[andrewc24301]

I have an older dog, 13 years of age, who has always had an occasional accident, but here latley, seems to be urinating uncontrolably. Last night for instance, she jumped up on the bed and urinated while she was laying on the bed, soaking through all blankets to the matress. That morning there was trails of urine all over the house, almost as though she was urinating while she was walking about. And then it got tracked all over the place causing us to have to mop the whole floor. Fortunatly the floors are hard wood parquet, however we simply can not have this.

I love the dog dearly, and have had her for 12 1/2 of her 13 years, and she has not been an outside dog for at least 8 years. It gets cold here and I know that putting her outside will cause her to suffer, however I tried putting her in a cage, but she got terribly nervous and actually damaged the cage trying to get out, I know she was miserable.

So I don't know what to do, I can't have a dog urinating all over the place, causing us to wash blankets and mop the floor daily, I can't put her in the training cage because she is miserable in that thing.

I'm afraid in this colder climate she will not survive the winter and I'd hate for her to die that way.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and speak with them about this, but I thought I would come on here and see if anyone else has had this problem. We live in Virginia, and its not supposed to get terribly cold this week, I think tonight it's going to get cold, but after that not so bad. But winter hasn't even started yet. Normally, the latter part of January and Febraury is the coldest months of the year.

By the way, she's been drinking a ton of water latley. Although she has been doing that for about a month now, this urinating thing just started getting real bad a few days ago.

[teachnk]

Could be a thyroid problem, a UTI or definitely could be Cushings - all can be helped with meds, but your pup really needs to see a vet and have tests run. My last dog had Cushings and had very similar symptoms (tons of water, tons of peeing!). Medications really helped him (and I) enjoy the last four years of his life. Try pee pads in the meantime for your floors and your sanity's sake. Good luck.

[starbuck8]

Your dog is getting old. Often they will have problems with incontinence, at that age. It's likely you would too at 84 yrs. Of age, which is what she is in dog yrs. I understand that you don't want the extra work and have to clean up after her all of the time, but she is looking for you to help her.

Please don't confine her to outside, or in a cage, as she likely feels like she is being punished, for something she can't control. I'm sure if she could talk, she would tell you that she doesn't mean to mess in your home.

She could also have a kidney infection, or a kidney disease. Drinking lots of water could also mean diabetes. There are several possibilities, and this could likely be helped with medication. However, the vet is going to need to run tests to determine the nature of the problem.

I do know one of our members has a dog approximately the same age as your girl, that is starting to have the same problem. She might have a few more suggestions for you when she has time to answer. I will write her a note.

You can also get doggie diapers, or Depends would also probably do the job, so she doesn't mess the whole house. It might prove to be quite difficult at this stage to train her to go on pee pads. I know it may look silly to have these on your dog, but they have the same problems humans have too, when they get to that age.

See what your vet says tomorrow morning, and take the necessary steps from there. Hopefully it's something that can be helped with medication.

[Alty]

Your dog is getting old, and losing bladder control is a part of that.

I have a 13 1/2 year old lab and he's starting to have the same problem. Doggy diapers don't work well, most dogs are too set in their ways to accept a diaper.

I tried putting her in a cage, but she got terribly nervous and actually damaged the cage trying to get out, I know she was miserable.

Not surprising that she wouldn't accept the cage, that's not something you introduce at the age of 12. Unless your dog has been crated from a young age you won't be able to start crating now without a lot of patience, and understanding. Can it be done? Possibly, but not overnight and not without a great deal of stress for both of you.

By the way, she's been drinking a ton of water latley

Time for a vet check, this could be something medical and medication might actually help stop this problem.

Please take your dog to a vet, get her checked, give detailed info on her changing behaviour and then wait and see. If it isn't medical then come back here and we'll all see if we can help find a solution that everyone can live with.

Good luck.

[andrewc24301]

Update:

And thanks for the replies.

Wendy (the dog) passed all the kidney infection and kidney test as well as the diabetes test with flying colors. They tested her urine and blood and everything came back normal. So, through the process of elimination, the doctor said that she may just be having a hard time holder her water, she used a word to describe the part in the body that has gotten weak due to old age.

She did say that it may be treatable, and gave Wendy some pills to take. I'm supposed to follow up in about a week to see how she is handling the medication. The vet said if these work, then she will be on the pills for the rest of her life.

Considering the dog hasb't been outside that much for the last eight years of her life, she hasn't probably grown a full winter coat in some time. Not like a dog who say has spent their entire life outside. Now during the summer we put her outside all day, but we still bring her in at night. We have a fenced in yard so the dogs enjoy running around on warmer days.

However I've been talking to my family about seeing to it that clean clothes are put away promptly so that Wendy doesn't drag them out to make a bed out of laundry and pee on them. Also advised to now allow dirty laundry to pile up. And we are discouraging her from laying on the beds and sofa. She does have one chair that she lays in, and always has, an older chair with a removable cushion that can be cleaned if need be.

Hopefully the meds will help the problem. Until they start to kick in we may make a little place for her upstairs somewhere and just lay down news papers or something just in the event.

If this were next year, this wouldn't be a big issue, because I have been working on finishing a room in my basement just for me, and she could stay down there, accidents wouldn't be as big a deal because the floor is concrete, and can just be sopped up with a mop. However right now is not a good idea for her to be in the basement. Not only because it's still unheated and gets down to around 40 degrees on cold nights, but also that I have building scraps and insulation laying around all over the place.

[starbuck8]

Andrew, I'm so glad that Wendy doesn't have any serious health problems. That's great news, and thanks for letting us know! We really do care about what happens to the pets that people ask questions about here! :)

Sounds like you do love her a great deal. I guess sometimes when they get older, it's inevitable that they will have some bladder problems and other issues, just like us. It's too bad that she may have to be on medication from now on, but if they help her, well then that is a bonus for both your family and Wendy! Hopefully you won't have to be cleaning floors and washing bedding everyday much longer.

Best of luck, and please keep us updated on how Wendy is doing! :)