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I already know that I need to take my Bertha to the vet but I wanted to see if anyone else has/had a dog with the same problems... She is a 75lb Chow/Shar Pei/Lab mix. Very calm, very smart, very lovable. She has always been house trained, she never liked going in the house, even as a pup she would tear up the paper I put in the floor for her and would sit by the door waiting to go outside. She has never liked water, giving her a bath is like pulling teeth. If it is raining outside she will not go out until she absolutely has to. She has held her bladder and bowels for entire days before because of her 'hatred' of water...
Recently she has started to go to the bathroom in the house. She even pooped on my bed the other day like she didn't know she was doing it. For about a month now she has been gradually getting weaker in her back legs. She can still walk but she drags her feet sometimes and has a hard time going up and down the stairs. She doesn't like to be far from me either. She will sit at the door and bark lightly at me until I come out with her. It's like she is insecure about going outside by herself. She has also, in the past week, started eating out of her `sister's` bowl. She has never eaten out of anything but her own bowl. She is just acting strange, out of character.
Just wondering if anyone has ever experienced these types of actions in their furry kids...
I already know that I need to take my Bertha to the vet but I wanted to see if anyone else has/had a dog with the same problems... She is a 75lb Chow/Shar Pei/Lab mix. Very calm, very smart, very lovable. She has always been house trained, she never liked going in the house, even as a pup she would tear up the paper I put in the floor for her and would sit by the door waiting to go outside. She has never liked water, giving her a bath is like pulling teeth. If it is raining outside she will not go out until she absolutely has to. She has held her bladder and bowels for entire days before because of her 'hatred' of water...
Recently she has started to go to the bathroom in the house. She even pooped on my bed the other day like she didn't know she was doing it. For about a month now she has been gradually getting weaker in her back legs. She can still walk but she drags her feet sometimes and has a hard time going up and down the stairs. She doesn't like to be far from me either. She will sit at the door and bark lightly at me until I come out with her. It's like she is insecure about going outside by herself. She has also, in the past week, started eating out of her `sister's` bowl. She has never eaten out of anything but her own bowl. She is just acting strange, out of character.
Just wondering if anyone has ever experienced these types of actions in their furry kids...
Thanks for listening
Sounds like something is going on neurologically, the question is whether it is her spine or brain. Chows and chow mixes are notorious about using their designated proper place for pooping, and it sounds like yours had that trait. I know you are going to hate hearing this, but my first chow/lab mix never had an accident until he got spinal cancer, however he was a relatively young dog at the time. Hopefully, it is something easily fixable.
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This does not sound behavioral - it sounds like she is having some health issues that are causing her to not have as much control of her bladder or bowels anymore. This could be anything from a herniated disc to something more serious.
My old retriever mix started having problems toward the end of her life - she couldn't control her bowels much at all. Often when she got up after sleeping, we'd find that she'd poo-ed during sleep. This was just one of the many signals that her quality of life was starting to slip. She was nearly 16 years old.
Agree it is a health problem, though she seems pretty young for it to be an old age issue. Our doxie mix didn't start having trouble holding it until he was about 12; he had a bad back and weak legs. I am afraid she may have some sort of illness . Hopefully I am wrong.
Agree it is a health problem, though she seems pretty young for it to be an old age issue. Our doxie mix didn't start having trouble holding it until he was about 12; he had a bad back and weak legs. I am afraid she may have some sort of illness . Hopefully I am wrong.
Larger dogs have a shorter lifespan and aging is excellerated. Just looking at the dog's breeds - chows are 9-12 years (although I have seen high as 15), shar-peis are 8-12, labs 11-12 years. I don't know how much you can hang your hat on that though, I have a pitbull/chow going strong at 15.
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Agree, it sounds neurological. She needs to go to the vet. It really sounds like it might be degenerative myelopathy to me. Those are both symptoms my dogs have had when they suffered from it. It tends to strike older dogs but it's a possibility. When they get weak in the rear it's quite common for them to have bladder and bowel control issues.
DO NOT take her to a chiropractor until you see a vet and pinpoint the problem. A chiropractor could make it worse.
Agree, it sounds neurological. She needs to go to the vet. It really sounds like it might be degenerative myelopathy to me. Those are both symptoms my dogs have had when they suffered from it. It tends to strike older dogs but it's a possibility. When they get weak in the rear it's quite common for them to have bladder and bowel control issues.
DO NOT take her to a chiropractor until you see a vet and pinpoint the problem. A chiropractor could make it worse.
I agree it's probably neurological. Your vet may refer you for a neuro workup. Let us know how it goes. It's very hard watching our dogs age and the issues that come with that...much the same for us humans.
Hang in there and keep smiling. She will appreciate your support. Let us know how the vet visit goes.
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. Hopefully I am wrong.
