Dog has started peeing inside....

Flaker

Hi, I need some help!

My dog, a shih tsu, who is quite old (I'm not sure of his age as I got him from the pound, but he is probably between 12 -15) has started peeing inside (he even pooed once). It's probably about twice a day at this stage.

This has only started about 4 weeks ago, I'd never had any problems with him before. He as a dog door which he has never had any problem using. He uses it when I'm there (or more to the point, I make him use it - I put him out every hour or so) but doesn't bother when I'm not.

Now, he does take steroids for a skin condition, which I know do make him drink more, but he's been on these for years and I don't think these have anything to do with the problem.

He hasn't got arthritis or anything, his feet are fine and he's in fine fettle for a dog his age. I've had him at the vet and she can find no physical reason for him to do this. He is not incontinent and he does go out sometimes when the mood takes him.

Do you think it's just laziness? And what can I do to stop him? It's driving me crazy at the minute and I am paranoid my house smells of dog pee. Please help because I love my dog but don't know how much longer I can put up with this...

DBB

I think your vet might want to take a better look at what's going on here. Have there been blood tests done? If not, then she cannot say there's nothing wrong with your dog.
There are loads of reasons why dogs suddenly start house-soiling when they were always clean.
First, a health problem is the number one suspicion. If your vet is prepared to say your elderly dog is fine without doing bloods, change vet. Diabetes, kidney or liver failure, a UTI, any condition which results in excessive thirst or hunger (there are quite a few), all need to be ruled out.
Has your dog been on steroids all the time for that skin condition? To be honest, any vet who continuously prescribes steroids for a skin complaint without looking deeper into the problem is just being lazy. Perhaps your vet has already tried allergy testing, skin scrapes, exclusion diets etc to get to the source of the skin problem, and if so, I take back the lazy comment, but unless all these things have been tried, again, I'd be looking at changing vet.
Secondly, the steroids may very well be causing a breakdown in housetraining. Has your vet been running at least yearly, but better twice yearly, blood tests on your dog to monitor liver and kidney function before re-prescribing steroids again? If not, change vet.
Thirdly, as an old dog your dog may be in the early stages of canine cognitive dementia, one if the signs of which is a breakdown in housetraining. Other signs of CCD include waking in the night for no apparent reason, increased anxiety, increased fear, reduced activity and play, change in appetite, and various others. Early stage CCD is very manageable with dietary intervention and appropriate medication.
Fourthly, reduced mobility due to aches and pains can make old dogs less inclined or able to get outside to toilet. Dog flaps can be hard old work for an old dog. A proper mobility test, possibly including x-rays, is needed.
Fifthly, sensory loss, eg blindness, deafness, can stop old dogs from being as confident in their movements, so again, these need to be ruled out. Dogs of that age almost always have some degree of sensory loss.
Finally, it's not unreasonable for an old dog to be suffering to some degree from all of the above.
So, before any conclusions can be drawn, there is a lot of work for your vet to do. Perhaps she has already done all that's needed but your post doesn't indicate so. Old dogs have specific requirements, so you may have to make changes to his environment to make life easier in his autumn years.

Flaker

DBB wrote: »

I think your vet might want to take a better look at what's going on here. Have there been blood tests done? If not, then she cannot say there's nothing wrong with your dog.
There are loads of reasons why dogs suddenly start house-soiling when they were always clean.
First, a health problem is the number one suspicion. If your vet is prepared to say your elderly dog is fine without doing bloods, change vet. Diabetes, kidney or liver failure, a UTI, any condition which results in excessive thirst or hunger (there are quite a few), all need to be ruled out.
Has your dog been on steroids all the time for that skin condition? To be honest, any vet who continuously prescribes steroids for a skin complaint without looking deeper into the problem is just being lazy. Perhaps your vet has already tried allergy testing, skin scrapes, exclusion diets etc to get to the source of the skin problem, and if so, I take back the lazy comment, but unless all these things have been tried, again, I'd be looking at changing vet.
Secondly, the steroids may very well be causing a breakdown in housetraining. Has your vet been running at least yearly, but better twice yearly, blood tests on your dog to monitor liver and kidney function before re-prescribing steroids again? If not, change vet.
Thirdly, as an old dog your dog may be in the early stages of canine cognitive dementia, one if the signs of which is a breakdown in housetraining. Other signs of CCD include waking in the night for no apparent reason, increased anxiety, increased fear, reduced activity and play, change in appetite, and various others. Early stage CCD is very manageable with dietary intervention and appropriate medication.
Fourthly, reduced mobility due to aches and pains can make old dogs less inclined or able to get outside to toilet. Dog flaps can be hard old work for an old dog. A proper mobility test, possibly including x-rays, is needed.
Fifthly, sensory loss, eg blindness, deafness, can stop old dogs from being as confident in their movements, so again, these need to be ruled out. Dogs of that age almost always have some degree of sensory loss.
Finally, it's not unreasonable for an old dog to be suffering to some degree from all of the above.
So, before any conclusions can be drawn, there is a lot of work for your vet to do. Perhaps she has already done all that's needed but your post doesn't indicate so. Old dogs have specific requirements, so you may have to make changes to his environment to make life easier in his autumn years.

Thanks for your reply. It's very comprehensive and very helpful to be honest.

I never thought of canine dementia. He does often wander around the room aimlessly, cries for no reason in the middle of the night (it is pretty scary to be woken up by high pitched yowling I can tell you!), he sleeps most of the time now and isn't fit to go on any walks anymore (he just potters around the garden), so this really does sound like it fits the bill.

He also only has one eye and the other is pretty clouded over, but I make sure not to move anything around or put stuff on the ground and he seems to be able to make his way around without too much trouble. He does often walk into me though!

As for the vet, she did run a lot of tests on him re: his skin. He had the special diets and washes to no avail. Steroids are not her preferred treatment but they are the only one I can afford. The proper treatment would cost around €5 a day and I simply can't afford it I'm afraid. She doesn't do yearly tests as again I wouldn't be able to pay for them. She is a great vet to be honest, she remembers everything about my dog, even the first day I brought him to her which was about 6 years ago. So she's everything she could've done really.

Shih tsus as a breed do have problems with their kidneys, so maybe that's something I can look into. But maybe it's just old age and I'll have to accept it and keep putting lots of newspaper down. He's in great form, still has a good appetite and loves to go out to the garden and lie in the sun so hopefully he's not finding the dog door too hard of work so he can stil get outside and do that.

So maybe I just have a senile dog who's almost with a weak bladder and dodgy joints and will just have to put up with it! Anyway, thanks again for the reply...

Millem

Flaker wrote: »

Hi, I need some help!

My dog, a shih tsu, who is quite old (I'm not sure of his age as I got him from the pound, but he is probably between 12 -15) has started peeing inside (he even pooed once). It's probably about twice a day at this stage.

This has only started about 4 weeks ago, I'd never had any problems with him before. He as a dog door which he has never had any problem using. He uses it when I'm there (or more to the point, I make him use it - I put him out every hour or so) but doesn't bother when I'm not.

Now, he does take steroids for a skin condition, which I know do make him drink more, but he's been on these for years and I don't think these have anything to do with the problem.

He hasn't got arthritis or anything, his feet are fine and he's in fine fettle for a dog his age. I've had him at the vet and she can find no physical reason for him to do this. He is not incontinent and he does go out sometimes when the mood takes him.

Do you think it's just laziness? And what can I do to stop him? It's driving me crazy at the minute and I am paranoid my house smells of dog pee. Please help because I love my dog but don't know how much longer I can put up with this...

Flaker, did your dog get a steroid injection recently? One of my dogs is on 1 steroid every day and will have accidents after an injection. She did try atopica (the expensive tablets but they made her vomit!) maybe it could be incontinence? Is it wet after dog lies down or is he peeing in front of you? If it is incontinence I have found the propalin syrup very effective. Either way you should bring a fresh urine sample to vet as they will be able to rule out a uti. Make sure you are cleaning up the wee properly so he won't be able to smell it! I use a biological washing up detergent and then milton diluted. There are loads of "solution recipes" on the Internet that use vinegar etc so you could try them out!

Flaker

Hi Millem, he is on a 1 tablet a day - prednislone or something like that. My sister who's a nurse says they use them for humans too!

He has developed something called Cushing's syndrome as a result which I think can also cause incontinence but he's had Cushing's a good couple of years so was curious as to why the peeing had started now and if I could somehow stop it.

He has wet his bed a few times too I think and yes I do clean it up properly when it's on the floor as I believe if there is a smell of pee somewhere they believe it's ok to keep going there in that spot. I'm flat out mopping and scrubbing - my floors haven't seen this much washing in years!!

And thanks,I will try the propalin syrup and see how it goes. Anything is worth a try at this stage!!

Millem

Flaker wrote: »

Hi Millem, he is on a 1 tablet a day - prednislone or something like that. My sister who's a nurse says they use them for humans too!

He has developed something called Cushing's syndrome as a result which I think can also cause incontinence but he's had Cushing's a good couple of years so was curious as to why the peeing had started now and if I could somehow stop it.

He has wet his bed a few times too I think and yes I do clean it up properly when it's on the floor as I believe if there is a smell of pee somewhere they believe it's ok to keep going there in that spot. I'm flat out mopping and scrubbing - my floors haven't seen this much washing in years!!

And thanks,I will try the propalin syrup and see how it goes. Anything is worth a try at this stage!!

Those tablets are steroids and theAtesedn for humans too! A lot of medicine is used for humans and animals! Human ones tend to be cheaper! My vet told me if dog is leaving wet patches after sitting down (leaking) this is incontinence but if dog Is just doing a wee in front of you it could be a uti. Bring him to vet and they will be able to sort it out for u!

noddyone2

I have a very old (nearly 15) fox terrier with heart problems, poor sight and bladder problems. She's on 2 tablets for heart and one for water retention. All these things have side effects. She needs to pee often, if we're not quick enough, she'll go on the floor. Ask your vet for advice. Best wishes.

Flaker

Hi, yes it might be time for a trip to the vet about a UTI. It would be great if that was what it was. The constant floods of wee is exhausting to be honest and I walked in it this morning - thank goodness I was wearing slippers! Thanks to everyone for their advice and we shall see how things go....

Graces7

Poor old guy!

We had this with collie a while back; cranberry juice in the water helped greatly. She still has accidents, but we found that this is partly related to the dominance issue and marking.

Just learned to look before we walk and to keep the mop handy..A little pee goes a very long way...

We give her cod liver oil and glucosamine too in her food and this had reduced stiffness greatly.

scholar007

Flaker wrote: »

Hi, I need some help!

My dog, a shih tsu, who is quite old (I'm not sure of his age as I got him from the pound, but he is probably between 12 -15) has started peeing inside (he even pooed once). It's probably about twice a day at this stage.

Well he is a ****su! Seriously it is a bit shíhtty when Fido does his business indoors.

Flaker

I never thought of cranberry. That's actually a brilliant idea and one I'm deffo going to try.

Jimbob 83

Bring your dog to the vet, do his/her eyes look glassy ? Is he/she wagging hits tail anymore, my lab was like this a month or so before he had to be put down as it was as a result of a stroke.

A well trained older dog will never toilet inside regularly something else is at play here.

Zapperzy

Has she had bloods done recently? Could be diabetes either.