Question regarding older dog

[Minnie824]

A coworker of mine was talking about her dog - a toy poodle - and not sure what to do with him. I wanted to see if I could get some advice for her here. The dog is a male, I think around 12 yrs old, and since he's getting old, has been having some accidents (just peeing) but always in the same spot. They let him out all the time, took him to the vet, nothing wrong, just getting old. Theres nothing else wrong to put him to sleep, just forgets himself sometimes. So, 2 question...1) anything that can be done to help this? They tried the little diaper things for dogs, but said it causes sores (either too big and fall off, or too tight). and 2) any product to use to help with the scent for his accidents?

Thanks.

 

[minechuchie]

Hi , As my male dogs got older they had the same problem, I would go back to the vet and have him run a blood test to rule out any infections and also have him check his prostate. As in people, a dogs prostate enlarges and cause pressure on the bladder causing them to have to go more. The only other thought I have is there a new pet in the house? This can also cause dogs to "mark" thier territory. Good Luck for your friend. Let us know how it works out. Terri

 

[curlyjbs]

So funny you posted this today. Just last night our "old man" peed on the floor. He's 12 too. Has slowed down quite a bit - back legs are getting weak but up until last night he's never had an accident in the house. He's a shepard-collie mix and weighs about 60 lbs - that's a lot of pee! LOL Hope it was a one time thing and that my kids just didn't let him out in time.

Hope all is well with your friends dog!

~Connie

 

[puffkin]

If they rule out anything medical and they are letting him out all the time, it may just be a comfort/lazy thing on the dogs part to keep going there. It may not be worth the fight to keep disciplining him at his age. I would use those puppy piddle pads and put one were he keeps going. They will soak up the piddle and are relatively inexpensive.

 

[nliedel]

I agree about the puppy pads and Natures Miracle or Simple Solution are really good at getting the pee smell out. They are both enzyme cleaners and the enzymes break down the pee smell. I have a husky who forgets herself sometimes (no excuse about age here, she's three and a dork. Nothing medical, just dorkiness). We use Nature's Miracle. She always has her accidents in the same spot too (thank goodness it's tile).

For animal urine on clothing (our, now passed, cat used to pee in the LAUNDRY BASKET when he was mad) toss the clothing in the washer with ****e vinager. It's a miricle.

 

[curlyjbs]

I agree about the puppy pads and Natures Miracle or Simple Solution are really good at getting the pee smell out. They are both enzyme cleaners and the enzymes break down the pee smell. I have a husky who forgets herself sometimes (no excuse about age here, she's three and a dork. Nothing medical, just dorkiness). We use Nature's Miracle. She always has her accidents in the same spot too (thank goodness it's tile).

For animal urine on clothing (our, now passed, cat used to pee in the LAUNDRY BASKET when he was mad) toss the clothing in the washer with ****e vinager. It's a miricle.

What's with the: ****e vinegar??? Now we cant post the word white??

~Connie

 

[Disney Doll]

What's with the: ****e vinegar??? Now we cant post the word white??

~Connie

I was thinking the same thing.

As far as the dog...it may be an old age thing. Maybe he "forgets" he's supposed to go outside, maybe it's too much effort to go outside. I do think I would take him back to the vet and get a urine specimen and some bloodwork done, just to make doubly sure that there was nothing physical wrong with the dog.

If the physical turns out OK, I'd probably just put a pee pad down in the spot where he likes to go and leave it at that. He's too old to start trying to retrain or make this a huge issue.

My dog is almost 12 too, and while he's still pretty good, he is slowing down some now. He had Lyme Disease last year and that knocked a bit of the stuffing out of him, and now we have him on an antibiotic again because we think he's getting a relapse. Poor pup!!!

We do love them don't we???

 

[Dan Murphy]

For both our huskies, we used diapers and a towel for a sleep area as they got older and lost control.

White? Looks okay to me.

 

[DawnCt1]

With regard to the distilled clear type vinegar, ....what's wrong with it is that it smells like vinegar. I really like Simple Solution. It smells good, its works and it isn't that expensive. I have a old toy poodle who was paralyzed in December and is neurologically back to where she was. She doesn't see well, she is hard of hearing and she has accidents. She sleeps a lot of the time so I put a very large crate under my breakfast bar, lined it with newspapers, (the New York Times Sunday edition is great for this purpose) and her bedding at the other end. I left the top off of the crate so I can pick her up anytime. This arrangement keeps her safe, contains an accident if she has one and she sleeps quite comfortably. At night she sleeps with DS 21.

 

[nliedel]

Only use the vinagar in the wash where the smell comes right out. I have never had a problem with clothing smelling like vinegar after I wash it ever. I use the Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle on the carpet.

Weird that it took out my word like that.

 

[simba928]

I would suggest using Nature's Miracle. When our dog was a puppy, before she was fully housebroken, we swore by it and still reccomend it to anyone that just got a puppy or is having odor problems concerning their pets (i.e. getting sprayed by a skunk like my aunts dog did ). Anyways, to save money, you could do what my grandma did when her dog, Smokey, lost control of her bladder all the way up until when Smokey died a month ago. Get those paint clothes. They are paper with plastic on one side. Put the plastic side down and that prevents the mess from going onto the carpet. You can cut the paint clothes up into whatever sized pieces you want and I'm sure they are cheaper than the pads. Tell your friend good luck! Its horrible to have to watch your beloved furry friend get old.

 

[Jockaroo]

Another vote for the Simple Solution. It works well. I have 2 dogs and we have accidents at our house. First, recommend your friend have the dog vet checked to rule out any UTI, disease processes, etc. Next try to clean the marked areas. Once clean and dry, buy some waterproof infant crib pads at a WalMart-type place. These are similar to a waterproof mattress cover, but smaller and should not be "fitted" but flat. Place these in the places the dog urinates. When he has an accident it will not leak onto the carpet--especially with the dog being a toy breed. These launder well. Rather than diapers, try using something called a male dog wrap or a belly band. This looks like a cumberbun and velcros around the dog. Use an appropriate sized sanitary pad inside to capture the urine. It is important to check the pads frequently to avoid skin breakdown and the dog should be allowed several hours per day without wearing this.

 

[damo]

We have the old dog too. It doesn't matter if he goes out. He will still pee on the floor. We have blocked off any carpetted areas and we just make the best of it. He's deaf and blind but doesn't look like he's going anywhere for a while.

The Spotbot machine does work very well for accidents that we can't avoid.