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Diana taking her ease |
Diana has a new thing. She's taken to peeing on the green carpet in the living room and THEN coming to one of us to be let out. She has the order all wrong. Girl, come to be let out first, and THEN pee on the green lawn, instead of the green carpet. For three days now, we've had to clean up after her, and we'll soon have to call in the carpet cleaners.
We have carpet or rugs in all the rooms except the kitchen, breakfast room, and bathrooms, and not all the areas can be closed off, except with swinging doors in the kitchen, which she can push open. Diana's age (16) and poor eyesight and hearing might have something to do with her "accidents".
Aw, Sweet Diana. I suggest pee-resistant and/or trashible carpets while you've still got your friend. {pet her for me!}
ReplyDeleteAnd letting her out to pee BEFORE she's bladder-urgent. Maybe some exercise and/or interesting, pee-provocative outdoor scents would help?
Are you sure she doesn't have a urinary tract infection? Dogs who were normally potty trained and suddenly do some weird peeing thing, that is the first thing I think of, and am often right. (Remember, my license is in human medicine, not veterinary medicine, so this is unsolicted advice. LOL)
ReplyDeleteOh Diana... c'mon ol' gal. Get a rally on the pee thing honey. You get more cookies that way.
ReplyDeleteI swear by "Nature's Miracle" for cleaning up "accidents" when they happen. It's great for getting organic stains out of laundry too!
ReplyDeleteJCF, since the green carpet, which is Diana's favorite place to relieve herself, covers the floor in two adjoining room, and there is nothing beneath except a concrete slab, we would have to put down some kind of flooring. We'd be looking at an expensive proposition, and that would not be our first choice. Gates perhaps to keep her off the green carpet?
ReplyDeleteKirke, this is not the first time she's peed inside, and she's even pooped a time or two, but after three days in a row, you may be right about an infection. I suppose we leave getting the specimen to the vet. I can't think how we would manage it.
margaret, Diana is an obstinate, headstrong girl, and cookies don't do much for her.
ReplyDeleteDoxy, I've been using Resolve, which works very well, but the product you suggest has more pluses.
Second the Nature's Miracle rec. Works brilliantly even on cat leavings (which are even worse than dogs)
ReplyDeleteAs a stopgap you could try "underpads" which you can find in the incontinence section at discount or drug stores. Spread a couple of the large-size ones around where she likes to sit.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your suggestions. One thing we've decided might be helpful is not to wait for Diana to let us know that she wants to go out after she wakes in the morning, but to insist that she go, because the accidents usually happen in the morning. Even at other times during the day, we may need to be more pro-active in getting her outside from time to time as she grows older.
ReplyDeleteSomething is wrong... usually when an animal's behavior changes it's their way of letting you know they are sick. My 16 year old cat started peeing all over and it turned out to be kidney failure.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, we will have Diana checked. Please, if you leave word again, make up a name and sign your comment. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGrandmère, I also love Nature's Miracle for such messes. Best stuff ever. Prayers for you and your lovely pooch in the hopes that you can get to the bottom of this predicament!
ReplyDeleteOld dogs, like their bi-pedal counterparts, can get a bit funny. I've used these for years to block of areas of the house not protected by doors, where I do not want the dogs. They're simple to install and the only failure of the system has been a consequence of stumbling humans, not of dogs.
ReplyDeleteCiss B, I will order Nature's Miracle if I can't find it around here. How can I not, with all the wonderful endorsements?
ReplyDeleteLapin, yes. It may come to gates. We gave away all our baby gates that we used to block off the stairs for our grandchildren when they were toddlers. They would have served our purpose well. Perhaps Diana will leave the other rugs in the house alone. She may mistake the green plush carpet for grass.
I agree with some of those above. A trip to the vet is warranted first to rule out any health problems. I have had alot of experience with geriatric animals and find the child gates help alot to confine to a room without carpet or rugs. We decided to take out all rugs and carpet and replaced with tile. That solution has been a blessing for the housekeeper here (ME). June C.
ReplyDeleteReading your post again, I wonder if she's not, on account of age and creakiness, waiting until it's too late to make herself get up to go outside. Then she still wants to go out when she's used the green carpet. You could try making her go outside at more frequent intervals, before she pees indoors.
ReplyDeleteLapin, that's what we've mostly decided. When Diana wakes up after a long sleep, we will urge her up and out even if she seems to want to lie there. And we will make her go out more frequently during the rest of the time. She's been pretty good through the years. She came to us at the age of one year, and she was already housebroken. I do think she's developed a fondness for the green carpet as her potty, which we will try to make her forget by moving her on to other places, hopefully outside.
ReplyDeleteThat's how most have mine have got as they aged. Took me a while to recognize that reorganizing one's own life a little, and lowering one's expectations of the poor dog, are the humane solution.
ReplyDeleteThe picture shows Diana on a rug in New Roads, which we could take outside and hose off, though, since we have no concrete in NR, I don't know where we would hose it off.
ReplyDeleteJust soak it good with Nature's Miracle. No need for hosing! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes ma'am, though I don't think Diana ever peed on that particular rug. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNothing like a dog thread to keep 'em posting. That and food. (Hint?)
ReplyDeleteEspecially a dog in distress, even if it's only a little distress, and the people who belong to her are in more distress than she is.
ReplyDeleteThat and food. (Hint?)
ReplyDeleteLapin, since Tom is doing the cooking now, I find that I'm much less interested in recipes. I'm happy with what Tom sets before me and very pleased that he's taken over the job. I like good food, so I taught myself to be a good cook, but I can't say I ever really enjoyed cooking. I liked the feeling of accomplishment after preparing a tasty meal, but never the actual doing. Tom undertakes meal preparation with a relish that I never had.
Puppy pads spread all over are good -- she might even learn to go to one if the need arises. Frequent (every hour) trips outside help a lot. Poor baby.
ReplyDeleteYesterday and today have been fine so far. What we're doing, which is getting her out more, seems to be working. What helps is if it's not too hot, Diana likes to be out part of the day. She has a bed on the patio, and her cool spots of choice around the yard where she takes her rest.
ReplyDeleteDear Grandmére Mimi,
ReplyDeleteShe may have a urinary tract infection. My in-law's elder dog had a similar problem that was helped by a course of antibiotics.
R.
Dear Grandmére Mimi,
ReplyDeleteI commented too fast without reading the other comments. Clearly other respondents have clued you in to the issue of urinary tract infection.
R.