Dog issue

[Night Elf]

What might the problem be if my female dog has started urinating in the house at night? The dogs sleep in my bedroom at night with the door closed. She goes on the floor near my bed almost every night. It's been a week now. We put her out before we go to bed. She's 9 years old. I'm thinking about making an appt. with the vet? Could it be an infection or would she be going more often, even during the day? There has been nothing stressful introduced into the house. She doesn't seem to have any other issues.

[gardenmom5]

could be health, could be marking territory. usually dogs won't defecate where they sleep. I would crate her, or put her in a bathroom/laundry room at night until you know what's up.

[StephanieZ]

UTI, diabetes, various other diseases, etc. Good idea to have a full blood panel with a urinalysis. And, of course, a physical exam.

[Pawz4me]

When a previously trustworthy pet starts having accidents, the first step should always be a vet check. You'll want to have her checked for a UTI, although you'd likely notice her going more during the day for that. Given the lack of other symptoms I'd suspect age-related incontinence. It's common in older female dogs, often related to declining hormone levels. And often nighttime accidents are when owners first notice it's happening. It's treatable with medication.

 

Incontinence in older dogs.

[Kebo]

I would strongly recommend getting a workup (bloodwork and urinalysis, to start with). There are many conditions that could cause this to start.

 

[Tammyla]

I'd take her in for a vet check too. In some dogs, nice is old and it could be age related or an illness, but either way you want to know.

 

Does she have water in the room and how soon does she eat and drink before bed time. These questions will be important if it is age related.

[Night Elf]

I'll take her in. There is no food and water in the room but we leave water down in the kitchen all the time. I haven't paid attention as to what time the dogs may be drinking before bed. I'm not even sure how often she pees during the day because since the weather has been so nice, she likes to stay outside more than when it was colder. I hate trying to catch her pee for a sample. It's not easy. She is shy and won't stay still if I come up behind her when she's peeing. In the 7 years I've had her, I've only managed it once. I need to handle this now though because we're going on vacation in a few weeks and she will be boarded at a kennel. That will probably stress her too. Poor thing.

 

I don't really consider her as being old. I still feel like we just got her and it's been years. :) She's 12 lbs. and I thought that smaller dogs lived longer than larger dogs. I'll call the vet first thing in the morning.

[StephanieZ]

The best samples are via cystocentesis, just bring her in with a full bladder and they'll get the sample.

[Cera]

Our dog had similar issues when she had thyroid problems.

[celticmom]

When I was a child we had a dog that suddenly became incontinent and it turned out to be kidney stones and she had a buildup of them in her bladder.