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Old Dog, No Tricks

rtimmel — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:01:26 -0800

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?

How can I teach my old dog to go to the bathroom in a new place?

snwod — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:35:52 -0800

My 12 year old dog has begun to pee (and occasionally poo) inside. I think this is a combination of old age, a med he is currently taking, and a bit of jelousy towards the two cats that have taken up residence in the house in the past year. How do I encourage him to pee and poo in a particular spot inside? As said above, Shell (the dog's name) is 12 years old. Not ancient, but starting to get to that age where it might become harder for him to hold it for long periods of time. Also, Shell is on some medication for a kind of ear infection. This med makes him extremely thirsty, and thus he has to go pee a lot. And when he does, it's for long periods of time, rather than the many (many, many) short-burst pees he usually did on our walks. Finally, we have adopted two cats over the past year (one a year, so far...I hope there won't be a third this year...people seem to like abandoning kittens in the area around our house). They get along well with Shell, and he couldn't care less about them. But, he's not getting the attention he got in the past.

All of these factors, I believe, have led Shell to start peeing in the house. It's not in one spot, but in various places throughout--a couple times on carpets, a couple times on a foam mat we have in one particular room, in the genkan area (sort of a small foyer near the front door...I live in Japan), and a couple times in the wood-floored hallway.

Shell has his own room, where he hangs out when my wife and I are at work. This room is sort of a garage-ish area--concrete floor, and a place where we keep collapsed cardboard boxes for recycling, odds and ends from around the house to throw out, the cat's litter box, winter tires. We have put a carpet on the foor, and Shell's got his little corner with his bed and pillow and favorite slipper.

I want to build a "bathroom corner" for Shell in this room. Square off a corner, and put newspapers (or pee-mats, if I can find them here in Japan) on the ground so Shell can go to the bathroom there. How do I train Shell that this is an OK place for him to go when he can't hold it?

How to make an old blind dog comfortable?

kldickson — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:36:27 -0800

How do I make my parents' dog comfortable in what may be the last stage of his life? I'm visiting my folks at the moment. They have a dog.

This dog is:
- a male Shetland Sheepdog
- 13 years old
- blind
- slow-moving
- possibly sick - his head hangs to one side a bit as he walks, but there seems to be nothing in the way of other symptoms.

Advice for moving long distances with a very old, medically frail pug

yodelingisfun — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:09:27 -0800

Geriatric Pug and moving across country... I have an 14 year old pug (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/81/254654646_a4ee5a62b6.jpg), she has been my constant companion for all of those 14 years. She is totally deaf and mostly blind and suffers from pancreatitis. She has bonded very strongly with my room-mate's dog, she seems to use him as a sort of guide dog. They have lived together for the past 6 years. It's actually really cute, he wakes her up when I get home since she cannot hear me come in. Anyhow, this is my question: I am moving to Denver in June from Portland, OR to start nursing school and move in with my long distance boyfriend. I am totally torn as to what to do with my poor dog. Should I take her with me right off the bat even though it'll mean being locked up in a strange place all alone all day everyday (the bf works insanely long hours), or should I wait to bring her out until maybe winter break, after we get settled and maybe can get her a new guide dog of her very own? My room-mate is awesome and is willing to keep her for me as long as needed. I just keep thinking that god forbid, she died while I was out there without her, I'd never forgive myself but I don't want her to be miserable either....any ideas? Anyone?

Do right by the dog

captainscared — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 14:37:14 -0800

Old Dog Filter: I have a great old mutt. He's about 12. We don't know for sure as he was adopted full-grown. We've had him for 7 years and my wife and I have "decided" to forego any surgery should he get sick again. But I have mixed feelings. He's had a history of off-and-on illness and there's unfortunately a stong chance he might need intervention in the next few years.

And while I certainly don't want him to go through the trauma of being cut open again. (About two years ago we caught a bit of cancer early on and while he has recovered well, it seemed to really aged him.) On the other hand, it would kill me if he was ill and I didn't do anything about it.

My question is: has anyone else faced a similar dilema and what did you decide? Would you make the same decision again?