How to deal with incontinence in an aging dog

As Titan’s bilateral proprioceptive stagnation worsens, we face new challenges regarding its fecal incontinence. Many times we have a hard time keeping the house clean. We have wall to wall carpeting and as if that wasn’t messy enough; he often defecates on his bed, panicking and spreading the stool on his bedding as he struggles to find his balance and hastily lift his body from the bed despite his weakness.

How can you keep your house clean? These are our secrets! Note that proprioceptive stagnation is progressive. So you may only need some intervention at first, and need more interventions to maintain your dog’s dignity as the condition progresses.

• Add pumpkin puree to the dog’s meals. You can pick it up at the local grocery store, but be sure to get plain pumpkin puree. No spices in the puree. Mix approximately 1 tablespoon per serving. It helps soothe the digestive tract, but more importantly, it increases the bulk of the stool, so it doesn’t get loose. The stool will be firmer and easier to clean.

• Find the right amount of food to feed your dog. Overfeeding a dog with this condition, even a single meal, can lead to increased stool because the intestines constantly contain stool. This condition causes the dog to lose involuntary muscle control, including the sphincters, so stool will continue to come out at unpredictable intervals. Titan can have between 5 and 8 stools per day, even during the night

• Find a good detergent that you like, that cleans well and disinfects. We like the Tide Pods just because they’re less fiddly, they’re faster. Through dirty dog ​​bedding, add a capsule and let it do all the work against feces that temporarily stain, smell and carry tons of viruses, like E. Coli, that can make us sick. After a wash with Tide Pods, the dog’s bedding is clean and fresh.

• Make sure the dog’s bed is comfortable and supportive. Easy to clean. We wash dogs all day most days. Make sure you always have an alternate change if bedding is on hand. So while you wash one, the dog still has a fresh bed

• Use a pet-recommended vacuum to properly clean dirt and dander on a regular basis. Even though Weimaraners are known to be hypoallergenic, they still shed. We are always surprised to find so much skin in a vacuum. I joke with Titan that we could have two Weimaraners with all the amount of hair she sheds when we see how much is in a vacuum!

• Invest in a steam cleaner like a Hoover if you have carpet. It’s expensive at first, but if your dog still has quality of life and you love him enough, he may be thinking about putting up with fecal incontinence for a while. It’s been about 3 years for us, and gradually getting worse as expected. At first it was a daily stool in the house, now it is almost all the daily stools in the house.

Dealing with fecal incontinence as your dog ages will keep you busy. I recommend maintaining a good relationship with your vet. You will have many discussions and you can rely on the vet’s advice on your dog’s quality of life if you request or request an evaluation.

Some people have chosen to monitor their dog’s health with the FitBark, a wearable, discreet device that attaches to a dog’s collar that constantly monitors your dog’s activity, sleep, and nutrition, and is breed-specific. FitBark easily pairs with your Fitbit, Apple Watch, HealthKit, or Google Fit device to track progress. Researchers and veterinarians have developed a unique algorithm to provide you with real-time quantitative data on your dog’s health. Great for finding out how your dog is really feeling and facilitating communication during follow-up vet appointments. We believe that if this type of technology had been available when Titan was aging, it could have been very useful in monitoring his mobility, activity and sleep as indicators of pain. Then we could accurately communicate with the vet as needed.