My blind senior dog walks backward and panics when pooping. Why?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. 17.5 years old is great! My late dachshund just passed away in June and was 20 years old. It's always nice to have a friend that sticks around this long! It sounds as though Zak may be dealing with some arthritic pain causing him difficulty to position himself to defecate. I would recommend starting joint supplements and pain medications to see if this helps. I would also add fiber to his diet such as canned pumpkin or green beans to help normalize his stool movements. I would have a veterinarian examine Zak and discuss pain medication and joint supplement options with you . I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns that I may help you with.

This presentation could commonly be caused either by a neurological damage of the nerves of the back legs (usually from spinal cord), caused by a stroke or a intervertebral disc extrusion/protrusion,or potentially by severe arthritis and osteo-arthrosis. A check up and appropriate medications (anti-inflammatories) would be ideal and essential to understand the underlying cause. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I am sorry to hear about Quinn! I would definitely recommend bringing Quinn in to his vet for an exam and discussion. There are medications that can help with arthritis and make him more comfortable if he isn't on anything currently (including omega fatty acids, joint supplements, NSAIDs, and drugs like Gabapetin, as well as alternative treatments like acupuncture). Your vet may recommend increasing the fiber in Quinn's diet by changing diets to something higher in fiber or adding fiber (such as canned pumpkin or psyllium) to the diet which can bulk up the feces and make it easier to poop and less likely to fall out. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do for your other dog in preparation. If Demon does have anxiety after Quinn is gone, there are some non-drug options for this such as an Adaptil (pheremone) collar or diffuser, or a calming supplement like Composure or Solliquin.

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this with Woody. I have a few options for you. First, make sure we are controlling any pain he may be having that is contributing to his trouble walking. Even if he is on medication for this, that might need to be modified. Here is more information about some of the medications that are available. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&species=All&id=4951467 Second, older dogs often have trouble holding a squatting position. Using a harness like a Help Em Up harness ( http://helpemup.com/ ) can be very useful. Finally, I have had a lot of luck with acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapies for this condition, so you might see if you can find someone near you that is able to help you with that. You may be able to find someone near you here. http://www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using PetCoach.

It could be that Rasta has pain in his back, hips, and/or joints due to arthritis or degenerative joint disease. This is common in giant breed dogs, and I would have him seen by a vet. He may benefit from pain medications, which the vet can prescribe. Rimadyl (an NSAID) is a good drug to give to help with the symptoms of arthritis. I also recommend giving him glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate supplements. They provide the necessary nutrients for cartilage repair and function. Use of them helps relieve some of the symptoms of arthritis, and you can use it in conjuction with Rimadyl to help maximize relief from his symptoms.

This can be a sign of nerve damage, dementia or pain. If he is too painful to get up. And posture and go, he will just go on himself. If there is arthritis in the spine that is affecting the nerves he may not be able control it. Your vet can do an exam to see what the cause and what treatment options you have going forward

I am so sorry to hear about Nickel (what a cutie pie!). I wonder if your dog has inflammation or irritation in the distal color or rectal/anal area that causes her pain/irritation when it is time to have a bowel movement and this is why she becomes irritated/frantic. It is worthwhile to have her anal sacs examined by a vet if she hasn't already. You may also talk to them about putting her on a diet trial of a hypoallergenic diet in case she is having some mild inflammatory bowel symptoms causing the urgency or inflammation. There are diets that are made of hydrolyzed protein (where the protein has been broken down so it isn't recognized as an allergen) or novel protein diets, where the protein and carbohydrate sources are ones your dog hasn't eaten before (for example fish and potato or kangaroo and oats). The vet should also do a full neurological examination of your pup to be sure there aren't any abnormalities in the nerve pathways of the rectal area. An x-ray or ultrasound of the abdomen may also be helpful. If your vet hasn't been able to find a cause, you may request a referral to a specialist such as an internal medicine specialist. Another option you may try at home would be to add some fiber to his Nickel's diet to see if the bulking up of the feces helps Nickel identify a bowel movement is coming earlier. You can achieve this by adding a few teaspoons of canned pumpkin to Nickel's food.