Old dog soiling in house

[peaceandquiet1]

I have an old dog, exact age unknown, but well into teens, who came from Dogs Trust 5 years ago. He is becoming frail and has recently started to poo in the house. I am at home during the day and he gets let out frequently but he will "go" in the house when the door is left open......I am sure it is senility and the vet says he is very arthritic. A trial of Metacalm helped his mobility a little but didn't have much effect on the soiling. I have three primary kids and a husband who is being very tolerant but can't really cope with it. We have talked about pts but the kids get so upset. Has anyone been in a similar situation?

 

[Dobiegirl]

I had an old dog like this a brown Dobe he was about eleven and had wobblers for years be was still very mobile and pain free.
When he started he just didnt realise he would do it and so was not allowed in the bedrooms or on the sofa.

I put him on Burns dog food which produces fewer poos and fed him once a day, I became an expert on how many poos he would produce a day and when and so avoided these little(big) accidents.

I had to have him put down about six months after due to mobility issues and the vet had said these accidents were caused by his wobblers.

I sympathise with your situation and it would be worth talking to your vet about it but Im sure you dont but dont scold him he dosnt know he is doing it.

 

[peaceandquiet1]

Thank you for your reply. He is very unpredictable, eg he "went " in the house this am after being let out at 6.45am, and coming back in, but before any breakfast. Then not again in the house today. Might try the diet you suggest. He produces dry poo, totally different to my other dogs who all eat the same thing. Fortunately that makes it fairly easy to clean up if he has an accident.

 

[NeverSayNever]

my lab is 15 and we have been going through this for about the last 18 months. He is still happy in himself though. We found daily metacam over a longer period helped as apparently being stiff and arthritic they cant always get in the position to defecate outdoors and they get 'desperate' in the house. Also vivitonin helped sharpen him up a bit, its good for helping with senility,it increases blood flow to the brain. Mine went on it after a stroke.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Just to add to the practical replies...my mum taught me from an early age that none of our dogs would live forever, and it was better for them to be free from pain and given a happy sleep than be old, tired and in pain...it is sad for us, but we know why we get sore if we fall over, or when we get old, dogs don't...I'm not a parent and it wasn't ever easy to see our old ones go, but I think my mum explained it really well and I was always able to understand, even as a child, when our oldies were given sleep x

 

[misterjinglejay]

My old bitch is similar. Her arthritis makes it painful for her to squat to poo, so she sort of stands and goes, and sometimes she 'pops one out' in the house without realising it. This happens usually if she just woken/got up.

Is there anything your vet can recommend?

 

[Maesfen]

Have to agree with CC I'm afraid; the other replies are practical and I hope something works for him but your children need to realise that to put an animal out of misery is the greatest gift you can give it, sad as it might be for them. Because there'll be tears from them is not a good enough reason to keep a dog going beyond his quality of life, I'm sorry.

 

[I_am_a_cucumber]

We are in a very similar situation with our old dog, who is also arthritic in one of her hips. (Had to stop the metacam unfortunately due to the effect on her kidneys. Going to talk to vet tomorrow about alternatives.)

Luckily we don't have any carpets and, as she is fed raw, poos are fairly dry/hard and not too smelly. Still not very pleasant but not too much of a problem at the moment.

The vet reckons the pooing/weeing in the house is largely due to lack of mobility because of arthritis, but she is still fairly mobile and when playing with a ball (or faced with another dog ) moves/looks almost like a young dog. I think with her part of it is that her body simply doesn't give her enough warning that she needs to go. Maybe she has also just got into the habit?

 

[Dormouse]

Just to add to the practical replies...my mum taught me from an early age that none of our dogs would live forever, and it was better for them to be free from pain and given a happy sleep than be old, tired and in pain...it is sad for us, but we know why we get sore if we fall over, or when we get old, dogs don't...I'm not a parent and it wasn't ever easy to see our old ones go, but I think my mum explained it really well and I was always able to understand, even as a child, when our oldies were given sleep x

Echo this CC, even though it makes me sad

 

[MurphysMinder]

Hopefully someone of the ideas suggested will help you, as they get older it is worthwhile going outside with them rather than just letting them out on their on, so you can remind them what they are there for. Buffy tends to leak at night, I realised when I let her out she was wandering vacantly round and although she started to wee she would forget what she was doing. I know go with her and make sure she empties her bladder properly, it hasn't cured the problem but has certainly helped.
Have to agree re explaining to children, it does help them understand if you explain that it is the best for the animal and you are pts because you don't want them to suffer etc. My children unfortunately soon learned about death as we had a few oldies, but although they grieve when we lose one they always realised why. I realised just recently it probably helped my daughter deal with the death of my Dad when she was only 3, she adored him and wept many tears but she did accept it. A friend was telling me recently that her late brother's little grand daughter, of the same age, couldn't understand that her grand dad had died and keeps asking when he will be back.

 

[peaceandquiet1]

Many thanks for the replies. I would like to explain though that my children are accustomed to death, and are not unduly squeamish about it. We have lost two horses and other smaller creatures such as hens. They just don't think the dog is suffering, only me because of the mess. He does sometimes run about outside and his overall quality of life is not too bad. His appetite is great and he sleeps well. I am going to take him back to the vet because he did mention a drug to increase blood flow to the brain, and maybe that and the metacalm would give him a few more months. Its very hard to judge but I don't think he is miserable just confused.