My 11 year old dog unable to control his bowels (see inside)
My pekinese named Joey is 11 and he has had problems for his back legs for a while now. The vet told me it was something wrong with a disk in his back. He does not seem to be in any real pain. The vet said we can put him on medication for it, but it will be really hard on his body. So we have been holding off. Anyways, this is something that I need to have a talk with the vet about about on our next appointment.
I have two dogs, one is a year old. Every once in a while she will have an accident in the house. So anytime I would find a mess in the house, I would know it was her because my Joey would never do that. I was just laying in bed with the two dogs and woke up to Joey releasing his bowels on the bed. He was standing on the edge of the bed as if he wanted to jump down to do it, but he cant jump because of his legs.
I am stressed out, because I know he is getting older now and it would get harder for anyone to hold there bowels with age, so I cant give him trouble for this. But I don’t want him to think its okay all of a sudden to go all around the house. I walk him three times a day but will start walking him four.
Another thing, He is starting to lose it. He barks at the ceiling out of nowhere, and is becoming obsessed with smelling things. Also when were outside and he is releasing his bowels he starts running in the middle of it. I worry that these are all big signs that he is on his way out the door.
I was also curious to see at what point would one decide to put their dog down?
I know it sounds selfish, but I don’t think I could make that decision.
Any advice to give me jellies? Im a little down and out.
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6 Answers
I am sorry you have this problem. It is so difficult to see our dogs age. If he is really incontinent, you might consider keeping him in a room with an easy floor to clean most of the time. That will make it less frustrating. Also, is there any possibility of a doggie door in your house; although he may not have time to make it out. It does seem like he might be becoming demented from the other symptoms but perhaps there is something physiological going on.
We had to put my dog to sleep when he was 14 because he had congestive heart failure and a mass in his stomach. It was hard but there was no question it was the right thing to do. Another friend kept his dog alive until she died naturally. You are your vet will know when it is time; it is a very personal decision. I will say when I saw how peaceful the process was, I regretted that we don’t allow it for suffering humans. I personally don’t believe in letting animals suffer for our own comfort; on the other hand, I don’t believe in killing them for our convenience.
My two Golden Retreivers were on Rimadyl for a long time for the arthritis in the back legs. It didn’t cause any other problems. Ask you vet if that might help. The bowel and other things do seem to be signs of aging and/or a decline in his mental capacity. I liked janbb’s idea of his own easy care room.
Your doctor is probably talking about putting him on steroids for his disc pain, but that is not your only option. And steroids are only going to make his issue worse – they increase drinking and urinating.
A dog with back pain should not be allowed to attempt to jump on or off any piece of furniture.
You need to schedule an appointment with your vet right away. Ask questions and make sure that you fully understand his medical condition and any and all options for treatment. If you are not satisfied with your vet’s answers, seek out a second opinion or a referral to a specialist. There is a good chance of permanent paralysis if you continue to ignore his condition. If your vet has not made this clear to you, you need to find a new vet.
His inappropriate elimination and behavior changes could be dementia, or they could be associated with several medical conditions that affect older dogs. He needs a “senior wellness” exam (with bloodwork) to eliminate those possibilities.
In the meantime, I would recommend placing puppy pads somewhere in that house that he can easily access so if he is too painful or too confused to let you know that he needs to go out, he can use them with minimal mess for you to clean up.
Jessica, my 12 year old border collie just died of the same problem as your dog. It first began as not holding his bladder and accidentally peeing. He also had a bad vertabrae in his neck. This vertbrae-nerve controlled his breathing. Within a week he was laboring to breath so bad, I rushed him the the vet. I had no choice, but to put him to sleep. This still kills me every time I see his photo or thank about Mikey.
It sounds like you are heading in the same direction with your dog, as I did mine. Just be prepared.
We found a puppy at the animal shelter. She will never be Mikey, but it helps. jp
I’ve known several elderly humans who’ve had surgery to tighten their muscles that control bladder and bowel control, ask your vet if there is something similar for your dog? Is he in good health otherwise where you feel he will live several more years to swing the balance of accidents versus cost for surgery?
@syz I never let him jump. I am very careful about it. That is why I woke up so fast when I felt him getting up. I would just make him a bed on the floor but he likes sleeping beside me and he has since he was a puppy. The only rooms in my house that don’t have carpet is the bathroom. So that idea wouldn’t work. I need to talk to my Mom more about this when she gets back in to town. She was the one that took him to the vet for me when I was out of town.
@janbb As for a doggy door, it wouldn’t work. We live on the 17th floor of an apartment.
@Neizvestnaya We talked about surgery with the vet, but that costs a lot of money. He isn’t totally healthy. He has thyroid problems and has been on medication for a while now.
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