Help, our 11 year old greyhound is wee’ing and pooping indoors

[BernardM]

Hi

2 months ago our 11 year old male greyhound started wee’ing and pooping in our living room, a few feet from the patio door.

It escalated to every night - finding the wee and poop in the morning.

He has occasionally pooped a few times upstairs in the hallway. A week between each incident.

It’s now got worse - 3 days ago he had done a poo on the sofa in the living room.

2 days ago I caught him in the act for the first time!! I actually let him out into the garden, he did a long wee, came back into the living room & squatted & did a poo in front of me!

This morning was worst so far - there were 3 very big patches of wee this morning & 3 big poops.

Things we’ve tried - early feeding times for his 2 meals. No water after 8pm. Walking him at 10pm so he toilets on the walk.

Both our dogs - both greyhounds - go out in the garden at 10pm for the toilet & are then treated.

He is 11 but the vet says he is healthy & he’s very fit. The vet suggested a few possible causes:

A bit of senility so he’s not getting the feeling to toilet until it’s too urgent.

Sore hips, so he avoids poo’ing. He does now squat, poo, half squat & poo, then walk forward & poo when outside. So leaves 3 or 4 dollops.

All help very appreciated!

 

[JudyN]

What tests did the vet do?

 

[JoanneF]

I'd be wondering about canine cognitive dysfunction. Doggy dementia. I have no experience in dogs but do in humans. The signals that would normally tell the brain that the bladder and bowel need to empty, can fail. Also, remembering where the appropriate toilet places are can be lost.

There are medications that can help, with both incontinence and dementia so I'd be back to the vet

 

[BernardM]

What tests did the vet do?

Hi Judy thanks for the reply. They just tested his hip mobility. The rest was based on explaining what he was doing

 

[BernardM]

I'd be wondering about canine cognitive dysfunction. Doggy dementia. I have no experience in dogs but do in humans. The signals that would normally tell the brain that the bladder and bowel need to empty, can fail. Also, remembering where the appropriate toilet places are can be lost.

There are medications that can help, with both incontinence and dementia so I'd be back to the vet

Thanks for the reply. I’ll get onto the vet today

 

[JudyN]

Hi Judy thanks for the reply. They just tested his hip mobility. The rest was based on explaining what he was doing

When you see the vet, I'd make sure they know how frequently they are pooing, particularly overnight. Because although dementia and hip mobility could be part of the problem, I'm not sure it would cause more frequent pooing than normal, so there could be a digestive issue. I could be completely wrong here, of course!

 

[Tinytom]

What are you feeding him. ...

 

[Hemlock]

Do you go out into the garden with him or do you put him out and assume he will empty himself?

 

[BernardM]

Great

When you see the vet, I'd make sure they know how frequently they are pooing, particularly overnight. Because although dementia and hip mobility could be part of the problem, I'm not sure it would cause more frequent pooing than normal, so there could be a digestive issue. I could be completely wrong here, of course!

Great point, will do thanks

 

[BernardM]

What are you feeding him. ...

Yarrah vegan kibble. Both greyhounds have been on vegan only food for 4 years now. Previous blood work has shown both dogs have been very fit & well.

They’ve been on the Yarrah for 2 years no problem.

 

[BernardM]

Do you go out into the garden with him or do you put him out and assume he will empty himself?

I don’t go into the garden! I’ve been assuming he’ll empty himself!

I’ll go into the garden tonight, thanks



he’ll

 

[Hemlock]

Sometimes it's the simple solutions. If dogs are reluctant to empty out in the garden, a short walk will do the trick. He may have been frightened by something in the garden, or there may be wildlife about which occupies his attention instead of seeing to his ablutions.