old dog,incontinent,help!

[hellymelly]

My elderly fox-terrier (12 and a half) has erm..bladder issues.The vet isn't quite sure what is causing the problem,but he is also getting weakness in a back leg and generally shaky about his back end. He was on meds which worked well for a while but now they have stopped working and he leaks urine when he lies down to sleep,or when he comes to the door to greet us if we've been out.We are pulling up our sitting room carpet as it has been subject to wee too often,and he has fleece type bed liners that get washed every morning. He also has to be bathed much more often which triggers his itchy skin a bit but otherwise he smells horrible.Any tips or advice for dealing with this? He is a lovely dog and we want to keep him comfy in his old age while also having a reasonably hygenic house that doesn't smell of wee!( Are waterproof beds any good?)

Not sure what you are using to bath him, but we use johnsons baby shampoo on our dog as its meant to be gentle on his skin.

Could you use wipes instead of frequent bathing?

Has the vet tested for UTI as that can cause leaking. It could just be an old age thing, 12 1/2 is a ripe old age for a dog.

Get some air freshners, the sensor ones are good. Has anyone else commented on the house smelling? We sometimes convince ourselves that something stinks even though no-one else can smell it.

No other suggestions I'm afraid.

I noticed these dog shorts when looking for a coat for our dog - I've no idea if they work well.

Poor old boy, poor you!

We use a special dog shampoo from the vet as his skin can get very itchy (breed trait).Yes he's had frequent tests for UTIs etc.He doesn't have an infection,its a problem with the nerves to his bladder,but we aren't sure what is affecting the nerve supply. I can't use air fresheners at all,am allergic to them, so its washing everything constantly.It is quite a lot of hassle,we have to keep chairs on all the furniture in the room he likes to go in to stop him getting onto chairs etc But also I would like him to have a comfier bed as the fleece bedliners are quite thin,and yet a thick bed is harder to wash as it needs doing daily.

Speak to the vet about checking for a UTI and if that all checks out ok, then ask for alternative medications to try instead. Also if you are worried about him perhaps being a bit arthritic in his hips/back then worth asking for some anti-inflammatories for that, as sometimes the nerves can be affected by inflammation in the area and cause issues with continance. Is he neutered? If the vet has not already done so then worth getting his prostate checked too as probs with this can cause incontinance issues too.
If you are not happy with your vets response you are entitled to go elsewhere for a second opinion or to ask your vet to refer to a specialist.

My dog has a bed from Waggers which has a waterproof inner cover and a separate corduroy outer cover. Our elderly collie had bladder problems and I only ever had to wash the outer cover (machine washable). It is still lovely and thick after 6 years of constant use!

As for smell, are you able to burn essential oils? I use it to rid the house of "L'odeur du Collie" during wet weather

You can also add cod liver oil to his food. My uncle did that for his elderly dog and it really did make a difference.

My parents Akita is like this, also no infections/treatable illness just old age unfortunately, he is 13 so very old for such a large dog. They use dry shampoo on him, but my fox terrier x is allergic to it (sensitive skin must a breed trait/problem?)

He gets fish oils for his legs, which seem to help lots. My terrier gets it for his skin and his skin is loads better now, but I changed a few things at the same time aswel as the weather changing so what made the difference I don't know.

The shampoo I use on my Fox Terrier is frequent use and was prescribed by the vets it's called Malaseb and it really calms his skin when he is itching.

Oh thanks dooinmecleanin I'll ask my vet for the malaseb as its not the one we have.It is a Fox-terrier problem, (actually wire haired breeds in general seem more prone to itchy skin). I will give the fish oil a try and check with the vet about anti-inflams.He was on painkillers for a while but he isn't now,and although at the time he seemed jollier on them,it didn't affect the bladder problem noticably.I think my vet seems pretty thorough, but we did also check with his previous (very highly thought of) London vet just to make sure that everything had been covered,as he had known my dog since he was a puppy, and he felt that our current vet had done everything that he would have done, so I feel reassured by that.
He is neutered,yes.
I am going to look at the waggers beds,that is a great tip as I want him to be comfy and cosy and yet his bed needs washing after every night's sleep.He is in a plastic "basket" with a thick vet-bed type fleece liner but I think he needs a softer bed.We also bought him a Cath Kidston padded bed but that is not all that thick on the bottom and it takes ages to dry (no tumble drier).A washable cover thing sounds just what we need.Thanks for all the tips everyone

Woodrose what is your waggers bed like? I've been checking the site-is it basket shaped or more like a duvet?

Helly

My old jack russell bitch has the same issues, I've been using old pillows for her, still have to wash every day, but its much comfy for her.