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.)

Could you get an old playpen from a charity shop, put it on a lino/cushion floor offcut and then pads on top?

At the least this would solve nightime problems.

Euthanised! By god the poor dog is just weeing everywhere! Geeze…..

Tell your parents you can't do it any more and they'll have to make other arrangements. Deliver the dog to them today.

Get your house professionally steam cleaned ASAP.

Also, tell your parents the dog needs to be PTS. Keeping him when he's in that state is not doing him a favour.

And very senile

These responses make all the 'my dog is my baby' threads even more weird now. I think I'd rather wear a nappy than die if I was incontinent.

Would you? Because I’ve had recent experience of more thank one family members in this situation and I can certainly tell you it’s not a life they would have chosen.

Completely different situation as well when it’s an animal who can’t verbalise their needs/distress as well.

Pretty disgusting comment to be honest.

I feel sorry for you, and the poor doggy. He’s obviously very near the end of his life, and must feel very stressed wondering where your parents are.
So hard for you, too!

I don't think it's weird that people who say things like their dog is their baby, although it's something I've never said and never would, would also think it reasonable that a very old, very senile dog who is peeing all over the place is likely to need to be pts.

Keeping a dog alive when it is incontinent and senile isn't a kindness, and it's very often the case that the owners are doing so because they don't want to let the dog go for their own reasons.

As pp said, it's the last kindness we can do for them.

Putting a nappy on an old dog sounds like a solution but it doesn't always work out well and can come with its own problems

My mum's staffy lived to 19, and was still pretty active at 17, so I wouldn't give up on him! Male dog "wraps" are very easy to use for urine incontinence, you don't need a full dog nappy. They are fairly cheap to buy online, but it is worth trying a few different brands because they all have a slightly different shape.

Would you?

100% yes I bloody well would, especially if I couldn't give verbal consent to be euthanised. It's wee, I don't want to die because I've wet myself too much. I wouldn't even want to die if I poo myself in my old age.

Yes, I've experience of incontinent family members too. None of us have wondered if it's time to end their lives. None of them have asked us too either.

Pretty disgusting comment to be honest. uh huh 🙄

I'd get him a large second hand crate and keep him in there, but being allowed out regularly into the garden for exercise and for walks. As an old dog I'm guessing he's not too energetic. Tell your parents that's what happening and why, so they can find an alternative if they prefer.

You can't just take a 17 years old dog, shove him in a crate and then lock him up in it for most of the day.

Who the hell would do that?

A dog needs to be trained to use a crate, if you are going to use one, and then they should only be used for short periods of time.

Poor bloody thing wouldn't need to be pts if you treated it like that, it would probably just die of misery.

So you’d be perfectly happy to be incontinent, senile and removed from your family home and the only family you’ve ever known and be locked in a crate most of the day (as many of the must live at all costs brigade are suggesting). Oh and also speaking a different language to everyone else.

Yeah, I don’t think so.

This is so sad. He's not happy. He really should be PTS. 17 is very old. Please don't make him feel worse. Your parents need to let him go.

Please do not put the poor dog in a crate, he would hate it. He may be peeing because he is missing your parents and in a strange place. Maybe ask your parents to get him checked by the vet.It is their decision on whether he is pts.
I know how difficult it is to have a dog who is poorly. Mine has arthritis and the start of dementia. I have been sleeping downstairs with him for over a year and will do whatever is necessary to make him happy.

@YaWeeFurryBastard I agree with everything you have said.

Get your parents to buy you something like this and put him in it with blankets and puppies pads - it at least keeps him contained and easier to clean up. You can usually sell them on after for almost the same price if it’s looked after.

Have your parents taken veterinary advice on the senility and incontinence before moving him to a new home? Has the dog been properly assessed?

It might be that veterinary advice would be to pts rather than subject the dog to such repeated stress. then again it might be one of those chain vets out to milk clients out of as much money as possible

update - I told my DM about the situation with the dog admittedly I was a bit annoyed and did point out she hadn’t visited him once to ease the transition suggested going to the vet so he was less stressed and said was willing to try dog nappies but she just got angry.

so now she’s just taken the dog to her rented apartment for the weekend (which she isn’t allowed to do) I did point out this wasn’t a solution but she’s not talking to me or listening.

Oh dear, just read your update. Your mum is being ridiculous, but maybe she will reflect on that now you have talked to her. Hope the dog is happier.

I'd be inclined to let her get on with it in that case OP.

She's very ungrateful and she might very well find that the dog peeing all over the rented apartment is not going to go well.

If she brings the dog back, and I suspect she will, you need to lay down some rules about them helping with the dog instead of leaving you to deal with everything, looking at how to manage the situation and getting the dog to a vet to see if anything can be done to help his incontinence.

It's such a cliche but you are not responsible for your mum's reaction. Putting up with the situation for 2 months to avoid this fallout would be ludicrous and not fair on you, the baby or the dog.

At the very least, the dog needs a regular daily schedule of contact with your parents who are HIS humans. for a walk and a fuss and contact. But given his age, incontinence and apparent senility, I think it's a big ask to expect a 17 yo dog to cope with a six month change of scenery to a household focused on a baby, followed by another big move. I am looking at this from doggo's POV and from my current live experience of having to move my DMIL between care homes, which has her completely unable to understand where she is, and why for longer than her short term memory lasts (about four minutes is my guess). Obviously, your folk's decision to make.

It sounds like she was happy that he'd become your problem and is now miffed that he's hers again. Let her stew.