Express yourself...okay, expressing urine

Angus hasn't been peeing on his own too well. Today, he didn't go pee all day long--I was freaking out.
I watched some videos about expressing urine, read a bunch of stuff about it, and decided to give it a try. Figured it couldn't hurt.
Well, at first he just looked at me like "Why are you feeling me up??" and the neighbors probably think I'm crazy, but oh well.
I finally got the right spot. I pushed on it and he started peeing! I was sort of shocked and stopped, but he kept peeing on his own.

So I guess my question is, can just a gentle push on the bladder start them peeing? Or did I just get lucky? (or did HE get lucky *eye roll*)

Watching this thread for replies since I have a feeling I'll be in this situation in the near future.

Kim:
Hopefully, Hilary (pugpillow) will see this thread, but feel free to shoot her a PM or email. She's had to express several of her dogs and is an expert at it.

I've never had to do it--knock on wood.

I think you got it right first go, Kim! In the last years of LouLou's life I expressed her bladder 3 - 5 times a day and it became easy. I think the more sensation they lose in their back-end, it becomes easier for the reflexes to kick in. It's more like "milking a cow" than anything. I used to hold LouLou over the toilet and with both hands squeeze gently then push forward and away she went. When she was on her bean bed I always made sure she laid on a couple of folded towels with one of those waterproof disposable mats, just in case. That way if she had an accident the pee would be absorbed by everything and she wouldn't lay in a pool of pee.

It can take a bit of practice to get it right, even after an initial success. Ask your vet to show you the right way.

Dammit - I hate when I have a reply all typed out and then lose it!!

I talked to my vet at one point about expressing Kayla's bladder. He didn't show me how and said it's really something he'd rather I not do while she was still able to go on her own. He said if a dog is still able to go on his own, it can be stressful and uncomfortable for the dog to have its bladder expressed.

And yes I do think if you touch the right spot, it will make them pee. I cannot tell you how many times Kayla peed on me when she was sick. It's like I just happened to put pressure in just the right spot when I picked her up and she'd immediately start peeing.

I express Yoda's bladder 4-5 times per day but I honestly can't tell you when/how I learned. It was just one of those things that I tried pretty much like you did with Angus and when she peed I was like "hey - jackpot!" and I've been doing it ever since. She has enough nerve damage that she can't feel when she has to go until you put that pressure on her bladder.

I also had a post here but it disappeared into cyberspace. I expressed Phoebe for about a year before her death. I tried with Buffy this weekend when she was so weak and sick but she looked at me like I was nuts! She tottered over to the side to pee on her own and I'm sure was muttering to 'leave me alone, silly woman, I can still go on my own'. Phoebe was easy to do once I got the knack of it.

Thanks for the responses!! I will def. have the vet show me the right way to do it. You guys are a gold mine of information.

I am not having to express Milo's bladder but I am having to massage his back end to help him poop. He is only pooping once a day and needs the stimulation to help him go.

I'm not sure I can add to what others have said. I agree it is important not to do it if the dog can urinate by itself.

I had to do it with Mei-Ling (female) and with Gooey (male) for a year or two each near the end of their lives. It was trial and error, but if the dog can stand by itself, position it in front of you facing away from you. Place your hands on either side of their abdomen, just in front of their hind legs. With your fingers press until you can feel the round area that is the bladder. It helps to wait until this is full the first few times. When you feel it, press forward and down and the dog should start urinating. Make sure you are pressing from the top/outside of the bladder so that the urine is forced down and not up. It may take a bit of coercion the first few times as the dog may try to resist it - I do think they can be embarrassed. So I found it helpful to lift them up and praise and kiss them to reinforce that this was good behviour. When they got used to the routine, it was a snap. And remember to be firm but gentle.