Incontinent dog

Is anyone living with or has lived with this? My Cocker Spaniel is 15 this year and is going senile, he is on Vivitonin which helps him a lot but he is now completely incontinent, all house training has been long forgotten. I love every hair on his body but this is SO very hard to live with, I wonder how others cope with it. Putting some kind of nappies on him is not an option, he is very sensitive and this would upset him.
Thankfully, at the moment he doesn't wet his bed and rarely 'goes' in the living room, Summer is much easier as I can have the back door open practically all day and all evening and he usually manages to wander out there. Anyone else struggling with this?

 

Sad times Val, cant help, but sympathise.

 

Yes, My cousin kept her poodles way beyond the time when it would have been kinder to them and her to have them PTS. Now, my friends on the farm have an ancient poodle, blind, deaf and incontinent, that spends the entire time peeing on any vertical surface he bumps into. Each to their own, but I simply couldn't live with it Perhaps the major difference between cats and dogs is that cats are such naturally clean animals they don't 'last' long once they are incapable of staying clean? Hope this doesn't sound callous, Val but however sensitive the dog is, either you go the nappy route or you clean up after your dog.....for however long it takes....

 

Hi Val, I am sorry to read about your Spaniel. I am not sure if you are saying a) he isn't aware that the urine is leaving his body, or b) if his mobility etc is preventing him from making it to the door to go out.

Has the vet analysed a sample of urine for diabetes or kidney problems? Also it could be that the bladder neck is weak with age, but this is only rectified by surgery.

I'm so sorry Val this is all I can remember from near on ten years ago. I do hope your lovely boy is ok, sending love and light for him x x x

 

Oh dear, what a situation I can't advise, but I do sympathise.

 

We had a border collie, Cassie, she was a good mate, at 16 she was peeing all over the house.

She had one water infection after the other, always on anti biotics, she should have been allowed to "rest in peace" probably 12 months earlier, but we kept her alive.
I always regret that, it was done for us, not her.

 

And there are the words of the greatest wisdom on the whole subject!

In other words: put the needs of your pet way forward of your own needs/wants/desires. Yes, it IS hard .. but .. that is true love

 

I pressed "Friendly" ... simply because we do not have a "Respect!" option

 

Good post Pete. I have to admit I don't know what I'd do in this situation. As some may know, we lost our beloved Dexter last year. Distressing though it was, it was at least quick. We too have a Cocker, Bunty. She's 11 shortly, and still full of beans....

 

So sorry to hear your old boy is suffering with his water works Val, I sympathize greatly as our Polo had much the same issues. it can be a struggle at times, i used to get up during the night to bring him out ideally before he knew he even needed to go himself but inevitably bed wetting still happened occasionally i often got up at the crack of dawn & stayed up! it was just easier. Freddy was a god send! he would tell us when Polo needed to go by rushing too & fro between us, Polo & the back door barking such a clever boy he saved his best friend so many accidents i must say though, all the extra cleaning, washing and mopping ect was well worth it, Polo was not ready to leave us just yet, he still had a great quality of life during his piddly old age, i just wish he was still here

 

My Maddie has a slight problem with "leaking" she is 4 in June, I have done some research and it is common in spayed bitches, it only happens during the day, she will go all through the night with no problems, about 10 hrs. Then occasionally when asleep during the day if it`s been 2 or 3 hrs since going out, there will be a damp patch on her bedding.
I will try and get a urine sample and pop up to the vets for testing as of late it`s more frequent.

 

You're not on your own Pete,there's a few of us out there have done the self same thing

@Val.. It is such a very difficult time for both of you My old dog had Dementia and became incontinent, we used to get the 'puppy sheets' and have them strewn all over the house.We kept him with us 'too long' but all the time his old tail wagged and and his eyes sparkled he was going no where.One day that sparkle went and that's when we knew it was time.It's very difficult to know just what to do at these times and I really feel for you

 

Can I just add something else here please, although I don't want to cause a flare (under any circumstances!) or fly in the face of other advice given. The way I understand it, dogs are only technically "incontinent" if they have no sensation of losing the urine from their bodies. So they will drip and leak all over the place. Otherwise they are not classed as incontinent and there could be many other causes as listed in my last post (if they are heading for the door etc, they have sensation) Not sure why I felt I needed to add that, but it may come in useful somewhere!

 

You're right Lynda,it could be a case of cystitis or urine infection which can clear with AB's In my dogs case the Dementia didn't help and his mobility was poor so really in alot of cases as with Humans they just can't get 'there' in time

 

We also had a dog called Cassie , a Cocker who became incontinent . You could tell she was not a happy girl by her habits . So the decision needed to be made for her not ourselves . We let her go in a painless and respectful procedure at our vets , still heartbreakingly sad though.
You need to consider all options Val , 15 years is a good age for the old fella .