Older dog having accidents in the house

[4horses]

Cushings, diabetes, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, or urinary tract infection. Incontinence is common in older dogs and can be treated with the medication proin.

[ElisLove]

My dog is just about 14 and he has some accidents in the house. Just recently got blood work done and everything looked perfect. He’ll go 1-3 months with no accidents then will go a week with an accident everyday, then a month with no accidents, then 4 days with accidents everyday. I wonder if partially he sleeps a bit deeper at times and doesn’t get the signals he has to pee till it’s too late to give any time to alert me that he has to go out. Last time he had an accident he got up from sleeping and I immediately got up and ran to let him out since he was having an ‘accident week’ but he squatted before I could get the door open.

[Garythesquirrel]

@Denali6298

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.

I’m not saying I think your dog has Cushing’s, just making a comment on my dog’s incontinence. There are additional symptoms that go with Cushing’s.

[I]“There is no single test to diagnose Cushing’s disease. The history, physical exam, and results of initial blood and urine tests often provide a strong suspicion for the presence of Cushing’s disease. An increase in white blood cell count or platelet count, increase in the liver enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP also called SAP, or serum alkaline phosphatase), increased blood sugar (although not as high as the blood sugar levels of diabetic patients), increased cholesterol and dilute urine. Some of the specific tests for Cushing’s disease include urine cortisol/creatinine ratio, low dose dexamethasone suppression test, high dose dexamethasone suppression test, and an ACTH stimulation test”

https://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/outreach/…'s-disease[/I]

[Denali6298]

Thank you for the link. I know you weren’t saying my dog has cushings I was just curious about it.

[Alita]

@Denali6298 It could be anything from as simple and treatable as a UTI or crystals through to a degree of kidney disease or just older age sphincter problems. (Yes male dogs definately can become incontinent it’s just not as common or as easily treated as in a lot of female dogs but there’s still possible treatments available.) First step is to get the vet to check him over and bring a fresh urine sample for testing if possible. No one is going to be able to tell you for sure what’s happening on the forum. Try not to panic yet, a lot of things are treatable or at least manageable in that department.

(For example it could be early cushings, but you’d often see other things with it like weight, appetite and thirst changes, body shape changes (“table top” looking backs), coat changes, infections, slow wound healing, lethargy, heat seeking etc. Not to say you will see any or all of these things, it’s just fairly uncommon just to have incontinence as the only symptom of cushings. Wait and see what the vet says and then at least you know where to go from there treatment wise )

[Denali6298]

Thank you everyone who has chimed in and helping me drag myself back from the ledge:lol: I am flying back home tomorrow.

Dog has a UTI. All blood work is normal. The vet did mention UTIs can be caused by stress from me not being home. Off on another trip at the end of the month so hopefully it is not strictly stress induced.