Help! Senior dogs with potty problems! What to do???
Hello,
I have two 15-year old silky terriers. They have started having lots of potty accidents in the house because one of them has gone blind and is afraid to jump down from her pet bed to the floor (about 6 inches); and the other has bladder cancer and is losing control of her bowels.
When I am at home I can put them in diapers. But the problem is, I am mostly gone at work all day. So I’ve been keeping them confined to a small area bordered by doggy gates, and I put disposable bed pads on the floor. Those disposable bed pads that you find in the "incontinence" section of the drug stores — designed for elderly people in nursing homes, etc.
But it is getting very expensive. I am going through about one pack of pads per day, at a pop. Plus the girls are getting confused and sometimes after they take a whiz on the pad, they lay down to take a nap and sometimes they are half lying on their own pee spots. When they do a number two, sometimes they step in it. Every day when I come home from work I spend at least an hour getting them and their potty area cleaned up, and taking them outside for a quick spin. (They can’t walk very far due to their age.)
I was wondering if anyone else has been in this situation and if so, what did you do.
I have thought of getting a crate but I just can’t bear to have them sleeping on a wire cage with nothing fluffy to lie upon.
I have been surfing around on Amazon and Petco web sites and got an idea. What if I got a large crate tray — the liner thing that goes at the bottom of the crate — and fill it with kitty litter? That way at least the kitty litter would absorb more of the moisture and it wouldn’t get on the dogs.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated, I am desperate and going broke on these bed pads that I’ve been buying on a single schoolteacher’s salary…
Thanks!
9 Comments on “Help! Senior dogs with potty problems! What to do???”
Been there. So sorry to hear about your wee ones’ problems.
Go to the dollar store and get an inexpensive shower curtain and use this as a liner. You can cut it into two, possibly even more large pieces, depending on the area. Layer several newspapers over it, and just roll up the soiled newspapers and sponge down the liner if need be when you get home.
The crate pan sounds like a pretty good idea, but I don’t really think traditional clay litter is the way to go — dust, tracking, slimy clumps that need to be pulled out of their fur, and granules that WILL need to be combed out. Feline Pine, Yesterday’s News, or Swheat litters would be a preferable choice (and much, much environmentally sounder). I recommend Feline Pine as it leaves a dryer surface than any other litter, which is important if your babies are going to be lying on it. But, litter poses its own problem in that it is also an expense (albeit not as expensive) and there is the disposal issue.
Best of luck. I know how hard this is on you financially and emotionally.
ADDED: I like the bathtub idea for small dogs — my dogs were larger and cats jump, so that never occurred to me. But…with your little ones….it might work.
i have two retired breeding dogs that we have the same issues with. we suspect that they are competing for territory (they are not fixed. it makes me sad to think of putting them thru surgery this late in life, but…)
some days is good. others i wake up to a mine field of dongles all over the damn floor. we have tried positive behaviour enforcement…treats…not giving them the option to make mistakes…nothing has worked over the past year.
do you know how truly hard it is to teach an old dog new tricks?
i don’t like putting them in a kennel all day since i suspect that is how they spent their life. so, what i do while i cannot attend to them at home is put them in the bathtub (they cannot and will not jump out) with a folded towel to rest on. when or if there is a mess it is easier to deal with and they are already in a spot to get a bath. we do an extra load of laundry that is just their bedding, but it saves on putting paper products in the trash.
i wish i had a solution for both of us!
I’d be afraid of the dogs eating the kitty litter. That was a problem with my dog when I started training her to litter. Crating will probably not help, your pets will just sit in their messes until you get home. Best bet would be to retrain them on dog litter. That litter comes in the form of pellets, you can get them at petsmart. I’d talk to the Vet too, there may be something that can be done.
My heart goes out to you, how frustrating this must be. I have had friends who have successfully litter trained their dogs. I would certainly try it before you put the poor old dears in crates. If they are not confined to a smaller area, I would use an X-pen and get the blind dog a lower cushion bed with one section open.
Be careful about what type of litter you buy. Some of the clumping types are very dangerous around dogs, because if they eat any it can clog in their intestines. The cheaper clay type would be your best bet. Eating Feline Pine nearly killed a friend’s dog.
Just a thought, how about a hard plastic child’s swimming pool? I have had several friends raise puppies in them and they are great for confining dogs that can’t climb over the sides. I would put their beds on one side. hang water dishes on the side so they couldn’t tip over and essentially make the rest of the floor a very thin layer of litter.
Gee, you have my sympathies.
First, ignore the silly answers.
Second, might not your local vet have an idea to help?
Third, would not newspaper on the floor be a better idea? To protect the floor you could take a big garbage bag, and cut it on the seams to make it big, and tape it to the floor. Then you are just gathering up layers of messed newspaper. It sure is cheaper than the pads.
Next, I like the cat litter tray idea. Get an old metal barbecue spatula, with a short handle, the kind that is like a big slotted spoon, that is better to pick up cat litter with than the plastic ones.
Sorry I can’t help more. Hang in there.
I am in your shoes, with a 22 year old Doxie. Actually, a decent size crate is the best. My old guy is blind, deaf and incontinent. A blind dog can wonder too far from their bed, get turned around and not know how to get back there. They can also bump into things, fall or find another way to get injured. I once found my old guy "stuck" under a chair, he could not figure out how to back out. So containing your girls in a crate (or two) might not be a bad idea, since dogs this age sleep most of the time anyway.
I use thick and absorbant furry crate pads, and I have four or five of them and five little baby blankets (because my guy likes to cover up even in warm weather). I carry him in and out after eating and drinking and several times throughout the day and evening. He will usually make a couple of mistakes a day, and the pads and blankets are washed and dried.
Even if he has more accidents than usual, if you have enough beds you will always have a clean one ready to go. The crate pads are somewhat expensive, but you could also use baby blankets that you could find at a thrift store. All you need is soft, absorbant and WASHABLE. You may do a couple extra loads of laundry each day, but it is a lot cheaper (and less messy) than cleaning up kitty litter.
Kudo’s for continuing to give your girls a chance. My old boy never misses a meal and his tail still wags, so he is worth the extra effort. I would never let him suffer in pain but as long as he appears to enjoy his food and his naps; I’ll go the extra mile to make sure he is comfortable.
Old dogs are like old friends, they grow more precious with each passing day. Good luck with your girls.
I understand how you are feeling. It is hard when your dogs reach the senior years. What has your vet suggested? I had to give my dog some cortizone shots for a bit to stop the urination but old age was taking over her systems were shutting down. If you are not ready to think of putting them down you may consider going to the newspaper co. you can get a huge stack of old papers for 3 dollars. That is cheaper than wee pads. Put layers in the crate and it would be warm and more comfy to sleep on. trying to put blankets and things inside just make more of a mess you could also shedd some of the paper and they will nest in it.
There is doggy litter – it is compressed paper pellets. otherwise I don’t see why you don’t leave the diaper on them when you are gone – you can put in a panti liner – and if they go you’ll just wash the dog which it sounds like you are doing anyway.
They may stop – to the extent they are able to – by wearing the pad.
Of course the other issue to consider is their quality of life and their age. It may be time to start thinking of a gracefull exit for them. Perhaps not now – but soon. The outcome here is not positive.
Poor kids! What does your vet have to say? Is it possible that they can take some incontinence medication? If not, I would go with the litter box idea. I see many people dont know this, but there is a litter made specifically for dogs. It is not a clay litter, and is much more absorbent. You can purchase it at any Petsmart. Many people with very small toy breeds do litter box training from the beginning.
I would lose the bed your dog cant jump out of. It is pretty obvious she is getting too old for that style of bed.