How can I express my dogs bladder??
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If your pet has a medical emergency, please contact a veterinarian immediately.
How can I express my dogs bladder??
Hello, My best buddy an 11 year old Border Collie/ Aussie Shep has recently went from super active guy to knuckling with first his right foot and now both in a matter of days. He is in a ton of pain, but up until this morning with a lot of effort he could get up and pee by himself. However, last night at 4am was the last time he was able to get up on his own and eliminated his bladder. I have had to use the ice cube contact method to get him to eliminate his bowels which is working for us right now. But I can't get him the express his bladder manually. He has feeling there and just tenses up every time we try. I am very concerned about a bladder infection and of course number one how uncomfortable it must be. I don't know what to do. He is on prednisone, gabapentine, and now today he had to add tramadol to his list due to the amount of pain he is in. What can we do?
Re: How can I express my dogs bladder??
You have a couple of options. One is to ask the doctor for medication to relax his bladder.
Another is to try some different techniques. There are many techniques described in the following article, and if you scroll to the end there are videos. One trick to remember with male dogs is to hold the pressure for a good 10 seconds (which is a very long time) before moving your hands and trying a different place. If he is resisting, you may have better results using the closed fists method, it gives better pressure for people with weak hands or a strong dog. You will see both a description of it in the article, and a video at the end.
http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... =5&t=16027
Another idea is to try expressing him outdoors where he would normally potty (if he is small enough for you to move him there without aggravating his condition).
Another is to try some different techniques. There are many techniques described in the following article, and if you scroll to the end there are videos. One trick to remember with male dogs is to hold the pressure for a good 10 seconds (which is a very long time) before moving your hands and trying a different place. If he is resisting, you may have better results using the closed fists method, it gives better pressure for people with weak hands or a strong dog. You will see both a description of it in the article, and a video at the end.
http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... =5&t=16027
Another idea is to try expressing him outdoors where he would normally potty (if he is small enough for you to move him there without aggravating his condition).
Re: How can I express my dogs bladder??
Thank you so much!!!!! Success!!!! Outdoors and hold pressure for 10 plus second. We are crossing our fingered to get into to see the nuerologist tommorow and get some imaging so we can have a better idea of what is going on and how to proceed. Thanks a million for the support. This website is a really blessing!!!! 
Re: How can I express my dogs bladder??
Good news! 
Re: How can I express my dogs bladder??
Expressing is truly an acquired skill, and both the human and the critter have to learn what to do. It can take a little while to work it all out, but that liquid gold is something else! 