Help please- older rescue peeing in house

[Marie-France]

Hello all,

We just rescued a small Bichon X poodle from the SPCA Montreal. They were going to euthanize it, so we brought it home yeasterday after a visit to the vet. The vet said he is about 8 years old, has cataracs and is not neutered. He would have some minor heart problem as well as kidneys. (I know what they are in French, not in English, sorry !) So far, he is doing good, except that he pees everywhere in the house all the time (marking his new territory?) We already have 2 dogs, 1 male and 1 female. Because of his heart condition I am hesitating having him neutered because of anesthesia. Is there anything else we could try before?

Thanks for your help !

Marie-France

[Lucky Rescue]

Thank you from rescuing this poor little guy from being killed!

Don't know what his kidney problems are, but that could be contributing to his peeing, and that may be the reason he was dumped.

He is 8 years old, he can't see so well, has been through the stress of the shelter and is now in a new home. He is probably overwhelmed and nervous.

I would try confining him to one small area - maybe bathroom - and taking him out regularly (as you would with a puppy) and praise him for going outside.

Getting him unto a schedule will make him more relaxed.

[SnowDancer]

The kidney problem will certainly contribute to peeing in the house - sometimes your pup won't even know it is happening. Re the heart condition, has your vet indicated level of risk in having pup neutered? You obviously have a choice in this case. Should your pup require life saving surgery, then being put under becomes moot (this happened with us) - so you take the risk. Also since the pup is new to your home he will mark his territory and with existing vision problems and other pets is no doubt nervous. Hope it all works out. Expect you will be given meds and maybe specific food for kidney problems - hopefully you won't need heart meds. Very nice of you to rescue the little pup.

[Marie-France]

Originally Posted by SnowDancer

Also since the pup is new to your home he will mark his territory and with existing vision problems and other pets is no doubt nervous. .

Thank you for answering so quickly. Will he keep marking his territory for ever or will he stop after a coulpe of day. By then, we will all smell like him

[Prin]

Umm.. I don't think you can neuter with kidney issues, depending on the severity of them. The anaesthetic is particularly hard on the kidneys, so it might be a huge risk.

Intact dogs mark a lot when they're older and especially if they're dominant. Neutering won't help that at this point either, but house training like Lucky suggested might help.

Personally, I'd get a check up at my own vet before really assessing how the doggy is. Sometimes, some shelters don't have enough time to thoroughly check the dogs, and I trust my vet more anyway.

[CyberKitten]

I agree a trip to a good vet would be excellent.

Maybe it's just me and I look after human little ones, not furry ones but every time someone raises the spectre of anesthesia as a problem, I cannot help but wonder about other options - like we do for tiny babies , pregnant moms, people with compromised respiartory systems like me - there are ways to have surgery without full blown anestehesia AND there are some newer meds now that are almost like ans. I am thinking epidurals as well - I had a laparoscopic cholycystectomy - gall bladder removal -with just an epidural and it worked very well. Surely vet medicine has improved as fast as human surgery? Ask for a vet who can do some of these newer (in the vet world) procedures - and I know they must because we have sold some of our equipment to vet clinics.

Good luck and thank you for saving this doggie!

[Marie-France]

Thank you all for your advices and good thoughts. After lunch yesterday, I started bringing him outside every half hour of about and the problem stopped. He was drinking a lot, so I removed the water after supper, brought him outside at around 10 o'clock and he slept very well and no pee! We will keep this routine for the weekend. I don't know what is going to happen on Monday, whwn we will go back to work, but we will cross the bridge when we'll get there!

So thanks again:love:

[loveyadogs]

congrats on your new addition.I am glad things are looking up

:queen:

Originally Posted by Marie-France

Thank you all for your advices and good thoughts. After lunch yesterday, I started bringing him outside every half hour of about and the problem stopped. He was drinking a lot, so I removed the water after supper, brought him outside at around 10 o'clock and he slept very well and no pee! We will keep this routine for the weekend. I don't know what is going to happen on Monday, whwn we will go back to work, but we will cross the bridge when we'll get there!

So thanks again:love: