My female GSD has had unsuccessful disk surgery and may have DM. She cannot walk without rear harness, and the incontinence is increasing. I would like to use diapers, particularly when there is a sitter and she is more apt to have accidents due to the stress of our absence. Can anyone tell me how to use a diaper that does not result in a uti from E. coli? It has already been a problem without a diaper.
Grateful for advice,
graciemom
Can diapers cause uti's from contamination?
I think you are saying you're concerned about solid waste in the diaper contaminating her urinary tract. There are several ideas, I'm not sure which ones will work best for you.
1) One is to feed her on a schedule, so she moves her bowels on a schedule. For example, if she's had breakfast and 30 minutes later had her morning BM, you may feel more secure putting her in a diaper knowing she is unlikely to be ready for another BM until after dinner.
2) She will be less likely to soil her diaper if you express the bowel first. Here is an article on bowel management. Many of us here do this with our paralyzed dogs. Someone recently who had a dog with partial feeling in the rear said the dog was unhappy about the procedure. I can see how that might be the case. When the dog is completely paralyzed, they don't feel it. You will have to see how your dog responds. If you can stimulate her to evacuate with an ice cube or the spraying method, for example, it may be less objectionable to her than pinching, inserting a q-tip, or other more invasive methods. You can control the surprises this way.
https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Bowel_management_in_incontinent_pets
3) Another idea is to ask the vet about putting her on preventive antibiotics.
4) Another idea is to be alert when she soils her diaper and change her right away. I don't know this for sure, but common sense is telling me that if you clean her and then express her bladder before rediapering her, it may help flush some of the bacteria out of the urethra if any entered.
5) Another idea is to feed her a diet that produces very well-formed, possibly somewhat dry, stools. I've had good luck with Science Diet w/d dry food. I'm not sure this will help a lot, but it may help a little. It won't smear all over her rear and a dry firm stool will be less likely to get massaged up into the urethra than a soft stool. I don't think this will eliminate contact with bacteria entirely.
6) This idea is a matter of personal preference. I have a male dog and he wears a male wrap to contain urine. I do not have him in a diaper, therefore if he has an accident (which is a daily occurrence, he goes in his sleep) I have to pick up after him and flush it. This is not a problem. If you feed the right diet, stools are firm and dry enough that they do not stick to your carpet or gum up the dog bed, and therefore you do not have to contain them in a diaper. So in the case of your female dog, if you choose to, you could trim or adjust her diaper just right (with a little experimenting) so it catches the urine but allows the solid waste to drop outside the diaper. If you are worried she may wet outside the diaper because you trimmed it around the tail and she may move around, you could stick a kotex or other pad into the diaper for added absorbency. This may be your best bet to avoid feces contaminating the sterile urinary tract.
7) There is another idea I have not tried it but it would probably work. You could use a diaper plus diaper cover system if you want. Fit the diaper so it catches the urine only. Fit the diaper cover a bit looser so it catches the feces. Eddie's Wheels carries a diaper cover with a drawstring/cordlock around the tail.
http://www.eddieswheels.com/html/accessories.html
http://www.samsdoghut.com/wrap_products.html
Hope something in this helps. I'd guess it won't be a case of finding one idea that totally solves it, but rather doing a combination of things that get you the results your looking for.
You can have a house you can live in and a happy dog!
Good luck!
1) One is to feed her on a schedule, so she moves her bowels on a schedule. For example, if she's had breakfast and 30 minutes later had her morning BM, you may feel more secure putting her in a diaper knowing she is unlikely to be ready for another BM until after dinner.
2) She will be less likely to soil her diaper if you express the bowel first. Here is an article on bowel management. Many of us here do this with our paralyzed dogs. Someone recently who had a dog with partial feeling in the rear said the dog was unhappy about the procedure. I can see how that might be the case. When the dog is completely paralyzed, they don't feel it. You will have to see how your dog responds. If you can stimulate her to evacuate with an ice cube or the spraying method, for example, it may be less objectionable to her than pinching, inserting a q-tip, or other more invasive methods. You can control the surprises this way.
https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Bowel_management_in_incontinent_pets
3) Another idea is to ask the vet about putting her on preventive antibiotics.
4) Another idea is to be alert when she soils her diaper and change her right away. I don't know this for sure, but common sense is telling me that if you clean her and then express her bladder before rediapering her, it may help flush some of the bacteria out of the urethra if any entered.
5) Another idea is to feed her a diet that produces very well-formed, possibly somewhat dry, stools. I've had good luck with Science Diet w/d dry food. I'm not sure this will help a lot, but it may help a little. It won't smear all over her rear and a dry firm stool will be less likely to get massaged up into the urethra than a soft stool. I don't think this will eliminate contact with bacteria entirely.
6) This idea is a matter of personal preference. I have a male dog and he wears a male wrap to contain urine. I do not have him in a diaper, therefore if he has an accident (which is a daily occurrence, he goes in his sleep) I have to pick up after him and flush it. This is not a problem. If you feed the right diet, stools are firm and dry enough that they do not stick to your carpet or gum up the dog bed, and therefore you do not have to contain them in a diaper. So in the case of your female dog, if you choose to, you could trim or adjust her diaper just right (with a little experimenting) so it catches the urine but allows the solid waste to drop outside the diaper. If you are worried she may wet outside the diaper because you trimmed it around the tail and she may move around, you could stick a kotex or other pad into the diaper for added absorbency. This may be your best bet to avoid feces contaminating the sterile urinary tract.
7) There is another idea I have not tried it but it would probably work. You could use a diaper plus diaper cover system if you want. Fit the diaper so it catches the urine only. Fit the diaper cover a bit looser so it catches the feces. Eddie's Wheels carries a diaper cover with a drawstring/cordlock around the tail.
http://www.eddieswheels.com/html/accessories.html
http://www.samsdoghut.com/wrap_products.html
Hope something in this helps. I'd guess it won't be a case of finding one idea that totally solves it, but rather doing a combination of things that get you the results your looking for.
You can have a house you can live in and a happy dog!
Good luck!
Many thanks!
You have given me several ideas to try. Thank you. Thank you. Some days you just need a little hope and a direction to run with it. You've given both.