Old Dog, No Tricks

May 25, 2009 10:01 AM

Is there any way to re-housebreak an older dog who is starting to slip?

Our 13-year old beagle/schnauzer mix (cuter than it sounds) has recently started to urinate and/or defecate in our hallway late at night. She has no problems during the day, and can control her bladder for long periods of time during the day. But we can take her out late, midnight or later, and by 5:30, she has gone in the hallway.

There seems to be several relevant factors. First, she is getting old. She is getting cataracts, going deaf, and I think her sense of smell has diminished. She also occasionally has occasional mild seizures -- she will have tremors for a minute or so. They don't appear to hurt, but she is uncomfortable with them.

Second, my wife was laid-up for a couple of months at the beginning of the year with a severely broken leg. She could not get out of bed and so our dog's schedule was disrupted and she was not able to go out during the day. There were accidents several times when I was unable to get home.

Finally, shortly after my wife was back on her feet, our dog developed a bladder infection. It cleared up with antibiotics, but while she had it, she had more issues with incontinence.

We have no idea what to do now. We clean and treat with Nature's Miracle, and have tried taking her out a late as possible. We are now talking about kenneling her at night, but it seems like it would be confusing and punitive as she has never been in one in her life. Any thoughts?

posted by rtimmel to pets & animals (8 comments total)

It is possible to re-housebreak. I would worry more about what is causing it, though. I have a 13-year old pug, and she has incontinence/poo issues. I keep her crated when I am not there. This has helped quite a bit. I think the kennel is a great idea, especially since it is very possible that your dog is getting confused and having 'senior moments' at night. Make the kennel a positive experience with treats. My pugs hated the kennels at first, and now they are gung-ho about them because kennel = food. Hope this helps.
posted by bolognius maximus at 10:13 AM on May 25, 2009 [1 favorite]

Re-housebreaking is probably not going to be a good idea. I put my dog down last year and he was going EVERYWHERE. I just patiently cleaned up after him.

Blindness and deafness notwithstanding, because there are plenty of blind and/or deaf dogs, you should probably see if you can train your dog to find somewhere to do its business inside - a doggy litter box, perhaps?

Also, this may be a good time to evaluate your dog's quality of life and at what point your dog needs to be put down, because your dog's obviously getting old and beginning to go kaput. You are the only individual who can make that decision.
posted by kldickson at 10:13 AM on May 25, 2009

We've got a 16-year old beagle/whoknows mix who does the same thing, has for a few months. He's also got the seizures, some deafness (does your dog startle easily nowadays?), and has Cushing's. You may want to ask your vet about the seizures, IIRC that is the main symptom of the Cushing's.

He will pee or poo at night, generally in the kitchen - peeing almost every night, pooing a couple of times a week. At times he has peed elsewhere (upstairs), including some times not in the night and in some cases right in front of one of us. According to the vet, quite a bit of the reason is not housebreaking-related, per se, but rather dementia - he's unclear on where he is and what the appropriate behaviour is. By that logic, there is very little that we can do - some major medicine and procedures, but really it's at the point where it's more humane to put him down than painfully extend his life.

So I'm not sure there is a way to housebreak. I doubt the late walks will help, kennelling would probably work but as you said it's not the most pleasant option. Can you cage her in the kitchen or somewhere where her accidents won't be too hard to clean up?
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:17 AM on May 25, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sorry to hear she's not feeling well these days! I have a soft spot for older dogs.

I'd really suggest taking a trip back to the vet. There are quite a few things that could be going on - return of the bladder infection, some kind of hormonal issue (diabetes, cushings, thyroid etc.) or the onward march of age. Before you try other things I'd make sure to entirely rule out EVERY medical possibility because otherwise you're barking up the wrong tree (so to speak). Perhaps it's the wrong food for an aging dog or she has developed an allergy.

If she's always slept in the room with you, you might try crating her at night in your room. Or make a big playpen for her in your room. You might also try leaving her with a super comfy bed in the kitchen... that way if she has an accident it's not causing a huge deal. But being alone and confused and a change in night-time routine might make her more susceptible to accidents.

Did all of this start while your wife was bedridden with the leg?

Good for you for looking out for your old friend. She sounds like a sweetie.
posted by barnone at 10:42 AM on May 25, 2009

She also might be losing her faculties after the seizures. Sometimes they're just so disoriented that she might be confused, or her physical capacities diminish after the seizures. So I'd look into the seizures too.
posted by barnone at 10:48 AM on May 25, 2009

When our greyhound was aging, he could no longer "hold it" as long as he used to. I bought a package of puppy training pads on a whim, since we'd adopted Trai as an adult and had never used pads with him. Surprisingly, I set out two of them, side by side, on the kitchen floor, and when I returned four hours later, he had used them! Apparently the stuff they're treated with to attract puppies also works on adult dogs. You can get these at any pet store, might be worth a try for your little guy.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:34 AM on May 25, 2009

Get some heavy vinyl, either a piece of flooring, or an old shower curtain. Put down newspaper, then a washable rag rug on top. Put near the door. When she pees on it, no comment. Any other place, yell and be angry. Wash the rug and replace the newspaper as needed.
posted by theora55 at 3:12 PM on May 25, 2009

sorry to say it but i doubt re-housebreaking is an issue here. most likely you are seeing some degree of physical or mental infirmity and you can't train that away. i second the puppy pads and a trip to the vet.

(formerly a professional dog trainer)
posted by swbarrett at 7:14 AM on May 31, 2009