My senior dog poops inside, eats it, and wanders. Is it anxiety?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. There are definitely things you can do without having to see a veterinarian. Unless the anxiety is so bad that you need anti-anxiety medications, it is not necessary to see the vet for this behavior. There are several things you can try listed below to see if this relieves the separation anxiety. As for eating other dogs feces, you can buy bitter apple and apply it to the feces on the ground to help deter Sadie from eating the feces. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Adaptil collar and diffuser 2. NaturVet Quiet Moments Calming chews with melatonin 3. Provide more toys and use sound such as the TV or radio when leaving Sadie home alone 4. PetCube - this device allows you to interact with Sadie using your voice and a laser pointer that you can control from your phone ***All of the above products can be found online quite easily***

Hello and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sometimes as a dog ages they develop something called cognitive dysfunction (like dementia) where they forget their training. This may be the cause of Tot's accidents. A supplement like Senilife may help withi this. Pain and arthritis can also lead to accident in an older dog as they have a harder time going outside and positioning to go to the bathroom. Sometimes urinary tract infection, internal medical issues or digestive problems may also cause accidents in the house. A visit to your Veterinarian may help to sort out what the cause of Tot's accidents are. Until you are able to take him to the vet you may want to take him outside more frequently to avoid accidents.

I am so sorry to hear of these concerns for Nypsy. Changes in behavior such as increased anxiety and inappropriate eating can be an indication of a neurological issue. This could be a condition known as canine cognitive dysfunction (doggy dementia), lesions in the brain can also affect behavior and are more commonly suspected if there is increased aggression or the onset of seizures. The change in appetite could be due to a metabolic issue such as kidney disease, which can cause a pet to feel nauseous. These types of conditions would require bloodwork with your veterinarian to diagnose. Dental disease is also very common in older, small breed dogs. It can contribute to changes in food intake due to oral pain. I would recommend tempting Nypsy with some tasty treats such as boiled chicken or a little canned dog food. Also do not offer her any more sweet tea-sugar is not good for our pets and if Nypsy is suffering from some sort of metabolic issue it could make things worse. When you are able I would recommend taking Nypsy to your regular Vet for a thorough physical exam and possibly some bloodwork to rule out anything significant.

She may be eating it out of boredom, in an attempt to correct a nutritional deficiency or due to cognitive dysfunction (senility/dementia). Have Lexieann examined by your veterinarian. Review her diet with your vet. Provide toys and tasks to keep her engaged and busy. Pick up stool right away and restrict access to areas where there is stool. A diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction may require comprehensive diagnostics and a consult with a veterinary behaviorist.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. What you are describing and knowing that Sobe is 14 years old could be incontinence due to age related changes. Canine cognitive dysfunction can lead to incontinence. I personally went through this with my own dog and it started when he was around 16 years old. I used a belly band with poise pads in the belly band so that when he urinated it would go into the pads. There are diapers for females for pee and poop that your local pet store will likely carry. This is not likely something you are able to train her to stop doing as it is likely due to her aging. A diaper is a good option to use but just be sure to change the pads frequently to prevent infection. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

I am sorry to hear about Penny! I would recommend a vet visit and an examination and some baseline bloodwork to ensure that she doesn't have any changes that could be a source of a problem (occasionally a disease such as thyroid disease or cushings disease may cause some strange changes in behavior). If no issue is found, it is possible she is starting to suffer from some cognitive disorder/decline in mental function due to her age. You can read a bit more about that at : http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2549 and discuss with your vet if they think it is possible with Penny. Some dogs see improvement with this issue with supplements or special diets (ProPlan Bright Minds is one available over the counter, or the supplement: Omega Benefits Cognitive with DHA http://www.vrshealth.com/canine-products/?petcoach=1977956 is another option. If these don't help there are some medications that can be tried as well, but it is definitely worth a trip to the vet for an exam/workup.

This could be due to some type of anxiety. if anything has changed in the house - new routine, new pets/people, loss of pets/people, new construction, less exercise, etc, this could be the cause. Sometimes they will also develop separation anxiety from you which can cause these behaviors. If he is friendly with other dogs and social, you may try taking him to a doggy daycare to see if this will help get some of his energy out. You can also try to add a calming collar like adaptil. If this doesn't help, you can talk to your vet about starting him on an anti-anxiety medicine like fluoxetine or something similar to see if this helps to calm him down. I hope this helps!