My dog will be seeing the vet, I just need to coordinate with my dog sitter as I am out of town, however:
The last three days my dog has peed in the house. He is 13 and has been housebroken for the past 12 years. He doesn’t seem upset that I am not around so I’m hard pressed to think it’s behavioral.
This is is my first dog so I am really in the dark about any health issues that could cause this. Ideas?
Incontinence is not uncommon in older female dogs (mine started leaking, not full on peeing, at age 7)… not sure on the males how common it is, but I know that incontinence can be an issue for them. Perhaps a UTI (peeing more often or straining to pee can be symptoms) or even kidney issues or diabetes (drinking more water than normal can be a sign although not the be all of all)? Is he on any medication like prednisone as that can trigger peeing a lot more than normal. Any other behavioral or physical changes you’ve noticed… lack of appetite, losing weight, peeing more than normal? I’d say more than likely age = incontenence.
Try taking him out more often and see if that helps. He may just not be able to hold things as long as normal.
Thanks for the response. The only thing he’s on is adequan. Everything else is normal, behavior water intake etc. The concern is he went for a walk and then within two hours went in the house.
Increased urination was the first sign of Cushing’s in my older dog.
Is it treated similar in dogs as it is horses? How long did it take to get lab results back? My sitter is bringing him first thing tomorrow morning.
At that age, not to appear to be a one trick pony, I would want to test blood glucose to rule out diabetes as well.
Does your dog stay dry overnight?
He has never done this. So yes. But this started on Saturday and I am on work trip until this Saturday. I don’t know the extent of it as my sitter lives a few doors down from me. They don’t spend the night with him which strangely enough is a better situation.
Basically I am not home, vet appointment is in the am so I’m on edge because I can’t be there. He has never done this with me or the sitter before.
What kind of dog? 12 is pretty old for some breeds, and not. for others. Vet visit is a good start.
Be mindful of things like drinking more = peeing more. It’s hard sometimes to notice when we’re talking about dogs that have been self-sufficient and trustworthy for years. I couldn’t tell you how often my dogs drink because I don’t keep track. But when my last dog got old he had a number of issues, one was dementia/confusion. I think he would drink…forget he drank…drink again, etc. Also, he might go outside and forget to pee, and come back in.
So in addition to your vet ruling anything obvious out, you may need to pay more attention to him to see if there are any other new “symptoms” that you hadn’t noticed
good, it’s a simple thing to rule out, or treat if need be.
@S1969 he is was a rescue dog and their best guess when he was a pup was Chow Chow/GSD mix. I did ask about his water intake and if he seemed upset (you can tell when he’s done something he shouldn’t have) and the sitter said water intake seems normal and he was a mix of upset and happy to see him when he let him out.
Normal for my dog is very little water while no one is around. When people are around he drinks regularly so it’s pretty obvious if he drank more than usual while my sitter was at work.
I will I’ll watch him like a hawk when I get home to see if his routine has changed. He is really consistent with his behavior.
My last Chesapeake started doing this about 6 months or so before we have her euth’d. Honestly, I think it was dementia or senility sometimes, and just not having the ability to hold it until she got outside. We NEVER punished her as she was over 14 years old and hadn’t peed in the house since she was about 6 months old so it was clearly not behavior related. She was just getting old.
So far dog is on antibiotics for an infection and I’m waiting for blood work to see if it’s anything beyond that. I would never punish him for this as it is so out of character.
How long have you been out of town? Could your dog just be upset you’re gone? I once had a cat who was so pissed off I was gone and my brother was staying with the animals that she peeded multiple times on my side of the bed. I was only gone 3 days. This only happened when she’d become older and she had no health issues.
It was diagnosed over multiple vet visits and tests, the final test being the low-dose dexamethasone suppression test which was an all day test with the results coming in the next day.
I considered that but this started after I had been gone two weeks. On week three.
are you sure your house sitter is letting him out enough - and is she going with him when he is outside to see if he has peed outside? when I take care of my friends five dogs, she has a fenced in large yard but I still walk around with them - some dogs won’t go to the bathroom if you just stand there and open the door for them to go out.
Yes. They live in the same building and they work 4 days on three days off. I’m in an apartment so dog has to go out on a leash. I have had the same sitter for two years now. This has never been a thing. My dog also won’t drink large amounts of water when no one is home.
At the vet this morning he peed in the exam room and they tested his urine and found signs of an infection. He’s on antibiotics now and awaiting blood results.
Google while out of town with abnormal dog behavior is a bad thing!
So it’s a multi test thing or was that part of the search for answers. Sorry for all the questions. I’m really ignorant when it comes to this stuff.
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