Promised to petsit now want the dog gone

[Janedoe95]

I’m pet sitting for my parents as they’re moving house but renting for 2 months before their new home is ready but the dog is about 17 years old and very senile and not house trained.

it’s been about a week he pee’s inside constantly even though he’s let out every 30mins/1hr

i have a young baby and although I wipe up I don’t have time to mop the entire downstairs everyday

at night we obviously can’t leave him outside and even though we wake up about 6am and my partner let’s him out at 11pm before bed there’s guaranteed to be wee downstairs every morning.

my house now stinks even after I’ve cleaned up I do understand it’s expensive for a kennel and I feel bad because he’s so old

(we’re also pet sitting a cat but she doesn’t cause any problems just eats her food sleeps and goes outside.)

This really is something your parents should be managing. They need to pay for a playpen And come over and clean it every day or dog nappies. They should be coming regularly anyway to reassure the dog.

Dog nappies are a good idea. But also think a vet visit is a must. There are drugs available to help with incontinence. Poor dog - and poor you.

Massively agree.

OMG - it would be cruel beyond words to put a 17 year old dog in kennels.

It's also quite cruel to put such an old dog into any new environment.

There is only one option here (even if your parents could accommodate him) - and that is pts.

I have to say this was my first thought 🙄(and I have dogs and love my dogs) but you agreed and it's not your dog, so my advice is get a baby gate (you will need one soon anyhow) and a couple of cheap machine washable rugs, (bill your parents)

17! Please don’t send him to a kennel…. I really wouldn’t usually suggest this, but it sounds like it’s time for him to be pts. All this change is going to be too much for him, poor boy :(

Poor love. He is the equivalent of a 100 year old human! And most 100 year old humans don't have brilliant bladder control either. Try the pads, crate, whatever, as long as this very elderly dog is comfortable - he really doesn't have long left.

I am currently looking after an elderly dog who can't hold his bladder overnight. You need a playpen with a waterproof washable bed in it. Big enough for him to go at one end if he needs to and sleep at the other end.

Your parents should also talk to the vet. Incurin can work well for helping incontinence in dogs.

Are your parents working? If not then they need to come round in the day to take care of him and any mess. That still leaves overnight but if you can confine him in any way that would help.

Could you fix up an outdoor dog house for him? He could still come inside but only when you're interacting with him.

This. We had to PTS a dog of this age because of senility incontinence. He's going to do this all over your parents new home. Poor dog

He's 17, senile, incontinent and, as far as he's concerned, has been abandoned by his owners. The poor old boy.

Use dog nappies they will save you alot of grief, I know someone who uses them along with thick sanitary towels in them and it works fine, the nappies don't need washed constantly every time it gets messed. she uses 2 nappies and switches them around morning and night to wash them and you can just change the pad through the day. Of course the dog still needs out but it saves any accidental leaks. 👍🏻

Staying with you is probably stressing him out.

How far away are you parents?

Are they visiting/walking him at all?

All of that said he probably won't cope with the house move.

We had some changes to the sitting room & our elderly dog just couldn't settle in there any more.

In the door-straight up to daughter's room!

Yup!

Really sad what some owners expect their pets to put up with.

It's very difficult when they're that old, take them out of their familiar surroundings and you really see how difficult it is for them. I'm sorry you're having to go through this, I'd also suggest confining him to somewhere with a hard floor as a damage limitation exercise. Poor old dog, he's not doing it to piss you off although I guess it probably feels like that sometimes.

Agree with the suggestions for nappies/pads. At that age he's either incontinent or a bit senile or both. Poor lad, he won't be around for long. We occasionally look after a 15 yr old with a bit of dementia. She'll sometimes go out, come in, then need to go straight out again otherwise it'll be on the floor. Get the nappies and give him a fuss.

So weird that your DPs didn't factor this into their logistics. Dog nappies are deffo the answer. Washable ones work really well. Your DPs need to stump up for them obvs.

We had a playpen when Ddog was a puppy. It wasn’t this one, but it was similar:

UNDERDOG 8 Panel Playpen Suitable for Dogs/Puppies/Cats & Rabbits foldable ideal for Indoor/Outdoor use puppy play pen (61cm, Black) amzn.eu/d/10TCoSQ

Forgot to say, we used puppy pads to cover the floor in the playpen.

If you do go for dog nappies only do it if you know you can also manage the skin care that comes with that.

If you don't change them regularly and clean off the fur or skin in that area, urine sits in contact with the skin causing burns which is very very sore.

Anybody using nappies for an incontinent dog should be having the area shaved regularly to remove fur, changing nappies or pads every hour, washing the skin with warm water, and using a barrier cream. Any rashes should be treated with a spray like leucillin at every change.

If you cannot commit to that sort of care which would be very understandable in your situation, you are best buying a pen to confine the dog to, laying down rubber sheets or lino offcuts to protect your floor, then using puppy pads on top to absorb urine.

Make sure her bed is washable and preferably vet bed as it doesn't hold urine against the skin if the dog soils the bed.

The washable dog nappies are great. For a male dog go for a belly band type, with a disposable baby nappy inside (we used size one human nappies as they were small but absorbed lots of pee). It was a life saver.

I’m going to be blunt here but your parents need to be responsible owners and have the poor dog put down. The dog is clearly incredibly stressed with a very poor quality of life, that’s unlikely to improve when your parents move to their new home as it will be a completely new environment.

I have an older dog myself and as tough as it is, I know she would absolutely hate to be surrounded by her own urine in a mess all the time, because there’s no way anyone can be constantly keeping an incontinent dog clean overnight. In all good conscience I could not put her through that, so if that ever happens, I will be having her put to sleep.

I think you need to have strong words with your parents and advise them that you can no longer take care of the dog and it needs to be put to sleep.

I love my pets to bits and understand it’s very hard to say goodbye, but for me part of being a responsible pet owner is putting the animal’s welfare above your own and prioritising them not suffering over your own need to have them around longer. It’s incredibly selfish to keep a suffering animal alive to put off having to grieve for them, which unfortunately I have seen owners do many times.

Do you honestly think that is any kind of quality of life for a dog?

Don't put the dog in fucking nappies ffs. He's already struggling enough. It's just cruel. Speak to your parents about having the dog put to sleep.