Do they understand...?

This may seem a bit odd but...

Recently, Takara seems to have realised she can't hold her wee...

If we go for a walk, she'll act totally normal throughout the walk, peeing where she would normally pee etc but on the way home, she has started to squeeze as much wee out as possible - even when she wouldn't normally!

Takara has never wanted to wee in the street, only at the park, up a quiet ginnel or on leaves! I'm not sure whether it's just that there's a new bitch around that's been marking the street, in which case Takara will, and always has, strained the last little bit of pee to mark over it or whether she knows that she's now going home and has to empty her bladder...

She's never been one for going to the toilet much, she'd never pee on the garden so only really went 2 to 3 times a day on walks but now, if she doesn't want to settle down and relax, and I open the door, she'll go out and pee in the garden so she can come in and relax. Do you think it's possible she knows that she can't relax until her bladder's empty otherwise she'll have an accident?

She's just been scratching the kitchen door (they were put to bed around 9:30) and when I went in she went out to the garden, I think she had a wee, then came in and got straight back on her bed. There wa no accident on the bed, so perhaps she's learning to recognise when she's about to be caught short?

I don't know - it just seems like she knows that she can't relax until her bladder's empty otherwise she may end up wet! She's still having accidents in her bed etc when she settles down but she seems to be more careful than ever before...

Am I being mad? Or do you think there's a possibility she understands to a degree?

I might be way of the mark but with cystitis in humans you get an overwhelming urge to pee!!

She's already been treated for cystitis and unfortunately it didn't work.

The lab report came back saying there was no sign of infection.

I think it's just regular incontinence now but we need to get a load of tests out of the way just to be sure, then if they all come back negative - I can try her on propalin.

But upto now she's not seemed to realise at all that she's doing it until she's got wet. Now she seems to understand that if she relaxes and she might need a little wee, it'll come out!

Has Tarara been spayed? If so the vet can give you female hormone tablets that will solve the problem in a couple of days. Let me know and I will PM you the name of the pills although the vet will know as this is a common problem in the older spayed bitch.