks again for your help.

I must have missed this thread earlier.

I have a poodle with incontinence, hers is pretty bad, she will fall asleep and wake up with her back end soaking wet.

I just give her a rinse with water and occasionally a little baby shampoo.

I can't tell if she has discoloration because she is black but she does get a rash sometimes which is why the rinsing with water is important.

I have not tried Proin as my vet told me there can be a lot of side effects as you have experienced.

I tempted with the idea of doggy diapers but I know she wouldn't like them, I just have a blanket on my couch that gets changed if sahe has an accident and spot remover for my rug.

If there is no yukky colored discharge and there is no foul odor then I would not be too concerned, a lot of dogs get this red discoloration, especially around their eyes, anus and genitals.

EDIT - Every line starts with "I"... looks funny :)