Bulldog Puppy Born With No Bowel Control and Leaking Urine: Can It Be Fixed?

It sounds like he’s already a little fighter, and you’ve done an amazing job getting him this far. A puppy who has no control over his bowels and leaks urine from the start may have a problem present from birth. In Bulldogs, malformations of the lower spine and tail, such as spina bifida, are a known cause, and a cleft lip is another sign that development didn’t go quite to plan. Urine leaking can also have its own causes, such as a misplaced ureter.

Ask your vet for a full neurologic exam and about a referral to a veterinary neurologist or specialty hospital. X-rays, MRI or CT can show what’s going on and what the outlook is. Nerve damage from birth often can’t be reversed, but some problems can be helped with surgery, and many dogs live happily with careful management.

Keep him clean and dry to protect his skin, take him out often, and watch for signs of bladder infection. See our guides to bowel incontinence in dogs and urinary incontinence in dogs.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.