Why is my house-trained senior dog having accidents and hair loss?

Poor pup! When a dog who is housebroken starts having accidents in the home, it can be a sign of a medical illness such as a UTI or bladder stones. I would take your girl into the vet for a physical exam, blood tests, and a urinalysis. The vet can diagnose if she does have a UTI or bladder stones, and can treat her for it.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Hair loss can have many causes in cats- skin infection such as a bacterial infection, allergy such as to food or a flea allergy (especially if Simba is not on any flea preventative) or fungal infection like ringworm can all be causes. Sometimes anxiety can cause cats to lick off their fur but this is typically a diagnosis that is made after all other health conditions are ruled out first. The weight loss could be due to due to simply eating less (this would be a good thing if Simba was previously overweight). Of course, weight loss can also be caused by many different underlying health condition such as certain infections, hyperthyroidism, liver, kidney disease, certain cancers and other endocrine disease. I would recommend Simba see his veterinarian soon for an evaluation. Your veterinary may take a skin scraping and hair sample from the area of hair loss and may recommend running blood work or other diagnostics as necessary. I hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Simba and for providing a picture, it's very helpful. I see what you mean about these bald patches. They don't look red or irritated, and the fur loss may be from an injury or a skin infection. Without seeing him in person, I can't say for sure. I do think it's worth getting checked out by a vet, so I would call his vet now to make him an appointment. I hope this helps!

With sudden accidents, it is always best to schedule a vet checkup first to rule out any underlying issues such as infection, GI upset, neurological or muscular issues, etc. if she checks out healthy, it may be that something has startled or upset her, especially if this was the same time last year that she had accidents last, causing her to have accidents inside instead of going out. You may need to temporarily revert to a "puppy" style of potty training again, just to get her back into the routine of going outside until she is more comfortable with whatever caused the accidents to start. Using enzymatic cleaners on any accidents can help discourage her from going there again, and making sure to offer some exciting treats and praise when she does go outside may help speed up the process.

I'm sorry to hear about Simba's passing. Signs of diabetes are generally increased water intake, weight loss and increased urination. Blood work and a urinalysis are needed for a diagnosis. Skin lesions can occur in diabetic dogs but they are not a primary sign of the condition, especially since many other conditions cause skin lesions and are much more common. Try to focus on the many happy memories you two shared and not the few sad ones. My condolences.

Simba could have blood pressure or blood sugar issue and I think giving him corn syrup was a good start. That said, Simba could be suffering from balance issues. One condition that could explain what is going on is called vestibular syndrome. You veterinarian could confirm it by doing a full physical exam or discovery what else could be going on. I hope Simba feels better.

Poor Precious! It sounds like there may be a couple possible problems happening at the same time. Smelly skin and hair loss can be caused by skin infections with yeast or bacteria, allergies, or parasites like fleas. The brown discharge from her vulva could be related to having a heat (if she is not spayed), a vaginal infection, or even a more serious infection of the uterus. Since she is also not eating and is lethargic, I highly recommend that you have Precious examined by your veterinarian to have these issues addressed. They will examine her, and may perform some tests like blood work and skin tests to see what is going on and to be able to provide an appropriate treatment. Hope this helps.