Is it the end of the line for my dog?

[Idunno8]

so our now senior dog is fecally incontinent…. There was a few infections which didnt help but we have sorted with the vet, but for the past year and a half I regularly come down the stairs to dog poo/diahreaa and wee. It doesn’t matter how much access she had to outside in both garden access and walks etc. We have infant children and its not just an issue of the smell & cleaning it up constantly, its also a hygiene issue with small children playing on the floor (she does it next to their play area.)
Im at my wits end, she was a rescue we’ve adopted 4 years ago and I think we’ve given her a great life thus far but I’m at breaking point with her now.
Would it be unreasonable to put her down, she is apart from a slight limp and being a bit slower, healthy and happy, but I can’t cope with the fecal incontinence and I think its too late to give her back to the rescuer, I mean who would take her on with this issue…?

How old is she?

It is not unreasonable to have her put down. She is not healthy and unlikely to improve.

How old is she and what does the vet say, specifically about the incontinence?

It entirely depends on whether the vet says. Is the incontinence due to a specific issue? Is the dog old for her breed? If you've not had the issue investigated, considering putting them down seem rather unreasonable. My last dog developed an allergy in later life to the dog food he had been eating for years and it wasn't until we switched to homemade food that he recovered and no longer had issues with diarrhoea, he had another two years of a happy and healthy life.

I know quite a few people who take on elderly pets if their owners no longer are willing or able to look after them, so there may be someone in your area.

we suspect she is around 11 which is a good age for her breed.
The vet said she had an infection before, which we sorted but its been on and off for a while, its obvious when she is ill, but often she’s not, its not always runny, so I don’t know if she just can’t/won’t hold it anymore.
I feel awful for considering euthanasia but I can’t see it improving.

She's only going to be getting worse from this point onwards. Pts now while she's got some quality of life left, don't wait until she's really suffering.

For the love of god, do not re-home her or hand her back to the rescue. She won't have a clue why that's been done to her.

Have you taken her to the vet, it may be something simple. If she's already over 12, the the adage better a bit early than a bit late if dog is suffering applies.

I think it’s time to let her go probably. She’s obviously uncomfortable and most trained dogs hate toileting inside the house.

Our ancient cat started peeing in the house in her latter years and I can’t deny that it made me a bit resentful. With hindsight we let it go on too long. You are also balancing the needs of children which simply has to be your priority.

Youve given her some beautiful years. No need to let her suffer.

Firstly you have my sympathy in this. We had to take the decision to put our old dog(15) to sleep last year. He was getting slow, fell down the stairs more than once and really started to look unhappy. He also had lumps appearing almost overnight.
I think sadly your dog is just getting old, maybe has canine dementia and it would be a kindness to let him go.
When we have pets we have to make these decisions, they can't tell us how they feel so you have to think for them.

Thanks everyone for your kind messages, we’ll take her to the vet to make sure there’s nothing we can do to help then, go from there. Really appreciate the feedback, feel less mean considering this option.

Please don’t feel mean for doing your best for your dog. Sending good wishes to you all.