Happy holidays, everyone. Best to you all.

We have a 9 year old lab mix who has started defecating inside the
house. Second time was this morning in the bedroom on her dogbed. I
fed her at 7am, she walked away from her food (which is given right by
the door into the Poop Prairie, which is 1/4 acre and picked clean
typically) and back into the bedroom . When I went to see if she had
gone back to bed, I found the surprise.

She hasn't urinated inside (not unexpectedly, anyway) so I think this
might be a digestive tract problem only. After she dumped on her bed
this morning we let her outside and only then did she urinate.

Starting about a month or two ago, she started doing it in strange
places in the backyard: at the bottom of the deck steps, in her common
pathways, near the fence, etc.

We have noticed that when she starts to dump nowadays she typically
whines briefly or as long as a second or two. The whining is new. And
although the first poops are of normal hardness, she often continues
to squat and push for much longer than in the past. So the last bits
are normally very soft and more like baby poop. And what used to be a
10-15 second poop, turn, poop, sniff-and-trot away affair has turned
into a 25-30 second poop, slowly rotate, push and shiver.

The first time she defecated inside she had been very clingy as I was
washing clothes downstairs in the garage area. When I went to shoo her
away by gently pushing her butt forward she did the pained whine, spun
around, and hunched over and started popping them out.

She recently had conjunctivitis (pink eye pinkeye gooey ropey eye
boogers) and that cleared up after two weeks of ointment (no other
meds were given by the vet). BTW, we found that using moistened
spinning qtips to grab an edge of the booger and drag it out works
wonders. In case anyone needs help -- getting them out is a pain any
other way).

She has been on phenobarbs (for seizures) since she was probably 6
years old. 64mg twice a day. And so also Denosyl for her liver three
times a week (empty stomach only, 1 hour or more before food). I
wonder if her liver is getting shot and her ammonia is building up and
making her looney. That happens to human liver patients. The processed
food in the intestine creates ammonia, and a good liver rids the body
of it. A bad one has problems and ammonia is a bad thing. But a dog's
tract is so rapid I don't know if that same thing occurs.

We took her to the vet last week and the vet did a quick parasite test
(poked and microscoped sample) as well as prodded and expressed the
anal glands. She said nothing was apparently wrong except for the dogs
anus was a little reddened.

I just don't know. She was outside for quite a while before we went to
bed last night but it was obvious based on this morning's surprise
that she didn't dump last night. This was a massive pile. Which begs
another question: why is she putting out so much ? She used to be
50lbs, she's down to 40lbs now and although we are feeding her
slightly more (about a 1.25 cups 2x a day instead of 1cup 2x) maybe
she just can't digest the food properly nor control herself. I am
afraid she has a bigger problem like a tumor . Or we have read canine
lymphoma is a possibility given her symptoms.

So, the question is this: is she sick, or just getting old and
irregular?

Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated. From now on we will just be
sure she goes every night and morning and might even keep her outside
more often than not. And in the meantime we are thinking about taking
her to a different vet.

Thanks again for any help.

said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

So, the question is this: is she sick, or just getting old and
irregular?

There's a lot going on, for sure (and thanks for such a thorough
post!).

Your vet has checked a lot of stuff, but how about the hips?
When Good Ol' geriatric Murphy started pooing inside (never
peeing), it was obvious that she wanted privacy from the
jostling of the other dogs. It hurt when she assumed the
position. As it turned out, she had pretty severe hip dysplasia
and probably wanted an agreeable surface and no interference.

Do you accompany your dog (does she have a name?) outside?

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

This was my first thought to that I'd bet he has some arthritis and it's
painful to squat. It would be unusual for a 9 year old lab not to have
some. I think I'd talk to the vet about some pain medication for a few days
to see if you get any improvement in the pooping inside.

Celeste

"Rocky" wrote in message
...
said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

So, the question is this: is she sick, or just getting old and
irregular?

There's a lot going on, for sure (and thanks for such a thorough
post!).

Your vet has checked a lot of stuff, but how about the hips?
When Good Ol' geriatric Murphy started pooing inside (never
peeing), it was obvious that she wanted privacy from the
jostling of the other dogs. It hurt when she assumed the
position. As it turned out, she had pretty severe hip dysplasia
and probably wanted an agreeable surface and no interference.

Do you accompany your dog (does she have a name?) outside?

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

wrote:
Happy holidays, everyone. Best to you all.

We have a 9 year old lab mix who has started defecating inside the
house. Second time was this morning in the bedroom on her dogbed. I
fed her at 7am, she walked away from her food (which is given right by
the door into the Poop Prairie, which is 1/4 acre and picked clean
typically) and back into the bedroom . When I went to see if she had
gone back to bed, I found the surprise.

She hasn't urinated inside (not unexpectedly, anyway) so I think this
might be a digestive tract problem only. After she dumped on her bed
this morning we let her outside and only then did she urinate.

Starting about a month or two ago, she started doing it in strange
places in the backyard: at the bottom of the deck steps, in her common
pathways, near the fence, etc.

We have noticed that when she starts to dump nowadays she typically
whines briefly or as long as a second or two. The whining is new. And
although the first poops are of normal hardness, she often continues
to squat and push for much longer than in the past. So the last bits
are normally very soft and more like baby poop. And what used to be a
10-15 second poop, turn, poop, sniff-and-trot away affair has turned
into a 25-30 second poop, slowly rotate, push and shiver.

The first time she defecated inside she had been very clingy as I was
washing clothes downstairs in the garage area. When I went to shoo her
away by gently pushing her butt forward she did the pained whine, spun
around, and hunched over and started popping them out.

She recently had conjunctivitis (pink eye pinkeye gooey ropey eye
boogers) and that cleared up after two weeks of ointment (no other
meds were given by the vet). BTW, we found that using moistened
spinning qtips to grab an edge of the booger and drag it out works
wonders. In case anyone needs help -- getting them out is a pain any
other way).

She has been on phenobarbs (for seizures) since she was probably 6
years old. 64mg twice a day. And so also Denosyl for her liver three
times a week (empty stomach only, 1 hour or more before food). I
wonder if her liver is getting shot and her ammonia is building up and
making her looney. That happens to human liver patients. The processed
food in the intestine creates ammonia, and a good liver rids the body
of it. A bad one has problems and ammonia is a bad thing. But a dog's
tract is so rapid I don't know if that same thing occurs.

We took her to the vet last week and the vet did a quick parasite test
(poked and microscoped sample) as well as prodded and expressed the
anal glands. She said nothing was apparently wrong except for the dogs
anus was a little reddened.

I just don't know. She was outside for quite a while before we went to
bed last night but it was obvious based on this morning's surprise
that she didn't dump last night. This was a massive pile. Which begs
another question: why is she putting out so much ? She used to be
50lbs, she's down to 40lbs now and although we are feeding her
slightly more (about a 1.25 cups 2x a day instead of 1cup 2x) maybe
she just can't digest the food properly nor control herself. I am
afraid she has a bigger problem like a tumor . Or we have read canine
lymphoma is a possibility given her symptoms.

So, the question is this: is she sick, or just getting old and
irregular?

Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated. From now on we will just be
sure she goes every night and morning and might even keep her outside
more often than not. And in the meantime we are thinking about taking
her to a different vet.

Thanks again for any help.

No expert here, but I also think I'd take her to a different vet,
maybe even an internal medicine specialist if one is available to
you. Has your vet done any blood work to look for liver failure,
or anything else? Did she examine a stool sample? Is there any
sign of blood (either red or dark & tarry-looking) or mucus in
the stool?

Two things raise a red flag for me: One is her weight loss
despite being fed larger portions, especially if it was rapid
(how long did it take for her to lose 10 lb?). The second is her
evident pain when she has a bowel movement. As others have
pointed out, that could be due to arthritis or hip dysplasia, but
would that account for the weight loss or the softer stools at
the end of her bowel movement?

I hope you find an answer for your girl soon.

FurPaw

--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched,
every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

To reply, unleash the dog.

On Nov 17, 9:57 pm, FurPaw wrote:
wrote:
Happy holidays, everyone. Best to you all.

We have a 9 year old lab mix who has started defecating inside the
house. Second time was this morning in the bedroom on her dogbed. I
fed her at 7am, she walked away from her food (which is given right by
the door into the Poop Prairie, which is 1/4 acre and picked clean
typically) and back into the bedroom . When I went to see if she had
gone back to bed, I found the surprise.

She hasn't urinated inside (not unexpectedly, anyway) so I think this
might be a digestive tract problem only. After she dumped on her bed
this morning we let her outside and only then did she urinate.

Starting about a month or two ago, she started doing it in strange
places in the backyard: at the bottom of the deck steps, in her common
pathways, near the fence, etc.

We have noticed that when she starts to dump nowadays she typically
whines briefly or as long as a second or two. The whining is new. And
although the first poops are of normal hardness, she often continues
to squat and push for much longer than in the past. So the last bits
are normally very soft and more like baby poop. And what used to be a
10-15 second poop, turn, poop, sniff-and-trot away affair has turned
into a 25-30 second poop, slowly rotate, push and shiver.

The first time she defecated inside she had been very clingy as I was
washing clothes downstairs in the garage area. When I went to shoo her
away by gently pushing her butt forward she did the pained whine, spun
around, and hunched over and started popping them out.

She recently had conjunctivitis (pink eye pinkeye gooey ropey eye
boogers) and that cleared up after two weeks of ointment (no other
meds were given by the vet). BTW, we found that using moistened
spinning qtips to grab an edge of the booger and drag it out works
wonders. In case anyone needs help -- getting them out is a pain any
other way).

She has been on phenobarbs (for seizures) since she was probably 6
years old. 64mg twice a day. And so also Denosyl for her liver three
times a week (empty stomach only, 1 hour or more before food). I
wonder if her liver is getting shot and her ammonia is building up and
making her looney. That happens to human liver patients. The processed
food in the intestine creates ammonia, and a good liver rids the body
of it. A bad one has problems and ammonia is a bad thing. But a dog's
tract is so rapid I don't know if that same thing occurs.

We took her to the vet last week and the vet did a quick parasite test
(poked and microscoped sample) as well as prodded and expressed the
anal glands. She said nothing was apparently wrong except for the dogs
anus was a little reddened.

I just don't know. She was outside for quite a while before we went to
bed last night but it was obvious based on this morning's surprise
that she didn't dump last night. This was a massive pile. Which begs
another question: why is she putting out so much ? She used to be
50lbs, she's down to 40lbs now and although we are feeding her
slightly more (about a 1.25 cups 2x a day instead of 1cup 2x) maybe
she just can't digest the food properly nor control herself. I am
afraid she has a bigger problem like a tumor . Or we have read canine
lymphoma is a possibility given her symptoms.

So, the question is this: is she sick, or just getting old and
irregular?

Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated. From now on we will just be
sure she goes every night and morning and might even keep her outside
more often than not. And in the meantime we are thinking about taking
her to a different vet.

Thanks again for any help.

No expert here, but I also think I'd take her to a different vet,
maybe even an internal medicine specialist if one is available to
you. Has your vet done any blood work to look for liver failure,
or anything else? Did she examine a stool sample? Is there any
sign of blood (either red or dark & tarry-looking) or mucus in
the stool?

Two things raise a red flag for me: One is her weight loss
despite being fed larger portions, especially if it was rapid
(how long did it take for her to lose 10 lb?). The second is her
evident pain when she has a bowel movement. As others have
pointed out, that could be due to arthritis or hip dysplasia, but
would that account for the weight loss or the softer stools at
the end of her bowel movement?

I hope you find an answer for your girl soon.

FurPaw

--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched,
every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

To reply, unleash the dog.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks to everyone for their FIRST post.

HOWE, I appreciate your first post. Even so, you or your bot is
wasting alot of other posters' energy here and since the people of the
USA are already horribly wasteful without your help, why don't you lay
off a little. I hope you can cease the repeated foolish replies to
everyone who posts in these groups or at least limit them to one per
thread. Not three or four. Thanks in advance.

HOWE I am starting to appreciate your humor and replies. Disregard my
previous post :^) . Thanks again, I don't know HOWE you do it over
and over.

OK everyone, here's an update: me and the dog to remain nameless
(let's call her "Fawn" in honor of the baby deer she rousted, chased
into my namesake lake and nearly drowned two years ago) ran around in
the backyard tonight for at least half an hour before she let rip.

Fawn whined longer than I have ever heard (about 3 seconds) and took
about 1.5 minutes before she was done pushing. I thought she was never
going to stop.

I had already stopped running around the yard with her and had started
digging for small worms in the garden for my school of pet baby
crappies when she finally did it. I was about 40 feet away from her,
obscured by the dying tomatoes and dried beanstalks. So I don't think
she was pressured by me. Btw, she will typically eat just about any
veggie or tasty creature but we don't think she is eating the tomatoes
at this time.

She is going to the vet on Monday or as soon as we can get an appt. I
guess an X-ray or something is in order.

Thanks again for all the help and kind words. I wish you and your
loved ones the best this Thanksgiving and beyond.

wrote in message
...
We have noticed that when she starts to dump nowadays she typically
whines briefly or as long as a second or two. The whining is new. And
although the first poops are of normal hardness, she often continues
to squat and push for much longer than in the past. So the last bits
are normally very soft and more like baby poop.

........very soft stools are harder to expel and lead to straining. Have you
changed the food at all recently?

She recently had conjunctivitis (pink eye pinkeye gooey ropey eye
boogers) and that cleared up after two weeks of ointment

..........don't know what this signifies - could just be depressed immune
system.

She has been on phenobarbs (for seizures) since she was probably 6
years old. 64mg twice a day. And so also Denosyl for her liver three
times a week (empty stomach only, 1 hour or more before food

She used to be
50lbs, she's down to 40lbs now

........she needs a complete blood workup, especially since she's been on
phenobarb for so long. How often do you get the liver function checked?

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...nobarbital.htm

You may want to consider potassium bromide:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/seizure_disorder.html

It may be arthritis, but before giving any extra meds you need to have the
liver checked out.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

HOWE I am starting to appreciate your humor and replies.
Disregard my previous post :^) . Thanks again, I don't
know HOWE you do it over and over.

You've started off well by conversing with the lunatic and
following his crossposting and odd lingo. After this response,
you're in my short term loony bin. I'm giving you the benefit
of the doubt that you'll wise up.

My only advice, in addition what I offered before, and to which
you didn't respond, is to pay attention to buglady's advice as
it pertains to the AEDs your dog is taking.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Hey folks, just in case you don't know, this guy HOWE and anyone who
gives you ANY website links to click on should be regarded as guilty
until proven innocent when it comes to WEBSITES.

NEVER CLICK ON ANY LINK ANYONE POSTS ON USENET.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

Best to you. The dog is feeling better we think. I will post full
details later once I am sure.

Dog is fine now. The vet did this and that. Blood tests indicate we
should up her Denosyl to 4x a week, and the vet gave us some butt
ointment along with 10 metronidazole tabs. Wanted to pack her rectal
glands with antibiotics but would have needed to put her out to do
that so we opted to save the money that would have cost to buy bug
spray for our but infested cabins. Humans first of course.

After about 2 days of metronidazole she stopped whining and turds look
better now.

Case closed. Have a good one, folks!