So This Is A Little Embarassing...

**Before I begin this post I would like to say THANK YOU for all of your sweet words and encouragement concerning Rita. She was such a good dog and I'm so glad that Sage was able to spend her first two years of life with her; learning from her along the way.

What a privilege it was for me to have my Dad be a guest blogger! His words of wisdom have been speaking truth in my life ever since I was old enough (and smart enough) to listen. Thanks Dad, you're kind of my hero...

Ok, enough of that stuff...

So, this is a very sensitive topic and, as you can see from the photo above, Sage is a little embarrassed to talk about it. But when I explained to her that her "problem" might help someone else, she told me that it was ok for me to mention it to you guys. So here it goes...I'm just going to say it:

                                                   Sage has been wetting her bed at night.

Yes, it's true. Sage started wetting the bed around December or January when I moved back home after I graduated from A&M (although I do remember a time or two when she had an accident at A&M). At first there were only a few isolated accidents, then right before the wedding it was happening every night and sometime multiple times during the day: all when she was asleep. I took her to the vet and they tried antibiotics to rule out a bladder or urinary tract infection...but unfortunately that didn't solve the problem. After that, those vets started throwing around the word "incontinent."

Hormone-responsive incontinence most commonly occurs in female dogs that are spayed because the hormone estrogen is in charge of the sphincter that controls the passing of urine. Thus, when you get your dog spayed, the production of estrogen decreases. Over time, this causes the sphincter to become weaker. Apparently, this problem has a high occurrence in Labrador retrievers...and why not? Sage seems to be a magnet for problems that occur often in labs!

Don't worry! There is a good ending to this story. It's called Proin 75.

One-half of a chewable tablet twice daily by mouth fixes the problem immediately!

No more plastic sheets, extra towels for absorption, or baby gate to keep her confined...she's free!

Sage has been on her medicine for almost a week and we've had no accidents (knock on wood). We've also been working extensively to restore her self-esteem. But all in all, she's doing really well.

We'll keep you posted!