Nellie, the iron-bladder.
September 24, 2011 9:07 PM   Subscribe

How long can a dog hold it without hurting themselves?

My parents 13 yr old basset has developed the habit of going out once a day. That's once in a 24 hr period, or longer. Reluctantly. We have to wake her, kick her off the couch and herd her towards the door to make her go outside. I think if we didn't she would never pee. Only once was there an accident in the basement, but my spaniel was there all day too and we never decided who was guilty. This has been progressing for a while, but she's been this stubborn for about two weeks. There are 8 steps down to the front door and I think she hesitates because they probably hurt her old, long back, although she's never had back/hip/arthritis problems before. Aside from the reluctance to go down the stairs she is as spry as ever, she eats and drinks normally and patrols the perimeter (is constantly trying to sneak away to chase things) and doesn't show any sign of pain or discomfort.

My question here is: should we accept this ability as a blessing, or be concerned that she's doing horrible damage to her bladder and I need to start hauling her 60 lbs down the stairs so she can pee like a normal person?

FWIW I grew up with both her parents (champ lines) who each grew to be 15 and didn't have a bit of trouble til the last 6 months of their lives when they couldn't hold their bladders anymore.
posted by Carlotta Bananas to Pets & Animals (7 answers total)
 
Every time it rains my dogs go on total bathroom strike. They can last somewhere between 36-48 hours depending on how stubborn they're feeling, even though under typical circumstances they last about 12 hours max. If it's due to discomfort from the stairs though, putting in a ramp would be a simple and inexpensive solution that would improve her quality of life.
posted by hindmost at 9:19 PM on September 24, 2011 [3 favorites]


Just as another data point, my small dog goes about every 12 hours. I bet he could hold it longer, though, since he doesn't just run out the door and go without spending a lot of time sniffing.
posted by Gilbert at 9:22 PM on September 24, 2011 [1 favorite]


Don't know about any damage, but my 12-year-old lab will sometimes only pee once a day now (though usually twice). She can hold it so much longer than ever before. I have heard anecdotes like this from other owners of senior dogs. For what it's worth, she just had her senior health panel done and her kidneys were in excellent shape.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 9:29 PM on September 24, 2011


My question here is: should we accept this ability as a blessing, or be concerned that she's doing horrible damage to her bladder and I need to start hauling her 60 lbs down the stairs so she can pee like a normal person?

Wait, if you think she's holding it because the stairs hurt her back, why not buy or build her a ramp? It doesn't have to be complicated or pricey, just a piece of plywood with some traction strips tape to it will do, and you can just throw it over the stairs when she's ready to go. We did this with my 70lb guy when he developed arthritis and it was so easy that I felt so guilty afterwards he'd been struggling up and down the stairs all that time.
posted by Ashley801 at 9:58 PM on September 24, 2011 [2 favorites]


Another vote that my dog will absolutely refuse to pee for a day or two until I make that water stop coming out of the sky! I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm the one causing the rain.
posted by kamikazegopher at 10:07 PM on September 24, 2011 [1 favorite]


It's probably a good idea to get her up and out a couple of times a day, just to keep her moving. A ramp sounds like an excellent idea.
However, this question is not really answerable without a picture.
posted by easilyamused at 11:19 PM on September 24, 2011


I'd get her to her vet soon, like sometime this week. Her vet can check for arthritis, bone spurs, knee problems, kidney issues, etc. It is probably her back.
posted by deborah at 5:36 PM on September 25, 2011


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