My senior dog is leaking poop and has arthritis. Should I worry?

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 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

Hello, my name is Dr. Elizabeth and I certainly understand your concern. If the stool looks normal, than I suspect Opus may have some pain while defecating. This could be coming from the intestines BUT with his age, I'm also very suspicious he may have some arthritis in his back that is starting to both him. I recommend to make an appointment this week to have Opus examined by the veterinarian. It may be time to start some pain medication to keep him comfortable. While not as good as pain medication, starting a joint supplement like Cosequin or Dasuquin and a fatty acid like Welactin will be beneficial to the joints in general. I recommend to get Opus started on these as well. I hope this helps and that things get figured out quickly for Opus.

Poor guy. He's very handsome and 13 is an impressive age for a Great Dane. You must take very good care of him. There are two possibilities that jump to mind for me. The first is that he may have enough arthritis and pain that he doesn't want to get up and walk outside. Even if he moves around ok and doesn't limb, and even if he's already on arthritis medications, I would recommend an orthopedic exam with a veterinarian to make sure he doesn't need more. The other possibility is that he's starting to have cognitive dysfunction (aka doggie dementia), which can cause dogs to forget their house-training. Actually, he likely has both things going on. A three thing to throw in there is he could have a true gastrointestinal issue such as parasites, IBD, issues digesting food, etc that is making him uncomfortable or feel increased urgency. So I would recommend starting with a vet visit to check him out for pain and talk to them about cognitive dysfunction. Bring a fecal sample too in case they want to test him for parasites. Best of luck to you and sweet Maverick. Please let me know if this was helpful information and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly 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.

I am so sorry to hear that your pet has so many major issues that are debilitating and causing her to have a poor quality of life. I do think that if her condition cannot be improved with medications then it is someting you should discuss with your veterinarian. Humane euthansia, although it is probably not something you want to consider, should be considered if Sophie is not able to helped with medical management. However, there are pain medications that can be tried to see if they make a difference. You can discuss with your vet about trying Tramadol and/or Gabapentin to help with pain management. Probiotics can also be tried to help with her diarrhea, as well as a high fiber diet such as Royal Canin Gasrointestinal High Fiber (Rx). It sounds like she may have cancer involving her nervous system, which is why she can't maintain her mobitliy well. Poor girl. I hope that you can come to terms with her condition and maybe there is more you can try with her. Best wishes with Sophie. We are also available for a private consultation if you need to discuss more about Sophie's condition and futher care recommendations. Take care.

Hi Bill, I'm so sorry that you are having this problem with Champ. Unfortunately, we do see neurological problems in older dogs that can result in fecal incontinence where they are unaware when they have to defecate and/or unable to control it. There are not a lot of good treatment options for this condition. However, since you know that Champ has bad legs, I would start with discussing pain medication with your veterinarian. Sometimes if we are able to improve the pain in their rear legs, they seem to have an easier time squatting to defecate and will have less accidents. I am attaching more information on pain medications below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=587 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.