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I have an older Labrador Retriever. He is housebroken but recently he has begun to have occasional "accidents" indoors. Also he has started not finishing his meals in one session (as he always had) during the last few days. I might also add we have just vacated our longtime house and checked into a hotel last night. Whenever I took him outside the car or outside the room yesterday to last night, he would not urinate or defecate. But he has so far only urinated in the hotel room, both when I was absent and when I was present.
How do I get him to eliminate his bodily wastes outside instead of indoors once again?
1) Has he been drinking more than normal? If so have him checked for diabetes. I first noticed my dogs diabetes when he started peeing in the house.
2) He could be incontinent. I have an old beagle (21 y/o) and three years ago he started peeing in the house. His muscle control was no longer able to hold the urine in so he would just dribble/pee wherever he happened to be. I took him to the vet and they prescribed "Pronin" which is supposed to help the muscle control. He was doing better on that until I noticed his male part was swelling up and turning purple. It happened three times and I had to take him off the Pronin since it was stopping him up.
Unfortunately the only option I have for the old guy now is frequent trips outside, and a mop & bucket for when he does it inside. I could put a diaper on him but since I have no carpeting in the house it isn't too bad. One thing I refuse to do is put him down due to this problem. He's a sweet old dog and as long as he isn't in pain he will be with me.
It sounds like this recent change in eating and potty habits coincided with your move so I can see why you would believe it is a behavioral issue as opposed to strictly a medical one but always best to have a good vet check for possible medical causes for these types of changes.
Did the accidents start when you were beginning to pack up the house to move? Before you even started packing? Or have the accidents only happened since you vacated the house? Likewise, when did the change in eating start in relation to your move? This info would give better insight as to whether this is behavioral or medical.
If there are no medical issues at all, the training approach to getting your dog's potty habits back on track would be to go back to basics as if you just adopted a new dog - frequent outings, reward for success, constant supervision so you can catch all accidents in progress and interrupt & rush outside to finish, etc.
Older pets especially do not do well when their environment changes such as moving from a home into a hotel. However, just like people, when our pets get older, they occasionally "leak." Our Darcy leaks a little bit and I just clean it up and am happy that she is still around for me to clean it up.
Since your dog is also not eating well, maybe a vet visit is in order or maybe that too is the result of moving. If you are concerned then it is time for a medical exam.
On Monday I will take him to the vet and also to a kennel for a few days until I move into the apartment where I will be staying for a few weeks until I buy my house in Oregon. If the change is behavorial as opposed to biological, that might help.
k9coach, in the last year or year-and-a-half, he started having these accidents, but fortunately they were rare occurrences. BTW, at that time, my late mother (who owned him) was still alive, but disabled and increasingly bedridden. The recent indoor urinations have only become more frequent during the last day, as we have moved from our old house which I have sold and have checked into a motel room for the time being.
On Monday I will take him to the vet and also to a kennel for a few days until I move into the apartment where I will be staying for a few weeks until I buy my house in Oregon. If the change is behavorial as opposed to biological, that might help.
k9coach, in the last year or year-and-a-half, he started having these accidents, but fortunately they were rare occurrences. BTW, at that time, my late mother (who owned him) was still alive, but disabled and increasingly bedridden. The recent indoor urinations have only become more frequent during the last day, as we have moved from our old house which I have sold and have checked into a motel room for the time being.
I can't imagine how a kennel could possibly help in this situation. I'd think the effect would be quite the opposite.
Seems like there could definitely be a medical component since the accidents have been going on for a year and a half and the dog is up in years, but it is also possible that the accidents started when mom was unable to let him out as frequently as he needed to go.
You might be dealing with a dog that was potty trained in a specific location but has not generalized that training to apply to all locations. Again, best bet for that scenario is to start from square one with potty training. It's very unlikely that a kennel is going to put in that kind of work so I would predict the issue will get worse if he is boarded.
No amount of training is going to help if the dog has an infection. Glad you'll be taking him to the vet.
I would say it is a medical problem, my dog was 19 and never had an accident in the house or any where I took her. One of my other dogs at 15 had a problem and it was medical and she could not help it. I am 69 and have had dogs all my life. Have it check, and maybe she is at the age she cannot help it, then make the choice of what to do
My poodle began to urinate in her sleep, sometimes dribbles, sometimes a lot. Vet put her on a blood pressure medication, I'm unsure how it worked, but it did. Also there is the option of a belly band for a male dog.
IF hes other wise Healthy ask your vet about Hormones!
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