Help my dogs becoming incontinent.

[LittleB]

I've got an old collie cross. She's 14, but is still pretty healthy ( a little arthritus, slight cataracts and a little deafness, otherwise fine)and will happily walk for a few miles. Over the last couple of weeks she's fouled several times in the house, pooing. A couple of times right in front of us in the lounge. Yesterday I'd let her out in the garden first thing for about 20mins, then she came back in and lay in her bed while I'm giving my dd her breakfast. My dog got up and went to the kitchen, saw the door was shut and came back in (she does this sometimes looking for food) then got into her bed and got in the position to poo, in her bed, I called her quickly and took her into the garden but she pooed on the way. She used to whine to go out, and she'd only just been out. (she did something similar earlier in the week) She'd also pooed on the floor during the night last night, again in the past when she's had a bad tummy she'd have whined or barked to be let out.
I'll take her to the vet to check its nothing medical(does anyone have experience of this as a medical condition), but I'm concerned its just old age, she does seem a little confused sometimes, perhaps a little senile. If its this do you think I should have her put to sleep? My dh is worried and says we can't have an incontinent dog as dd is only 17mths and its not hygenic. I know hes right, but I love my dog aswell as my dd. Anyone got any other ideas? I can't shut her in another room as she barks.

[CountessDracula]

You could get her a Dog Nappy

It could be some kind of neurological problem but I think is more likely that it is just age as you say.

How sad I hope you find a solution to it.

[LittleB]

Thanks, but don't think she'd wear a nappy, think she'd pull it off, also they seem to be designed for urine, which isn't the problem.
Any other suggestions or opinions?

[scotlou]

Sorry but I think she is senile. Our old rough collie starting doing this when he became very old. He would be outside for hours - then come in and poo! I really do not tghink he could help it and there was nothing we could do about it.
Restricting your dog to a small, easily cleaned area when you are out or at night will help. There is a good spray cleaner for carpets available from the large pet shops - we were advised to get the one for cats as it is stronger! If you can keep her to one area you can get special mats you would use for house training a puppy that would help to protect your carpet.
I know what you are going through - and with a well loved pet it is amazing what you will put up with. We kept going with our dog until he became so comatose we had no further option.

[LittleB]

I've booked her an appointment at the vets for wednesday. Think she probably is senile though. It is difficult as she gets upset when confined to an area, she's dug a huge hole in our carpet in the last month from being shut in the lounge (which she used to be fine with), the kitchen is too small to shut her in and the utility room is too cold. I think generally she's going down hill, hadn't put the digging in the carpet and fouling together until now, but perhaps she's upset as she's going senile. She also seems to forget that she's just been walked, asking for walks again when she's only just been out, and occaisinally follows the wrong people on walks or wanders off the wrong way.
I'd like people's opinions as to what you think we should do if it is just senility. I can keep cleaning the carpet, but dd is only 17mths and plays on the carpets alot and puts things into her mouth alot how hygenic is this, even if I'm cleaning it?
What would you do?
And for others its happened to, how quickly did your dogs go down hill?
Do I get her put to sleep because she's old and senile and incontinent or do I wait until she's actually ill, wouldn't want to wait until she was really ill and had lost all quality of life, she lives for her walks.
Its such a difficult thing, I want to do the best for her, but also for dd of course.
I'll see what the vet says but in the meantime it'd be useful to hear more experiences of this sort of thing from other people and what you'd do or did.

[Rachee]

i had the very same prob. dog would even poo in his sleep! i just kept him on dry food only ( to make his stools very solid, so no marks on the carpet) and just let him poo where he started, as shouting at mine made him rum around looking for door.... still pooing ! so i had to find all the poo. pet odour & stain removers are best as they don't leave patches on the carpet, as for hygiene, as long as your dog is vacinated and wormed, your kids are safe.

It is heart breaking, i survived 18 months with him in this state, until he started colapsing on his back end. The vet wouldn't put him down whe i first took him as he was took healthy, just old.

Good luck, what ever happens xXx

[scotlou]

With our dog I think it took around 6 months - but in the end the deterioratiuon was very rapid.
What I mean is, for a few months it was relatively easy to cope - just cleaning up after him, and leaving him outside in our (secure) garden during the day. He was happier outside. He then went downhill very quickly - and it was very obvious when the time came to say goodbye.
However, don't let anyone push you into doing anything you are not happy with. You are the only one that truly knows your pet - so can make your own mind up if she is happy or not. We had a lot of pressure from family to have our dog put to sleep much earlier than we did - but we knew he was still getting some quality of life. He still enjoyed occasional (very slow) walks etc. I really feel fo you!

[heifer]

We have the same problem now. One dog is 14 the other 12. The 14 yr old has just started pooing and weeing inside the house, without barking to go outside.

I even keep the back door open when I am in, but no guarentee he will not do it inside anymore..

Didn't think about being senile, but makes sense as he seems to forget he has been feed... and keeps barking..

It is hard. DH got very cross with him (the other seems to be copying now).. He said that we will have to put him down if it continues, but it just doesn't seem right.. My dad had dementia before he died, and we just got on with looking after him despite what we had to do... surely it should be the same for our dogs....

They both have cataracts and are quite deaf, and very slow but as far as we know that are not ill.. Although the older one is looking thin for him.

We are actually taking them to the vets for their boosters and check up on Friday, so I am sure we will get some advise then.

When is your dogs booster due, if not to long away why don't you speak to the vet, or even make a separate appointment to discuss....

[rustycreakingdoorbear]

I think I need new glasses - I just read this as 'Help my dogs become incontinent'...

[bottomburp]

Littleb,not sure whether your doggy is insured or how much money you have but it is well worth trying 2 medications from your vey first. Aktivait is a supplement that has clinical trials supporting its use in senility in dogs, all the symptoms you seem to have described.it takes a month to get on board and people are convinced when they withdraw the tablets and see a return to previous symptoms. there is also a drug that is cannot remember the name of as have babybrain which increases the flow of blood to the brain, your vet will know. the 2 together really do work very well and you may want to try them.other signs include sometimes not recognising owners immediately, barking etc.they tend to 'forget' the things you taught first if that makes sense ie toilet training etc

[ilovecaboose]

When animals (I think specifically cats and dogs though not sure) get older sometimes the muscles that stop them wetting get loose (so basically can't control it as well) and there is something they can do if it is this. I think it involves a band around the part where these muscles are to tighten them.

It would probably be worth a trip to the vet as there might be something that they can do.

[LittleB]

Saw the vet today and she thinks its definitely due to senile dementia, she's given us some medication to try, can't remember what its called. If that doesn't work we're going to try the activait. She said alot of the symptoms are also due to stress which is down to the dementia, so I hope these will help, and we're going to try some other training methods to to encourage her more to go outside etc. Thanks for all the advice. I hope it works for her as she's relatively fit otherwise.

[Milliways]

When our last dog became this way, we first had an additive to add to his food to give it more bulk - to help him realise more when needed to go. After that he had some black charcoal stuff that we sprinkled on food. It looked awful but he ate it! Then, ALL poo was bone dry & odourless so you could just pick it up in tissue & flush down the loo leaving NO stains on carpet.

I wouldn't have been able to cope without this stuff. Gave us almost another year with him.

[bottomburp]

LittleB, its called vivitonin the drug i was trying to remember and it increases blood flow to brain which elps a lot with dementia signs.you must also give this medication a month to work, if you can stretch to it then add in the aktivait now as they have a synergistic effect on each other.good luck with your lovely doggy

[cowmad]

sorry i know this is awfull but the dog has 2 go
you know your thinking this

[LittleB]

Thank you for all of your advice, except cowmad, why do you say she has to go?
We're trying the medication and we'll see if this helps. She hasn't pooed in the house since Monday so hopefully it may have been a phase? Although she definitely is senile as she has other assiciated problems.
Milliways, she has alot of dry food anyway, so it doesn't leave much of a mark.
Bottomburp, I've taken my vets advice at the moment, and she's on something different to what you've mentioned, but she did mention the actvait, so I'll ask about that and the other medication if this doesn't work.
She is vaccinated and wormed but if the problem got to severe I would worry about my daughter as dog faeces can also contain e-coli. The vet said that if it got really bad it would also be distressing for my dog and would show that she was suffereing from stress, so she's made our decision for us. Hopefully the medication and changing her routines a little will help her for a few more months. She's just so fit otherwise, she'll easily walk for several miles and still bounces around with her ball some evenings. I know it'll be difficult when the time comes, but she's not there yet.

[wannaBe1974]

my dog went through a stage of doing this a few weeks ago, but she generally just did it at night. So I moved her dinner time forward by two hours so as to give her plenty of time to go out before bed, I took her to the vet and she did blood tests for diabetes/liver/kidney function and these came back clear, and with changes in routine we haven't had any mishaps since, but she doesn't show any signs of scenility thankfully.

I think that when it comes to deciding when it's time to put a dog to rest, it should come down to quality of life. I think that if my dog were senile to the point of not being able to control when/where she went to the toilet, and it got to the point where all treatments were unsuccessful, I would probably make the decision to put her to sleep, especially once it got to the point of her going in her bed. I wouldn't want to live like that, and I wouldn't want my animals to live like it either. As owners I think we hold the ultimate decision, because our animals can't tell us that they don't want to live like it any longer, and while we give them the best life we can, IMO we should also allow them to die with dignity.

When the time comes for my eldest dog to die, it will break my heart. Even more so I think because she was my first guide dog and has changed my life in more ways than I can begin to mention. I think all too often that we keep our animals just that bit longer because we can't bear to let them go, but I hope that when her time comes, and it will come, maybe next year, maybe in three years who knows, but I hope then that I can make the decision that is best for her and not for me.

[LittleB]

Thanks wannabe, your message has really touched me and I agree with you entirely. Fortunately my dog now hasn't had an accident in the house for a week, so hopefully we've helped that with changes in routine. Although she still is senile, she gets confused, forgets she's just been fed, or just been walked. Hopefully the medication may help, although its too early to tell. I think she does still have quality of life, we had a four mile walk yesterday, and she was bouncing around with a ball in the evening, but I don't think she's got long left. I think we'll know when the time is right.