Obnoxious or Health Issue?

fureverywhere

fureverywhere

beloved friend who will always be with us in spiri
Location
Northern NJ, USA
Sophie is an American Staffordshire, maybe about ten years old. She has always had a bunch of nervous tics...biting herself, nightmares, constant scratching and fears of everything. The doctor has suggested everything from flea allergy to just being a basket case.

Lately she's been taking to peeing on things. My daughter's bed and her own bed. Rahhh, she sleeps on the floor beside me. Some of my books fell from the nightstand and ended up under her bed. Totally soaked and I had to toss them. It was fortunate that one of my favorites is still in print, I can order another copy.

But I was just wondering for people with older dogs and/or neurotic dogs...is the peeing a common thing? Any ways to retrain bladder control? Obviously most important is keeping books somewhere safe. But any suggestions?
 

I had an older Standard Schnauzer years ago, 14 years old, who was completely housebroken and never had accidents in the house. He started to lose control of his bladder, and would sometimes urinate while he was laying there sleeping. He didn't have nervous tics, scratching or fears, thank goodness...but he did start having issues with vestibular disease, small strokes, unable to walk straight during episodes, etc.

Sorry to hear about Sophie, I think sometimes the vets just take guesses as to what it might be, there are so many combinations of conditions out there to choose from. How much does she weigh? If she's a big dog, then 10 years old is gettin' up there. I don't think we can retrain bladders in older dogs or people, that's why Depends is such a big seller nowadays. :( Linda has a good suggestion with the doggie diapers, but they are a hassle to use and keep on properly, worth a try though. Good luck with your girl.
 
If this is the only new issue that she has, then I would guess that it is a medical problem. Chipper, my little Yorkie-poo is now over 11 years old and he is starting to have those same kind of problems.
He has slept on our bed all of his life, but after he got older, he sometimes accidentally rolled off the bed at night.
I was afraid that he would break his leg or rib or something, and the bed was fairly tall; so I set up one of the little playpens near the bed.
During the night, he would wake me up because he had to go to the bathroom, and if I didn't get there in time, then he had an accident on his blanket.

During the day, he is usually fine, except that he also has trouble getting up and down the back steps into the back yard. We have a wheelchair ramp out front, and he will run out the front door just fine when he has to go.

What I do now, is layer older bath towels in his bed, so that way, I can just take them out every morning and wash them, and he has a fresh set for at night.
You might try something like this and see if it helps.
 
A few years ago, my aging labrador retriever female started "leaking" urine, particularly when sleeping. My vet found she had become diabetic, and treatment with insulin (not a big deal to learn to give the shots, and the dog didn't seem to mind) stopped the leaking problem. Did your vet test her for diabetes? In my dog's case, the only symptom was the leaking problem.
 
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