Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They build it up and will poop out a bit at a time in their sleep. It probably comes from years of being really good at holding it. He needs to go out on a regular basis at least every 4 hrs. Hard to do when you work, I know.
It was a couple of years ago. We had him PTS at 17 years old. The degenerative myelopathy spread to his brainstem one night. It was very sudden, but we were expecting it. We had 6 great extra years with him. He was a fantastic yellow lab.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunterseat
They build it up and will poop out a bit at a time in their sleep. It probably comes from years of being really good at holding it. He needs to go out on a regular basis at least every 4 hrs. Hard to do when you work, I know.
That's exactly what causes the sleep pooping. Their muscles relax and it slides out. That's why it's important to let them stay outside long enough to eliminate. For my dog, he didn't need to pass a bowel movement more often during the day. We just had to make sure he actually eliminated went twice a day (morning and evening) instead of thinking he didn't have to go when he didn't go. He just needed more time to walk around than he did when he was younger. Heck, when he was younger, he went instantaneously on command.
Okay, here's something I came across on a website devoted to handicapped dogs. For dogs with degenerative myelopathy who sometimes get constipated, or when you don't know when a dog will poop but you know he needs to, an ice cube held against the anus will cause a dog to poop pretty much instantly (provided of course he has digested his food.)
I have been scouring the internet looking for answers regarding my very old dog's urinary and fecal incontinence. My beloved pug is 15 years old. For the past 2 years I have been dealing day in and day out with his pee and poop. He had a stroke a few years ago and cannot walk very well. I have to pick him up everytime he goes outside and he cannot stand very well so he usually flops over on the grass. OK, here is my list. He totally stinks all the time. I bathe him but the cleanliness it short lived. Within 60 minutes of the bath, he has urinated all over himself while lying on his mat. When I pick him up, he is usually dripping wet with urine. I always have to wash my hands after I take him out and after I bring him back in the house. He wants to roam the house by hobbling around but everywhere he lays ends up stinking of urine and needs to be cleaned. At night, he sleeps in the laundry room and everyday when I come downstairs, the first thing I smell is the ultra strong stench of urine. I mop 2-6x a day and do laundry to clean all his mats, blankets and towels multiple times each day. He has a terribel eye infection which has to be treated every single day with a qtip and special rx ointment prescribed by the vetrinary opthamologist. He is totally senile, just barks for hours on end at absolutely nothing. He is 100% blind and deaf. He doesn't know who I am or who anyone is. The one quality of life he has is that he enjoys treats and food. His health is not bad. My husband says he could live in this state for years and years to come. I just cannot bring myself to do anything about it. I am not going to euthenize my dog because of these issues. He's been such a great dog over the years. After the stroke, everything got bad and it's gotten worse. Now, he cannot conteol his bowel movements. He releases while laying down mostly but can also do it while hobbling around. Sometimes when I'm picking him up to take him outside, he poops and pees while in the air! I'm frustrated and do not know what to do. My husband thinks "it's time". I just cannot bring myself to feel as definitive about it. I am going to make an appt with our vet for next week and see what an unbiased opinion looks like. Does anyone have any thoughts?
I have been scouring the internet looking for answers regarding my very old dog's urinary and fecal incontinence. My beloved pug is 15 years old. For the past 2 years I have been dealing day in and day out with his pee and poop. He had a stroke a few years ago and cannot walk very well. I have to pick him up everytime he goes outside and he cannot stand very well so he usually flops over on the grass. OK, here is my list. He totally stinks all the time. I bathe him but the cleanliness it short lived. Within 60 minutes of the bath, he has urinated all over himself while lying on his mat. When I pick him up, he is usually dripping wet with urine. I always have to wash my hands after I take him out and after I bring him back in the house. He wants to roam the house by hobbling around but everywhere he lays ends up stinking of urine and needs to be cleaned. At night, he sleeps in the laundry room and everyday when I come downstairs, the first thing I smell is the ultra strong stench of urine. I mop 2-6x a day and do laundry to clean all his mats, blankets and towels multiple times each day. He has a terribel eye infection which has to be treated every single day with a qtip and special rx ointment prescribed by the vetrinary opthamologist. He is totally senile, just barks for hours on end at absolutely nothing. He is 100% blind and deaf. He doesn't know who I am or who anyone is. The one quality of life he has is that he enjoys treats and food. His health is not bad. My husband says he could live in this state for years and years to come. I just cannot bring myself to do anything about it. I am not going to euthenize my dog because of these issues. He's been such a great dog over the years. After the stroke, everything got bad and it's gotten worse. Now, he cannot conteol his bowel movements. He releases while laying down mostly but can also do it while hobbling around. Sometimes when I'm picking him up to take him outside, he poops and pees while in the air! I'm frustrated and do not know what to do. My husband thinks "it's time". I just cannot bring myself to feel as definitive about it. I am going to make an appt with our vet for next week and see what an unbiased opinion looks like. Does anyone have any thoughts?
I had a Peke like that. But he couldn't walk and I had to carry him outside to do his thing. I kept him closely clipped to minimize urine odor. He was also deaf and blind but great appetite. I finally had to put him to sleep. Can you put a diaper on your dog?
Also had an old female with same issues, but she could still hobble around. She passed in her sleep, but I feel we let her suffer too long. She had thick long fur and I also kept it clipped short.
Thanks to all of you for this blog. I am having trouble with my dog lately. Pooping, peeing in the house after he's been out. Poop on his bed in the morning if I don't get him out early enough. I he does a bit of pacing sometimes and is somewhat clingy at points . I was reading someone's post about Anapil. I guess I need to check with my vet. We were there in the spring and this wasn't happening then. He does have problems with his back legs but still goes on short walks and otherwise seems fine.
My 14.5 Golden Retriever was healthy up until Xmas , 2014. She started having trouble getting up, sitting down. She had arching in her back and what looked like contractions. She had symptoms of a UTI, but the UA was negative except for a hgher white blood cell count. The vet said a $1000 ultrasound of abdomen was necessary, but it was negative for tumors. She had oval clear lesions on her vulva. Antibiotics didn't seem to help. We tried Medicam and it seemed to help immediately with her overall happiness. Hannah has always been a very clean, self-groomed doggie; kind of amazing when I think back on it. But her constant licking is now causing even more problems. After only 5 days in the Medicam, she had another consult with the vet and a neuro exam showing she had something neurological going on in her spinal cord, either a herniated disk or a tumor. The vet decided to take her off the Medicam (even tho it was helping) and put her on Prednisone, Gabepentin and Thymidol (mild opiate). On this drug protocol she has been getting worse day by day for 7 days. She can no longer pee or poo standing by herself and has to be lifted to go outside 3 x a night. She has a mucous discharge when she passes gas and now sores on her leg and abdomen ...probably from licking to try to keep herself clean. My daughter has been doing all the care as she has my dog in Santa Barbara while I'm in Puerto Vallarta fr the winter. My daughter thinks Hannah is in misery, not from pain, but because she can no longer go on walks and because she can't hold her pee/poo and keep herself clean. She has become pretty deaf, but still has decent vision and cognitive ability.
I'm trying to get her back on the Medicam to see if it will be a magic pill. The drugs work in different ways, and tho I'm sure there is spinal degeneration...I have had a ruptured disk for 18 months and I think it's possible that Hannah's inability to walk is from degenerating osteoarthristis more than the neurological issue that might be more responsible for the lack of bowel control.
I'm trying to get a flight home in the next week or so, so that I can spend time with her there and maybe see if I can bring her here where vets, pills, surgery, care is much less expensive and where I can give her some 24/7 care in her last days because I'm retired. So, I read this post with interest to see how many of you are handling older dog incontinence. When I get back to see my dog, I want to try some of these techniques. Wondering if doggie diapers would help?
Insofar as dogs with weakened back legs, limping and loss of muscle, I'd like to recommend ...and only under vet care...several drugs that might help. One is the NSAID Medicam which of course can have side effects but also can be a wonder drug. The liquid Medicam is quite pricey but I've found a generic tablet form (meloxicam) that would only work for bigger dogs because dosage is by weight and the tablets are human dosage. (So my 60 lb dog could take a half a tab a day). There is also a drug that isn't an NSAID that works in a different way, called Adequan...another drug that can have night/day results with dogs that are having trouble walking/getting up/back leg weakness. Because I haven't seen any good result with the Prednisone or gabepentin, I can't personally recommend them..but I know the gabepentin is supposed to help with nerve pain (as opposed to arthritic pain).
Helping our pets cross the Rainbow Bridge is a difficult thing. Healing thoughts to all who have had to make that choice!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
