Older Dog Incontinence Bowels

Bowel incontinence is common in older dogs from lack of muscle tone or from a medical problem such as diabetes inflammatory bowel disease ibd colitis liver or kidney disease or cushing rsquo s disease.

Older dog incontinence bowels.

Many times it can be treated and resolved however. Urinary incontinence is a condition where a dog is unable to hold their urine. Incontinence is the inability to fully control the bladder and or bowels. But here s the good news.

Understanding the causes and seeking treatment can lead to the best outcome for your pet. Sadly incontinence both bladder and bowel is one of the main reasons people put their dogs down. Medically referred to as fecal incontinence losing the ability to control its bowel movements is distressing for both the dog and the owner. Managing incontinence in a dog can be frustrating.

Cocker spaniels springer spaniels doberman pinschers and old english sheepdogs are among the breeds often prone to incontinence. As the aging process takes over the anal sphincter becomes less efficient at holding in bowels and allowing a dog to detect when he needs to eliminate. Incontinence in senior dogs is a fairly common problem that starts when a dog enters middle age and normally stays. In older dogs the most common cause of fecal incontinence has to do with a disorder of the nervous system.

Typical causes to this condition include injury to the spine or tail anal gland disease s and or an intestinal disorder. It may be watery or a strange colour. When a dog is truly incontinent the urination and or defecation can happen without the dog realizing it until it s too late. You keep finding and having to clean up dog pee in the house and you may even start to feel angry or upset.

If your dog is suffering from incontinence you should monitor the stool. Although urinary incontinence can afflict dogs of any age breed or gender it is most often seen in middle aged to older spayed females. Rolling up your rugs can ease your burden if your senior dog poops in the house uncontrollably. A dog that looks at you and squats to eliminate is probably not incontinent.

Old dog incontinence is often regarded as a part of the life of a senior pet. And while sometimes the cause of the incontinence can be something more serious more often than not it is just a leaky bladder and in the case of fecal incontinence many times it is related to a spinal issue and not life threatening. Based on the history and physical findings now you need to decide how far you want to go with the diagnostics including blood work fecal exams radiographs an abdominal ultrasound further gi testing and surgical biopsies if indicated.