My senior dog is having accidents!

I have a shi tzu who will be 12 years old in December.  He has always been prissy when it comes to cold weather, wet grass, etc.  A few month ago he started having occasional accidents in the house, but  these accidents have become more and more frequent.  He is even to the point of releaving himself inside the house even though I have the door open and have let him know it's time to go outside.  I take him out every 1.5 - 2 hours to try to avoid the accidents, but that doesn't seem to help.  I clean up a mess at least once a day and am completely frustrated!  He had his yearly check-up in April and was said to be in excellent health.  What do I do?  He gets put into a crate at night or when I am not home and I hate the thought of him having to spend any more time in the crate than necessary.  Help!

[deadgamegrrl]

Hi,
My bulldog Ben started doing this during the year or so of his life.  He also would wander at night and occasionally get 'lost' in a corner of the house which signalled me that he was starting to experience dementia to some degree.  Does he go in the same location?  If so, you might want to think about surrendering :-).  I started putting a puppy pad by the back door in place of the floor mat which at least made it easy to clean up.  Of course he still would sometimes get all 4 feet on the pad and still miss it!

[Misfits4Me]

Hi Anne...At his yearly checkup, I assume they did A Complete bloodworkup? How bout a Urinalysis?  This could be a simple UTI and it needs to be rules out? Antibiotics are given if the Urine has bacteria in it.....If you haven't had this checked, that's where I'd start......Collect a urine sample and take it to your Vet to run a culture on it...

Next, This could also be the beginning of Doggie Dementia (Like human Alzheimers) and he doesn't remember what he's suppose to be doing......There is also medication from your Vet for that & I've read that it works beautifully........

Lastly, If he didn't have have a Senior Panel workup (Bloodwork), I'd have that checked as there are certain diseases that can cause needing to pee-pee all the time.....

Anyway, those are my ideas.....Let me know what you think........Karla

[Misfits4Me]

Something else:    I'd put doggie diapers (Or a bellyband) on him before I'd make him spend anymore time in his crate!!!!    He still needs his freedom.......Karla

[lindapalm]

Is your dog drinking more water than normal?  If so, was he checked for Cushings Disease, it causes dogs to pee more and have accidents.

[dominosarah]

I have a beagle who will be 13 in a month and i was having the same trouble with her.  I knew she couldnt help it but it was still frustrating.  I started her on a chewable estrogen that she takes 2 times a week and it has helped considerably.  She is much more comfortable now.         sara