Bowel Incontinence

For those seeking advice on caring for incontinent pets and animals with kidney-related problems.
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HavensHuman
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Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2018 6:15 pm

Bowel Incontinence

Post by HavensHuman »

Hi, my dog Haven is 15 and has been paralyzed for a few months (suspected DM). At first he was able to pee and poop on his own. Then he lost his ability to pee on his own.

I got him a belly band and it has made him much more comfortable.

Now he has a hard time controlling his bowels. He still has most control but not full control. And he freaks out when he has to poop. But he drops poops and then drags it all over the house (my mom is NOT happy at all).

Since I had to move back home and my mom is a self proclaimed animal hater I am having an extremely difficult time (another topic).

I've tried diapers but the holes are always large enough to let poop through. He can't have one with no hole because of his tail.

I tried a puppy pad under him but he is an extremely active dog and rarely sits in one place for longer than a few minutes.

He gets acupuncture and hydrotherapy twice a week and he is on an anti-inflammatory medication (I cannot remember the name off the top of my head).

Does anyone have any suggestions to make both his and my life a tad easier?
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CarolC
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Re: Bowel Incontinence

Post by CarolC »

Hooray for belly bands! They are the best!

I'm sorry about the situation with your mom. *sigh* I think you can get things to where she will be happier.

You have 3 options that I can think of for Number Two, and you'll probably want to use a combination of ideas. The first idea is, you can encourage him to eliminate at a time and place of your choosing. It may be on a potty pad, in the grass, or holding him over the toilet (though that is better for smaller dogs, not 55 lbs.) There are a number of techniques you can use to "express the bowel". Here is an article with various ideas. I like the Q-tip idea, the ice cube idea, and the pinching method. I have used the pinching method the most. This article also has tips on the best time to express the bowel.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586

It is also very helpful to adjust his diet, if needed, so any "falling road apples" aka "landmines" are firm, low odor, and not sticky. This means they will not mess up the carpet or your dog's fur. I have had the best luck with feeding my incontinent dogs Science Diet w/d dry kibble (the canned variety did not work). Here is a video I did, showing expressing one of my dogs. You will see the stools fall onto a clean white potty pad and...LEAVE NO TRACE. So imagine how much better it is if something of this constency falls on your mom's carpet, compared to the usual waste that sends you running for the spot remover. Quality stools make a big difference.

Video expressing the bowel demonstrating stool quality here (graphic):



So if you express the bowel, that will reduce random waste being left everywhere. It may not solve the problem 100% but it will help.

The next thing is clothing to contain the waste. You are lucky your dog is a boy, so you do not have to worry too much about waste contacting the urinary area and causing an infection (like it can with female dogs). You can get a drag bag, which protects the dogs from scrapes and abrasions when dragging, and collects any waste inside the bag. They have sizes all the way up to XXL so you can measure your dog and find what will fit.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/walkin-drag-bag/

Another idea is to get a dog diaper cover with a cord lock tail. That means there is a tail hole for the tail to go through, but then you can tighten a drawstring around the tail and prevent the exit of any solid waste. Here is one brand to look at, but I think there are others (there are many brands of drag bags, too). If you sew you can make your own. If you want help finding more brands to compare, either of diapers or drag bags or whatever, please post back and I will see what else is available nowadays.

https://www.samsdoghut.com/ecommerce/ul ... wraps.html

That being said, some brands of diapers without the cord lock tail have a smaller tail hole which makes it difficult for waste to escape, so just because there is a hole does not necessarily mean it won't work, it depends on the size of the tail hole. I have one diaper here that has a very small hole. It is made by Pooch Pads. I do not know if they still make them like that anymore, but it takes concentration to thread her tail through the hole and it is a pretty tight fit once it is on. Here is the kind I mean, but like I say, I don't know if they are still making them the same, the one I have is probably 10 years old. The difference is, I don't think you get as much roominess in the rear with a regular diaper.

http://www.poochpad.com/poochpants.html

There used to be something called pouch pants that left extra fabric so there was room to collect waste without having it pressed against your dog's fur, but as far as I know the lady doesn't make them any more. So if you do manage to find a regular dog diaper with a smaller hole, you want to see if it is roomy enough so your dog does not end up a mess. I'd be concerned about the skin. But again, my experience with w/d dry kibble is the stools are less likely to gum up your dog's fur or make a doggy disaster that needs a bath.

Hope this helps!
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