Two new products are now available for veterinarians working to control urinary incontinence in canines.

Incurin and Proin, manufactured by Intervet Inc. and Pegasus Laboratories, Inc., are now on the market after being approved for veterinary use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Incurin, available in 1 mg tablets, can be used to treat urinary incontinence in female dogs by increasing the resting muscle tone of the urethra using estriol, a natural estrogen.

Proin, available in 25, 50, and 75 mg tablets, also increases urethral tone using phenylpropanolamine.

"By prescribing FDA-approved Incurin and Proin, you provide your clients and their dogs with the only marketed estriol and phenylpropanolamine products shown to be safe and effective for controlling urinary incontinence in dogs," the FDA wrote to veterinarians. "Incurin and Proin are also the only marketed estriol and phenylpropanolamine products that are manufactured to meet FDA’s strict standards for quality, purity, and potency."

The FDA also warns pharmacists against compounding drugs for use.

"You may be asked to compound estriol or phenylpropanolamine formulations for specific patients that need strengths or dosage forms not offered by Incurin or Proin," the FDA wrote to pharmacists. "In these limited cases, estriol or phenylpropanolamine can be legally compounded if it is done by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian within the practice of veterinary medicine and you use FDA-approved Incurin or Proin as the source of the active pharmaceutical ingredient."

Compounded animal drugs are not currently FDA-approved, as the FDA has not evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the drug or the manufacturing process used to make it.