Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Our elderly female English shepherd has started dropping parts of poops in the house. I don't think that she is actually squatting b/c this will happen in a room in which people are sitting and no one sees it happen. She's also a dog who likes to go in/out, in/out and we generally accomodate her, so it's not like she couldn't wasn't being let out or had been inside too long while we were out of the house. I don't know whether this is relevant or not, but about a month ago she had the most massive amounts of liquid diarrhea I've ever seen. We took her to the vet and they could find nothing after a day of observation and many tests. This was repeated about a week ago, with lesser amounts. I didn't take her again, b/c at that point, I figured she must be getting into the trash (a favorite hobby--if we let down our guard at all, she's in there) and they hadn't found anything the first time. Is there anything we can do about the poop drops? Is this an aging thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 My guess is that it's fecal incontinence related to aging. Sometimes it can be something neurological going on that causes the dog to no longer be able to register the sensation of needing to defecate, or it can be due to a loss of muscle tone in the rectum and sphincter. If she were mine I'd want the vet to check her over. Fecal incontinence in dogs Lack of bowel control in dogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 could also be she is arthritic and it is hard to stay in the crouching position to poop, so she doesn't evacuate competely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 could also be she is arthritic and it is hard to stay in the crouching position to poop, so she doesn't evacuate competely. Yeah, her crouch position is somewhat different than it used to be. And she does have some hip problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 My guess is that it's fecal incontinence related to aging. Sometimes it can be something neurological going on that causes the dog to no longer be able to register the sensation of needing to defecate, or it can be due to a loss of muscle tone in the rectum and sphincter. If she were mine I'd want the vet to check her over. Fecal incontinence in dogs Lack of bowel control in dogs Thanks. They checked out basic stuff like worms/parasites and some other stuff when she had the epic diarrhea episode. I think there was an occasional poop-drop before that, but there have been more recently. She is definitely going downhill--pretty deaf, doesn't see well, has a condition that I can't recall the name of where her esophagus constricts causing her to not be able to exercise much (she can't keep up with me when I am out walking at my normal pace), & hip problems. But she still looks very happy (facial expression) and gets some clear pleasure out of things in life. So we wouldn't be taking any extraordinary measures at this point, just looking to keep her comfortable for as long as she's with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Yeah, her crouch position is somewhat different than it used to be. And she does have some hip problems. Is she on pain meds? there are really good ones now, and they are life changing for many dogs. No need for her to be in pain if she doesn't have to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Our oldest dog is a paraplegic and he does this. He has no control over when and where he tends to his business so fecal incontinence could definitely be the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 shepherds are prone to a neurological problem where they lose the feelings in the hindquarters, which can lead to incontinence. degenerative myelopathy. My shepherd had it. They dont experience any pain, but the hindquarters become . . . weak, uncontrolled. My dog would walk with her legs totally stiff because i guess she couldnt feel them enough to bend them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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