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Need support, Laddie's incontinence & deterioration
Poor Laddie, he is pretty much completely bowel incontinent. He usually poops in the house 2-3x a day (poor guy). My son who is on the autism spectrum now will let him out after he poops in the house (luckily, Gabe is learning from a young age how we take care of elderly dogs).
He is fed on a strict schedule, exercised outside regularly, but to no avail. The last time I took him outside was 1am and then my husband took him out at 5:30am...Plus I am home all day. I know his 'schedule' and when he poops, but nothing I do seems to help. The best I can do at this point is just keep disinfecting the floors after he poops and washing his bed covers.
He no longer will walk up our stairs, and has a difficult time going down the stairs to the backyard.
However, despite all this, he seems to be a happy dog. He eats well and is always the biggest greeter when someone comes over. I worry about the stoic nature of collies...i.e. how much pain he is in?
He has been taking Deramaxx for awhile but I upped his Tramadol (pain med) because his arthritis is getting worse (he has had it for a few years now) and he has been limping more the past few days.
I am debating taking him back to the veterinarian to have him looked at again. He HATES the vet and it stresses it out tremendously so I am trying to figure out what I should do...
Ack, this is so hard to watch...especially when he is still so outgoing despite his incontinence and mobility limitations...
The fact that he is 90lbs makes it worse. It isn't like I can just pick up.
Thanks for letting me ramble.
You will forever be my best friend. I can almost feel our hugs. I will ensure everyone will know (now and in the future) what a genuine, kind, loving person you were...I already miss your laughter and our daily conversations. I love you, Samantha. May 20, 1983- February 20, 2012
Re: Need support, Laddie's incontinence & deterioration
I have no great solutions, just empathy. It's a tough thing to deal with and to watch progress. You just have to take it day by day.
(((hugs)))
Thanks for the support, ladies. I am going to stop by the veterinarian today (have to pick up heartworm meds) and see if she is available and/or leave a message.
You will forever be my best friend. I can almost feel our hugs. I will ensure everyone will know (now and in the future) what a genuine, kind, loving person you were...I already miss your laughter and our daily conversations. I love you, Samantha. May 20, 1983- February 20, 2012
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
Just wanted to send you a big internet hug.
(((((hug))))))
Big ((hugs)) for you and for Laddie. Poor guy still wants to be involved but his body won't let him.
I hope your vet has some helpful suggestions for you.
I admittedly know nothing on this topic, but I know they make doggie diapers; would something like that work for Laddie? So at least you don't have to keep picking it up and cleaning the floors?
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Thanks so much everyone. I was able to get a hold of the vet today (she is wonderful and always calls me back ASAP) and she suggested I upped the Deramaxx so that he will be getting 1/4 of a pill before bed along with his Tramadol.
I told her everything I was doing to keep him comfortable and she suggested trying to put a heating pad on the one leg that seems to be especially bothering him. I am going to see how he can tolerate that (with me sitting with him, of course) to see if that will ease some of the pain.
If the increase in Deramaxx doesn't work then I will take him in for a checkup. At least in this way, I can say I have tried everything before stressing him out for a trip to the veterinarian.
I really appreciate everyone on here. You are the only ones who really seem to understand!!!
You will forever be my best friend. I can almost feel our hugs. I will ensure everyone will know (now and in the future) what a genuine, kind, loving person you were...I already miss your laughter and our daily conversations. I love you, Samantha. May 20, 1983- February 20, 2012
I know this is a serious problem in dogs but there are some precautions that you can take. You can use incontinence pad for dogs and you can use grain free diet to control his incontinence.
Stop with the ads!
And for the record is fecal not urine. Entirely different problem and can't be treated the same.