geriatric dog - peeing in house :(

[bumpybecky]

Wiffly waffly rambling....

our lovely dog is 14, in heart failure, very geriatric, prone to forget what she's doing, fairly deaf too for good measure. With her heart problem she coughs / retches quite a bit, but seems to be happy most of the time she's awake (which isn't much).

But I think she's started peeing in the house :( there's a certain spot at the bottom of the top stairs (townhouse) that has had three wet patches in the last 24 hours. Not huge puddles, but patches of damp carpet. We've not seen her do it, but fairly sure it's her.

She's going out in the garden as normal to wee, but she often forgets what she's doing and comes in before she's had a wee then asks to go out again 10 mins later. With the wet patches appearing I'm wondering if she's started to forget about needing to be outside :(

As well as this she's off her food, down to small quantities and is getting rather thin :(

The vet gave her a month to go in June last year and she'd been doing so well. Not sure how much longer we can do this though :(

She may be incontinent, you should maybe take a 1st of the day urine sample to the vet to rule out urine infection, and seek advice re incontinence meds.
Also invest in some vet bed, this will lock the urine in as opposed to it seeping through normal bedding and is easily washed and dried.
Ask your vet re blood tests for the weight loss, otherwise it could be she is simply getting old and losing her bearing and muscle mass aswell as appetite, you have to figure her quality of life, you know her best.

What YourKiddingMe said.

I hate to say it, but if she were mine I'd be seriously thinking about letting her go. It doesn't sound as if she's having much fun.

I know letting go is really hard, and she may not be in actual pain, but I've always thought that with old dogs, it's better to give them peace BEFORE they start to really suffer. She's only going to deteriorate more :(

Poor old gal x

Thanks for listening :)

I thought she had a urine infection just before Christmas as there were spots of blood on the snow where she'd been weeing in the garden. She had some antibiotics and that's what look her appetite away, as soon as she went on the meds she went off her food, and she's not eating more since the course ended.

I'm thinking more about the wet patches and I'm not so sure it is wee. It doesn't smell like wee, but then she does go often so it must be dilute. If she were incontinent then I'd expect them in her bed or on the ground floor where she spends most of her time. The patches were on the middle floor, just outside the lounge. When she comes upstairs it makes her cough a lot more. I'm wondering if that's been making her sick and that's making the wet patches. They've only appeared in the evening, so I'm going to watch her very closely tonight and see, then decide about seeing the vet.

We had a lovely very slow walk this morning. She got nice and muddy and met her doggy friends :)

I think it is quite common for elderly female collies to "leak" - just like us really!Our elderly female collie was prescribed propalin to help stop the leakage. Perhaps you could ask your vet about it?

sorry - that should be elderly female "dogs". I'm afraid I am showing my canine bias!

I have the same with my old lady who is 16 now. She was diagnosed with heart failure about a year ago, same symptoms , coughing/retching. I think this is caused by fluid build up.

She takes Frusemide , and Lanoxin for her heart.Frusemide is a diuretic which to stop the coughing/retching as the excess fluid is expelled. Lanoxin is digitalis which slows the heart rate.

These pills are really cheap and cost me about £6.00 if that per month from my vet.
Sometimes she does do little clear vomits/ cough ups , only about a TBS at a time so it could be that which are the damp spots.

My dog is also the same with her food, so for her it is just a little at a time with lots of treats that she likes. They do tend to loose muscle mass so feel thin.

I wouldn't have her put down as she still likes going for walks and takes an interest in everything despite being deaf as a post and is not in pain. She loved the snow and was running about like a pup

It is a pretty much day to day . If she coughs a lot then I double up her Frusemide which is what my vet said to do. Haven't had to do that for some time although some days she is a bit more sleepy and unwell when I sometimes feel a bit sad and not sure what to do
Stairs are difficult but I have now learnt just to make her climb the stairs slowly.

She is also on incurin for old leaky ladies which is a bit like HRT. They tend to leak where they have been sleeping so just check your dog's bedding.
The HRT certainly has given her a certain allure down the park. She is quite popular now and not so grumpy with other dogs, sometimes she falls over in excitment with her new found popularity

I guess what I am trying to say is that there is still life in the old dogs and they can still enjoy life just at a slower pace and of course the snoring is quite comforting.

Well the wet patches we had upstairs last week turned out to be retching causing her to vomit / dribble (bleugh!). As she wasn't weeing inside we didn't go to the vet, thinking that the problem was just a worsening of the existing problem

But we've had big wet puddles downstairs since Saturday :( seems like she's lost bladder control a bit. It's odd though, only one puddle a day so far and she's fine overnight.

highriggs the vet has repeatedly said in Treacle's case there is no fluid build up, so diuretics won't help. She been looking sad when we go for walks since the end of last week - it's been wet and cold and I've felt she wasn't enjoying herself. I didn't take her out today as it was really wet and blowy :(

I'm going to try and be brave and go to the vets to get her checked over and see what the options are :(

Sorry to hear Bumpy that she is not so well.
Sometimes mine has days like that and some days she is a lot better.

I think as they get older they do feel the cold a bit more so hopefully it is just that and she would prefer to stay in the warm on a cold day. Tara pokes her nose outside and if it is raining goes back inside.

Bought mine a wee jacket but she has only worn it once as she hates it.

There is an elderly dog thread now so I am going to go over there .

Good luck with the vet and crossing my fingers for you and Treacle

I'm sorry to hear that she's finding it tougher these days. Just a thought if she's going in one patch - what are you cleaning it with? Many cleaning products contain ammonia which encourages the animal to Mark in the same place. Use biological washing powder to thoroughly remove the scent and that might help.

It's definitely hard when they leak, as it generates an awful lot more work. But If she has been vet checked and is generally happy in herself, you might all have longer together - I do hope so.

thanks [weak teary smile]

she's got a coat, she gets very excited when I get it out as she knows she's going out for a walk! after staying in on Monday she was leaping around like a mad thing yesterday when I got the coat out for about 2 mins anyway, then she had to stop and have a big cough :(

she's not weeing in one patch, it's like she's lost the ability to hang on, so she gets up to come and tell us she needs to go out but can't hold it so has little leaks wherever she is :)

last night she didn't last the night so hall carpet and kitchen floor were wet this morning :( also I've noticed that she knows when she's had an accident, she gives me these guilty looks and is a bit worried when I first find it. I've not told her off for it of course, but when she looks at me like that it is :(:(

I've made a appointment with the vet to discuss things tomorrow morning. Will have to try and develop a stiff upper lip before then as I cried on phone just making the appointment and can hardly see now just typing about it to you lot :(

You'll be fine Bumpy, it's not her time yet.
She is just leaking because of her age. Tara has been like that for two years and she is on incurin which is a bit like HRT for the older spayed ladies. Put a link here for you here
www.drugsfreelist.com/leaflet_drug/4363222/Incurin
It is pretty common for spayed bitches to leak in later life, my vet was not the least surprised to hear that Tara was leaking. They really hate it as well, know the guilty face but they have no control over it but they are not incontinent just a bit leaky. Think Tena Ladies

She still wants to go out and I think you would know yourself if she was to unwell to go on.

We had a good day as well, she was scampering about when my son came to visit and playing dog in the middle and only fell over twice in her giddieness. She's only had the cough twice today

I know it is not Tara's time yet for me to have her put to sleep.

My vet is so good, he is about 75 years old and was my Mum's vet and I am 52 years now . Gawd
But he is brilliant with her and just says hopefully she will die playing dog in the middle so we won't have to have the conversation.

He says just let her lead the way in what she wants to do.
Sorry,I know it is not all about me but just wanted you to know that you are not alone and I am thinking about you and Treacle as I know exactly how it feels every day. x

sorry but it is her time :(

I asked the vet about the meds for incontinence but she said they only worked when the cause was hormonal and all signs point to Treacle having cancer somewhere in her urinary system (symptoms of urinary infection that keep returning, even after multiple antibiotics) as well as in the lungs (coughing is much worse but no fluid on lungs, so it's not just her heart failure), probably in bone marrow too (she's developed anaemia since she saw the vet a month ago). She's also lost a lot of weight and today couldn't get as far as the crossing down the road (all of about 200m away). It took her 15 mins to walk to the vets, it normally takes less than 5 :(

So she's booked in for tomorrow night. She'll be spoiled rotten until then :(

I'm so sorry to hear this

Have a wonderful night and day together. She'll fall asleep knowing she's loved to bits. (((((hugs)))))

So very sorry Bump.
Crying just thinking about you and Treacle. You know you have done all you can.
xxx

Very hard, take care, she sounds like a very lucky dog though.

Becky, I am so, so sorry to hear this. Is the vet coming out to you?

Hope she goes peacefully and you will be able to remember the love and happy times. It's dreadful when we lose them.

The injection is very quick. If I had a choice, it's how I'd want to go.

Thinking of you today Becky. I hope you did not find the vets too distressing

Take things easy tonight and be kind to yourself. You did all you could and made the right decsion when the time came. Treacle could not have asked for a better owner.

Just saw this thread and just wanted to let you know I'll be thinking of you this evening.

We went through something very similar with our old girl two days before Christmas - such a difficult decision to make, but one that's made with so much love. As Dooin said, Treacle was a very lucky girl to have such a lovely owner.

thanks :)

We've had a quiet day today. Lots of cuddles and then chips for her tea. DH and dd1 went with her to the Vet. Treacle loved it there (they gave good treats every time she visited!) so was happy to go in. It was very quick.

We know it was the right decision but it doesn't make it any easier right now. I've added a photo of her to my profile, it was taken back in september looking old but happy :)

Becky, the pic is adorable -Treacle was a very beautiful old girl. I see on your profile that you like scrapbooking - maybe when you are ready, you will be able to make a special scrapbook of pics of her. This might be nice for you and for the kids in later years. You could include things like her papers, her vet card and all sorts of little things like that. She was very much loved

Becky she looks like such a beautiful happy old girl.

Glad she had a nice day and everything went ok.

You're absolutely right, just because you know its the right decision doesn't make it any easier.

Hope you are bearing up ok.

Sending you some very un mnetty ((hugs)).

sending a hug as well
She looks so lovely