Radiographic and clinical features of pelvic bladder in the dog

Contrast radiography enabled identification of 17 dogs with pelvic location of the caudal portion of the urinary bladder. The caudal pole of each bladder consistently was more blunted than expected. The range of craniocaudal dimension within the pelvic canal was 6% to 26% of the distended bladder. Ten dogs were females with urinary incontinence. Seven dogs did not have incontinence; 4 were males and 3 were intact females. Six dogs had associated anatomic abnormalities: urachal diverticulum (3), bladder adhesions (1), rectovaginal fistula (1), and inverted vulva (1). Eleven dogs had urinary tract infection. In addition, urinary incontinence and pelvic bladder without urinary tract infection or other anatomic abnormalities was identified in 4 large-breed spayed females. These dogs responded poorly to diethylstilbestrol therapy. Three of the 4 subsequently were treated with ephedrine, and all had their incontinence effectively controlled by its continued use. Four of the 10 incontinent dogs in this series were Doberman Pinschers, suggesting breed predisposition. These data indicated an association between pelvic bladder and urinary incontinence in the spayed female dog, but also indicated that pelvic bladder can be found in both sexes and that it is associated with urologic abnormalities other than incontinence.