Dog pissing and shitting over everything. AIBU to PTS?

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I've just caught my dog pissing all over a fairly new side table. He stood and did it right in front of me, despite being less than two feet from access to the garden. I chased him out into the garden and cleaned it up,only to find he'd crapped in the kitchen without me knowing about it. I've shut him in the (tiled) kitchen, where he's howling and barking to be let out. He's ruined an expensive carpet through this.

Not to drip feed, he's about 17, a small crossbred who has free access to the outside and is walked daily. The vet has checked him several times and can find no physical reason this. I've also cleaned the carpet/furniture with enzyme cleaner, bio soap power and have had it professionally cleaned. My house stinks. I have a niece who will soon be crawling and I can't have her over if she's going to be crawling in dog urine (or worse, poo.)

I'm honestly thinking about having him PTS. I've owned him since he was a tiny pup and it would probably break my heart to do it, but I can't take much more of this mess either. I'm sitting here trying to get some very important work done and all I can smell is piss. All I can hear is him howling because he's been shut in the one room with a floor he can't ruin.

AIBU?

Those people who are accusing Op of being cold for considering PTS a 'healthy' dog are missing the point. This is a very old and well looked after dog who has become doubly incontinent which is distressing for owner and dog. Tests may have pointed to no kidney, urinary issues so that leaves old age and dementia as the most likely culprits. I am surprised that the vets have not discussed PTS as an option with you Op. Uncontrollable incontinence is not quality of life for the poor dog. I am a completely soppy dog owner but I think it may be time.

Whilst he may physically be fine, dogs CAN suffer from dementia - it could be that this is what is affecting him. There are meds available to help with this (by increasing oxygen flow to the brain) but I am unsure of how effective they are.

Some great posts here. So sorry OP. Completely agree with whoever it was said that many people hold on to pets for too long.

My parents did it with a blind Yorkshire Terrier who got to 17 and spent 2 years asleep and they couldn't bear to part with. Poor doggy spent all his time asleep in their bedroom and was balding. He slept in their bedroom, shuffled off to the ensuite to go to the loo before shuffling back to their bedroom. I said that if they did not have him PTS then I would. He was my childhood pet too & it was awful.

My FIL is doing the same with his collie who is elderly, dosed up to the eyeballs on painkillers and clearly finds life difficult. The dog snaps at my young children if they walk past her. We have a Golden Retriever so it's not as though they aren't used to dogs.

FIL equates it with human euthanasia and hopes the dog will just go off and die in a corner when she's ready. "They like to live too" he says, without appreciating that no matter how much he anthropomorphises dogs are not human.

I know it's horrible but don't feel guilty. Poor dog won't like being incontinent.

So sorry to hear this OP. My aunt had a dog with similar problems (16 years old) and spent a couple of years cleaning up after her. My aunt was unhappy, the dog was unhappy and the house still smells in places a year after the dog died of natural causes. In my opinion it would have been much kinder to PTS sooner. Heartbreaking for you

Re-reading the OP, she doesn't say how often the dog is incontinent. We are all assuming that its every day, but actually we are jumping to conclusions.

I have a niggle in the back of my mind, from (a), the way the incidents are descri ed in.the op and (b), mention of the dog going inside on an occasion in the summer when the door was open.

Everyday uncontrollable incontinence is very different from semi - frequent accidents.

OP - what sort of frequency are we looking at here?

I have already said what I thought way back but I just saw that he is alone 8 hours a day. That is far too long. There is another thread currently about someone who wants to get a dog and leave it alone for 9 hours a day. Dog walker or not, that is far too long.

Sorry, haven't read all the comments. Sadly OP, at this age I think your boy might be getting senile. It happened with my childhood dog, the loss of toilet training was one of the first signs, he lost confidence around other dogs and people, wouldn't behave on the lead, sometimes he didn't seem to know who we were. Really ought to have PTS before it got as bad as it did, but I think my folks were worried how us kids would take it. Defo ask your vet about this possibility.

Sorry I haven't read the full thread, but how long has this been going on? Is he aware of needing to go (ie actually posturing to toilet) or is he actually incontinent (passing urine/ faeces without realising). The difference between the two makes a big difference to the cause and potential treatment.

Does he still use the dog door? Could he be finding it difficult to get through in his old age or perhaps not want to go out in the cold?

I feel for you OP, it's not nice, but euthanasia is an option if it is causing distress to all of you

To those questioning if he's really 17, I got him in 1999 for my 18th birthday. He was about 8 weeks old then.

He's NOT left alone for a full 8 hours at a time. It's usually an hour here and an hour there. 8 hours over 24 would be the max he'd be left for, and NEVER 8 HOURS AT ONCE.

I'd say it started about a year ago which is when I had the tests done. Vets can back with nothing and advised me to make sure he had access to the outside (doggy door.)

I don't think it's that he doesn't like the cold. He cocks his leg and will sometimes let you know he wants to go out, but not all of the time.

How frequently is he incontinent vs how often does he made it to the toilet?

Does he still use the dog door?

Doesn't necessarily help if he does. My 20 year old Westie would put her head and fore paws through the dog flap, think she was outside, and then pee/poo on the floor just inside the door. (And then usually trod in the resultant mess when she wriggled herself (backwards) back into the house.)

OP please read my previous posts and the link I posted - this sounds like classic senile cognitive dysfunction, it is medically treatable, and it's a real shame your vets don't seem to have the first clue