# Toby 13+ getting incontinent



## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Poor Toby has had bouts of pooping in the house the last few months. he has spondulosis and i know when things start getting compressed in the lower spine they start loosing feeling down there.
poor guy, i feel so bad, because it just sneaks out he doesn't know, then when he figures it out he feels bad. its only happening once every few weeks at this point, i am trying to do alot of extra potty checks with him, its like having a puppy again. 
he is also leaking urine, i really didn't notice anything until lately, then the other night he woke me up because he was constantly licking. i got up and checked him out didn't see any irritations around the area, but as i kept watch i did see he was leaking. we are going in for a check this week, but i am being reminded that his time is getting shorter. i really hate the last however much time they have, seeing them fail makes my heartache. the thing is he is still the first one at the door to go out and play, still gets excited and barks when he knows its playtime, poor guy has no idea his mind works faster than his B-hind. so, trying to deal with this mentally, and trying to also enjoy him to pieces while he is still here. ugh! this is so hard!









debbie


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

yes it is, and i'm sorry you're going thru it. Do you have diapers for him?


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I'm sorry, it's so hard to watch. When it was my Rex's time, he couldn't do stairs for over a year (he'd fall), he'd groan every time he got up or laid down but that last weekend, he was still ready to get in the car for a walk in the park.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Oh my heart goes out to you
My dog Rocky was 17 he couldn't get up on his own 
even when I walked in the door he lifted his head and put it down 
I laid on the floor with him for 2 hours

It is so hard seeing them go through it
pooe baby


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## Woodreb (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm also sorry. I know how you feel. 
My girl Rica started having those problems about 6 months ago. She's at the point now where she has no control, although she doesn't have the urinary problem.

When she's in the house I make her lay on a training pad. Then it's an easy cleanup after she poops.
Its good if Toby can still walk and you can keep taking him outside. (Rica's not that mobile anymore.)

Give him lots of hugs.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

yep, each and every one of you know just what i am going through. that sick sad feeling in the pit of your stomach, knowing whats coming.









i haven't resorted to diapers yet, its still just in the beginning of it, where he has accidents once in a while. god, a few weeks ago i got up in the middle of the night and came out in the livingroom, here he was just standing there looking at something, i walked over, and he had pooped on the rug, at first i thought i was one of the other dogs bones, then i realized what it was. Toby looked at me and was going to eat the evidence, i stopped him and told him it was ok, he is a dog that Never ate his poop. i felt SO bad.......

he still walks short ones, and as i said still loves to go out in the yard, he is the most amazing dog, his will is unbelievable. i really admire him. he is one of those dogs that is a once in a lifetime, extremely dedicated to me, follows me everywhere, he would follow me to the ends of the earth. words can't even say how much i Love this dog. my husband and i are starting to talk about )(The Day) i can't talk to much about it, but am trying to prepare., although are you ever really........stinks! at this point you just don't know when..a few weeks, a few months....the hardest part is waiting and see them fail, and trying to decide when they aren't having quality of life. also, because this dog is my heart and sole dog, i will have to be there, and this is my first time, my husband has done it in the past, but, because i have such a major bond with him, i will be there, and hope the heck i can be strong until he has gone to sleep.......

debbie


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## Karin (Jan 4, 2008)

I'm so very sorry, Debbie. This is such a difficult thing to go through. I wasn't sure if I could handle being there when we put our Sheba to sleep, but there was no question in my mind but that I had to be there. It was very peaceful and I was glad that I was there for her. I'm sure that you can do it, if that is something that you have decided that you want to do.

Take care and I hope that Toby is able to improve so that you can keep him with you a little longer.


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## kshort (Jun 4, 2004)

Debbie, I'm so sorry you and Toby are going through this. I know, all too well, that feeling in the pit of your stomach. I've gone through it with all of mine and am going through it right now with my 17-1/2 year old sheltie mix. She's at a point, in just the last few weeks, where she can't hold it all night, but she doesn't get me up. And frankly, taking her downstairs in the middle of the night is so hard because her eyes are failing also and her back legs are really weak. Luckily she goes in the bathroom where I have tile floors. I've now picked up the rugs (was getting tired of washing those every day!) and I put down six of those puppy pads and tape them together so she has a large area to go on. Then every morning I scrub the floor, even though those pads are great - they really absorb.

She arbitrarily poops sometimes too. I can walk all around the yard with her and she won't go, but then we come back in the house and she does. Luckily, it's an easy and fairly small cleanup. I go through a lot of vinegar & water. 

It's just such a tough situation, and the larger dogs are much harder because of the size of the messes. You'll both be in my thoughts and prayers...


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

thanks Karin, and Kris for the kind words.....

i agree, sometimes i will take Toby out and walk the yard and he won't go, then he ends up going in the house. i guess they just don't know they have to go, or maybe it gets uncomfortable to go, its a hard to know what they think. thankfully when Toby does go poop in the house his poops have always been very firm, so it is easy to pick up. although, i have to try and get to it before one of the other dogs who tends to eat poop. so, if i smell something in the middle of the night, i fly out of bed in hopes of cleaning it up, before one of the others does! 

Toby's cooordination is also off, his front is going one way, and his back another especially when he turns corners, etc. but, again, i have great admiration for his modivation dispite these issues.

i will be there when the day comes right by his side, no doubt in my mind about that, i will get through it like we all do when we lose one. its never an easy thing, but even worse when its that special once in a lifetime friend! i dread the empty space..... but, for now i will enjoy every day with him.

debbie


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

So sorry to hear that Toby is going downhill and of course I totally understand what you're going through. Just before my Massie passed she was deaf and almost totally blind and could barely walk but she still followed me everywhere...by smell!







Her devotion was incredible. 

Chama also has a very strong will and makes the best of each day but it breaks my heart to see her having more and more trouble getting around and watching her stupid tumor getting bigger and bigger. 

I also find it's really tough not knowing what's going to happen next. I definitely appreciate each day but sometimes I do wish I could look into that crystal ball and know how much time we had left together. 

Big hugs to you and your Toby!


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Thanks Ruth, thats why i have been a member of this site for many years, the support is incredible, the people here are so dedicated and compasionate.









debbie


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

I've been going through it with Sandi for a couple years now (hugs) It's tough. We've had to repaint the concrete floor in dh's workshop I think 3 or 4 times now in three years. 

Although, I hadn't seen her poop for about two days this week, so of course I throw myself into a fit she has renal failure and is dying... This am I found poop on my laundry room floor! It was the happiest I've ever been about finding poop in the house!

It's horrid when they get older.


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## LJsMom (Jan 6, 2008)

Every senior dog should came with an automatic prescription for Valium for the owner. I know I could use some!


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## ninhar (Mar 22, 2003)

Sheba's been occasionally pooping in the house for a few months. My daughter has been staying with me for the last couple of weeks and noticed that the latest accident occurred when Sheba tried to stand up. Guess she is straining so hard to stand on her own that the poop comes out. Sheba still loves her nightly walks, even though she can only manage to go a short block, at least for now as long as she goes on her nightly walk, I won't wake up to any mess on the floor.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I'm so sorry debbie









Max has issues with leaking, but I've been giving him a supplement that seems to help quite a bit. If the urination is from nerve issues, it probably won't do anything. I'm not sure I have the right name, but it' by Solary, Total Cleanse Kidney.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Chiropractic will help walking straight and pain but not the bowel incontenence. We had some serious crabbed walking - chiro vet said "I think she has an infection.." So a course of abx cured that! Look into a chiropractor for the back - you'll have fewer incontenence issues I think. 
I just paid the price of giving a very small bit of pork pate to Barker the Elder -- that price was a mushy, smelly stool. I hope I caught that early enough to get it resolved! Took a long time to clean that one indoors! My your "firm stools" maintain their texture! At 14+ here a bowel movement that takes place out of doors is a real treat!


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i think his incontinence is the nerve compression of the spondylosis, he can't feel when he has to go, and it sneaks out. not sure Chiro would help with that at this point. i also don't think there is any pain since things are probably getting fused in the lower spine. the coordination (sp) is wacky in movement of the back end.
believe me if i thought anything would help at this point i would be right on it!









Middle,
yea, i know about cleaning up accidents. thankfully most of the time Toby's stools are pretty firm, and i am thankful as heck for that. but, if he has bouts of diarrhea like the other day i woke up to a horrid sight on my couch. rug, floor, and all over him. took me two hours and 8 rolls of papertowels, a bath, laundry, etc. ugh!
any change in their diet at this point can have very messy results. i had run out of his Canine Complete and it was late getting here in the mail. i know that was it, and he was off it 4-5 days.

debbie


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## SuzyE (Apr 22, 2005)

ask your vet about a drug called Proin


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

Debbie, Sandi has been doing it as I said for years, with her, it's not her back end at all. She has great hips, no back issues. There is something called canine dementia and when I was at the vet's with Ozzy I read an article about it. I can see it in her, forgetting commands she has known her whole life, plus she's going blind...
This sounds so gross, but I have like 10-15 extra bath mats (I'm a bit of a linen's junkie) I put them down in the workshop where she goes, when she has to go she will go on the mat. I pick it up, hose it off outside and then wash it in the washer. We tried puppy pads, but they didn't work. At least with the mats I keep them on a rotation. Sure I have to do laundry every night, but aside from incontinence, she still loves her walks, she has fun at the river, we're going to the beach on Sunday. Her quality of life is still up there, just the little body has some problems.
Of course who am I to judge







one night after dh and I got into a friend's homemade cider, he found me peeing in a closet we never use! ROFL it had a little shelf and fortunatly a tile floor.


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

I've had clients whose dogs have had similar fecal incontinence and they all used combinations of the methods used above. Mostly it was a combination of providing areas or surfaces for easy clean up and also keeping the dog clean which included providing diets to encourage firm stools; clipping hair away from the anus to prevent it sticking; and monitoring the dogs bedding so there were less instances of the dog laying in or on any output. 

It is a little shared fact that cleaning up poop is often the least of our concerns when it involves those we care about. Best wishes.











> Originally Posted By: ozzymama
> Of course who am I to judge
> 
> 
> ...

















thanks for the laugh.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i think it would be hard to monitor him because he isn't even aware he has to go at times. so, he couldn't use pads, etc. it just sneaks out, might be when he tries to get up, might in his sleep etc. when they have the nerves compressed in the lower spine they don't feel anything, or have alot of control over it.
i do take him out for potty checks often, sort of like having a puppy, hubby gets up for work at midnight and will take him out. thankfully the accidents aren't on a daily basis, sometimes we can go weeks.

debbie


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## Mia's Mom (Apr 6, 2009)

You are breaking my heart. My Mia has the same condition, and she's becoming increasingly fecal incontinent. She'll just be lying there, and suddenly it'll just come gushing out. As soon as she realizes what's going on, she panics and heads for the door, dribbling diarrhea all the way. When I try to stop her from spreading it around (she's going deaf too), she thinks I'm mad at her. No matter how I comfort her, she feels bad. 

I just bought a diaper for her. It will need an absorbent pad to make it really effective, so I'm going to start another post for suggestions. Check for it. Maybe the suggestions I get will be helpful for you too. 

I'm so sorry. I hurt for you, and for my own aging angel.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Mia's mom,
yep, it really stinks! it hurts to see them failing!, and your right, they think your mad at them when you try to rush them outside to finish. very frustrating for both party's. i also posted in your thread.
its Very heartbreaking to know whats coming, a very sad time in our lives. 

debbie


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