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Old September 7th, 2011, 05:47 AM
jcorno jcorno is offline
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Dog pees while walking

My 12 year old miniature fox terrier (a spayed female) has recently started peeing all over the apartment. I originally thought it was an incontinence problem, since she never squatted to pee; she just left trails as she was walking. No matter how often I took her for walks, she still had enough left to go all over the floor. These aren't little dribbles, either; it's a significant amount of urine every time. We took her to the vet, who checked her urine (no problems, no sediment or infection, good specific gravity) and prescribed Propalin. The Propalin didn't help, though, even at the maximum dosage.

Now, when I take her for walks, she no longer squats to pee, but just pees as she's walking through the grass, which makes me suspect that she's been doing it on purpose in the apartment. I don't think it's a bladder capacity or muscle control problem, because she sleeps in my bed for 10-12 hours every night without a single drop.

We never punished or scolded her for peeing on the floor in the apartment because we thought it wasn't her fault, but now I don't know how to make her stop. When she does it inside, I never know it until I see the trail of drops on the floor. It seems like if I scold her when she does it outside, she'll think I don't want her to pee in the grass, but that's really the only time I can catch her.

Does anybody have a suggestion?
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Old September 7th, 2011, 08:46 AM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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I still think this is physical not behavioral - but I am not a vet.

True marking would involve little bits of pee in different places. It seems she is not able to squat for some reason. It might be a subtle pinched nerve that is not easily detected.

I would look into acupuncture - it can do wonders. Even try chiropractic that could help too.

You can also use a dog diaper while you are figuring this out.
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Old September 7th, 2011, 09:08 AM
jcorno jcorno is offline
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Originally Posted by tenderfoot View Post
I still think this is physical not behavioral - but I am not a vet.

True marking would involve little bits of pee in different places. It seems she is not able to squat for some reason. It might be a subtle pinched nerve that is not easily detected.
The indoor peeing has been going on for close to a year, but up until very recently, maybe two or three weeks, she's been squatting to pee outside. I think it may have started out as a control issue (she only peed indoors if we waited too long to walk her), but now we don't have to wait; she just goes all the time. It seems like she taught herself that it's OK to pee indoors as long as she doesn't squat, and now that's the only way she goes.

I should also mention that she never pees on the sidewalk or in the hallway or elevator while she's on her leash. She always manages to hold it until we get to the grass, which may be 3-5 minutes after we start walking. On a 10-15 minute walk, most of which is on sidewalks through a park, she only goes on the grass. That may not seem like a lot of time, but we're talking about 5 walks a day, every day, for a year, and I've never seen a drop that wasn't on the grass. If she was just losing control, it should at least occasionally be on the sidewalk.
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Old September 7th, 2011, 10:08 AM
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tenderfoot tenderfoot is offline
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Okay new info helps. Since she is showing the ability to squat then it's either a pinched nerve thats healing or there never was a pinched nerve.
Age possibly has something to do with things here - as we all get older we have to pee more often and if she has figured out how to pee in the house without getting into trouble then 'score' for her.
Guessing here, but perhaps the first time she was forced to pee in the house she thought if she didn't position herself to pee (squat) then no one would notice. When she succeeded then she learned it worked. So now it has been self rewarding and she thinks it's the way to go (literally!).
Keeping her on the leash attached to you (in the apt) will help you keep a better eye on her and catch her in the act. She might need to go out more often then 5x's a day ow that she is older.
Keeping her confined to a smaller area or crate when you aren't around will help to stop her from soiling the carpet when you aren't home.
This just might be a shift in her world as she ages.
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Old September 13th, 2011, 04:08 PM
MerlinsHope MerlinsHope is offline
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Quote:
My 12 year old miniature fox terrier (a spayed female) has recently started peeing all over the apartment.
In your shoes I would take this dog to the vet and have her checked for a kidney or bladder infection, crystals or another other renal related illlness.

A senior that walks and "widdles", is usually a good sign of a physical problem, and don't kid youself, bladder or kidney infections are painful.

Sometimes it could just be a newly weakened muscle or weakened sphincter and there is excellent medication available to control that. Good luck!
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Old September 13th, 2011, 08:12 PM
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Goldfields Goldfields is offline
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I would think about having this one x rayed for bladder stones, jcorno, if you haven't already had that done. She sounds a lot like my sheltie, Silk, urinating whenever and wherever she pleased and as my thread about her showed, she had big bladder stones. She had no crystals ( because the latest diet she was on was actually dissolving them), just stones. Silk just turned 13. What I have noticed with Silk is that before her op. she wouldn't stand on my lap for long at all, now she is happy to, and she'll roll in the grass or lie flat on her side, things she hadn't done for a long time, so she is obviously much more comfortable now.
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