I'm just besides myself. My dog Cookie is about 12 years old. We got her from a rescue ten years ago. The vet said that she was about two years old at the time from looking at her teeth. Does anyone know how accurate they are at guessing the age of a dog? Perhaps she's older than I think? From the first day she came home, she always went to the door and barked when she had to go out. Over all these years, she never once wet in the house. A few weeks ago we noticed spots here and there throughout the house. I thought that maybe she had incontinence since it's common with older spayed female dogs. We took her to the vet who did some tests. It turned out she has a UTI. There was a choice of four different medications to put her on. My husband chose the most commonly one used. Obviously it hasn't worked because she is still wetting all over the place. First it was just little spots here and there. If she would be sleeping by the bed, there might be a spot where she was. She has always been treated like a family member and has full run of the house. We can't have this if she's going to be wetting all over the place...she's going to have to be confined until we can get this under control. Anyway, lately it seems like she hasn't been going to the door to bark to go out. We've been just letting her out alot. I'm wondering if she's just gotten lazy these past few weeks and has decided it's easier just to wet inside? I rented a carpet cleaning machine and did the whole house. No sooner had I finished, she had wet again. I can't stand this because I'm a very clean person and I can't take the smell. We are taking her back again tomorrow to the vet to see if we should try another medication. Has anyone gone through this with their dog? What did it turn out to be? The vet told me that she has a UTI, but the $400 I spent on the visit and medication has not helped. She has stopped licking down there as much (which the vet said is a sign of a UTI). I'm pissed (no pun intended!) after spending all that money. HEEEELLLLPPP! I can't yell at her or get mad because she's sick I guess...It's just heartbreaking to see your dog get old and slow down. ~Lisa

How sad when a animal suffers Until you get it under control, can you get some of those puppy pee pad thingies to put around for her to lay on/ use? It'll save your carpet and you can just toss those.
I've seen them at walmart, not sure how much they cost though.

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When our dog had her 2nd UTI in a row, I researched other treatments. We decided to add Apple Cider Vinegar to her dry food and she hasn't had a problem since. Her symptoms cleared up right away. I can't remember the amount, but you could google it.

Have you tried enzyme cleaners? I use it as a pretreatment and let it soak and then clean the carpet as usual.

Rebecca

I suspect part of the problem is that the scent left from previous accidents still can be smelled by your dog. Just shampooing does not get rid of it. My son swears by a product called Nature's Miracle. He gets it at Petco. I have to admit is does seem to do a good job on the stains. We have an excited pee-er so we go through a lot of it. Ours is still young so we are hoping she will outgrow that tendency.

She may need another round of medication or a totally different med. The best thing to do is to keep her confined to one room for now. Preferably one without carpeting. This might be UTI or age, or some other medical problem. Poor Cookie, poor you. It's no fun having an aging dog. Been there, done that. I hope some new meds will do the trick.

Has she been tested for diabetes? Is she drinking a lot of water?

My dog was urinating all over and was diagnosed with diabetes. She was about 6 years old and then received insulin injections twice a day until she died at 13.

Did the vet do a blood test?

Sometimes older dogs can get incontinent (just like older people) and I believe there is a medication for it.

$400 for a UTI diagnosis sounds extreme. Or did that include additional work up that came up negative?

I really doubt she has gotten "lazy". I have never heard of that before. I am sure it is a medical condition.

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Aw sweetie Lisa from one animal lover to another I am so sad for you sweetie and your baby dog. I do know from having animals all my life, whether dogs or cats once the pee in a certain spot, they continue to go back to the same spot, urine smell is soooooooooo hard to get rid of . Sadly for your dog if she is sick, I sincerely hope and pray she gets better and I know how hard it get be when they keep urinating . I offer a sincere prayer that things will be better for your dog and better for you the mom. Kindly keep us posted , perhaps can you bring your dog to another vet, is this the same vet you have been using, again I sincerely hope your baby doggie girl gets better... Peace . Catherine

Thanks to everyone for the posts and your help. I really appreciate it. I know that we have alot of pet lovers here! It's sad to see them getting old and even worse when they're sick. I know that when I've had a bladder infection I was in pain and just miserable. I feel bad now that I said I thought she might be getting lazy. The thought did cross my mind when I haven't heard her bark to go out much anymore. DH thinks because it's leaking out, maybe she doesn't feel the need to go out much. She was drinking alot of water (she always has really), but not an excessive amount. I'm going to have to check with DH to see if they did a test for diabetes. My friend's dalmation had that and I know she had to give her insulin shots. Since the vet we've been going to is familiar with Cookie and her problem, we'll probably finish this up with them. But I have asked some friends to recommend vets that might be a bit more inexpensive. They did call after the initial exam and say that her blood work turned out fine. DH took her and is really not that good at communicating to me what the vet said. I'm going to go with him when we take her back tonight. I'll have to check out that Nature's Miracle at Petco. It sounds like it's a great product to get the odor out. That's interesting about the Apple Cider Vinegar. It's definitely worth a try. I may have to get those pee pads or at least some doggie diapers until this hopefully clears up. I'll let you know what the vet says later. Thanks again! ~Lisa

I do hope you find an answer and get some resolve soon. I do work at a vet office (reception and admin) and depending on what they did, that fee did not surprise me. You said she was leaking, which did make me think it could be incontinence. We see a lot of older dogs w/that problem and they are often dispensed proin for it.

This site is a great reference for information:
VeterinaryPartner Home Page - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company!

Make sure your vet is AAHA accredited for the best care and keep us updated...we are thinking of you!

Our 16 year old dog does that. He has kidney problems. He has tiny stones that had to be surgically removed a few years ago. That helped for a while but they're back again. It's a very expensive surgery and we can't afford it again. The vet says he's not in pain. You can buy food from the vet made especially for it that helps keep the stones away and that's helped some. Also our vet said not to give him store-bought treats.

But don't spend money on doggie diapers. They're expensive! I buy WalMart brand baby diapers (you can get 30-35 for like $5.00) (depending on the size you need) and I cut a hole out for his tail and he wears them pretty much all the time. He still goes to the door when he wants to go out. But he has accidents and 'dribbles' (like you I was finding where he was dribbling). And at night he always wets himself. He usually can wear the same diaper all day if someone is home.

But other than that, he's in good health and not in pain.

I would think this is what your dog is experiencing. If the vet does an xray, you can see the tiny stones.

This is pretty much our experience with our 7-year old shih tzu

When she was about 1-2 years old, she was getting constant UTI's so we took her to a new vet and he diagnosed stones in her bladder. They were easily visible on the x-rays. He tried dissolving the stones with Prescription Diet S/D food but it didn't work so she had to have the surgery to remove the stones ($800).

She will be on Prescription Diet C/D forever to try to prevent stones forming again. She is also on Proin which helped for quite a while to prevent her "leaking", but it isn't working very well anymore.

The vet says there really isn't much more we can do for her, but he assures us that she is not in any pain and that her problem is really fairly common in certain breeds of dogs.

Well, DH took Cookie to the vet again last night. He said that her urinary tract infection is gone. All of the bloodwork that they did for her looks good. He seems to be pretty sure that it's incontinence which is common in spayed female dogs her age. He gave DH the medicine Proin. We were told to give her two pills, 25 mg each, once a day. If this doesn't work he said that we can increase the dose. I've been looking online for information on this drug and although there has been alot of success with it, it seems to have some nasty side effects. She hasn't taken her first dose yet. I'm planning on giving it to her tonight with her dinner. What are your opinions on this drug? Thanks... ~Lisa

Lisa, I posted above about Proin:

I can tell you that we have a large number of clients on this medication and it seems to work very well. I know my co-worker Cathie has her dog on it as well. You remember I lost my Dallas almost 2 years ago and I can honestly tell you, had he needed it, I would have used it. Do do the research on it though, there are always pros and cons and each case is unique.

I hope Cookie gets the fix she needs so the whole family can find some relief!

Thanks Ritz! Very useful site! I saved in my favorite places. I'll keep you posted on how things go. My poor baby girl! ~Lisa

I have heard both good and bad about this drug and went looking for myself.
read this :

http://www.i-love-dogs.com/forums/do...roin-read.html

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Thanks for this...I did google it and came up with the same article last night! Very scary. You wonder why if they took it off the market for humans, they would change the name and give to dogs? DH already gave her the pills with dinner...her first dose. I will be watching her closely. I don't like medication...for myself or animals unless it is absolutely necessary. Sigh. I hope I'm doing the right thing here. It's a tough call. It's been stressful because she's like a member of the family. I was up a good part of the night last night just sitting with her downstairs. ~Lisa

Did your vet do an xray of her kidneys? Like another poster and I said, it could be small stones in the kidneys. This happens a lot with older dogs. If that's the case, then you wouldn't have to put her on this medicine the vet gave you. If the vet didn't do an xray, I'd request one.