Cleaning up potty accidents is an inevitable part of puppy ownership. But many dog owners can expect a repeat performance when their pet enters their senior years. Older dogs may pee inside the house when they used to exclusively go outside. But don’t dismiss house training accidents as a natural part of the aging process. There is likely an underlying health issue at play. If your senior dog is having accidents, they deserve all the support and care you can give them.
Why Do Senior Dogs Have Accidents in the House?
Just as in humans, as dogs age, they’re at greater risk for a variety of health concerns, which can lead to bathroom issues like an inability to hold it, the need to go more frequently, or forgetting the appropriate place to go. All of which lead to accidents in the house, ranging from a few drops of urine in your dog’s bed to squatting right in front of you.
It’s easy to assume that accidents are a cognitive issue. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the signs of cognitive dysfunction syndrome, the dog equivalent of Alzheimer’s disease. One study found that 28% of dogs between 11 and 12 years of age and 68% of dogs over 15 years have at least one sign of the disease. However, Dr. Sagi Denenberg, a veterinary behaviorist at North Toronto Veterinary Behaviour Specialty Clinic, warns that there is more to senior dog house soiling than cognitive decline. He explains that statistically speaking, cognitive decline is one of the least likely causes of senior dogs having accidents. Physiological reasons for accidents are more likely than behavioral ones.
What Causes Senior Dogs to Have Accidents in the House?
Some of the reasons why senior dogs have potty accidents include:
- Pain. If your dog has arthritis or another condition that makes movement painful, squatting or leg lifting can hurt. So, your dog avoids doing it until it’s too late. Pain can also prevent your dog from getting out of bed or to the door before they have to go.
- Kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease affects the kidney’s ability to filter blood, resulting in increased blood flow to those organs. That leads to greater urine production and therefore more frequent need to pee.
- Hormonal diseases. If your dog’s hormones are out of balance, such as with diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or Cushing’s disease, it can cause excessive thirst. With more water intake comes a more frequent need to pee.
- Urinary incontinence. This is when your dog loses control of the muscles that hold in their pee. Besides accidents in the house, signs of urinary incontinence can include dribbling when your dog walks, peeing in their sleep, or irritation of the skin around the genitals.
- Bladder cancer. A rare form of canine cancer, bladder cancer can make your dog pee more often and in smaller amounts.
- Sensory decline. Vision loss can make it more difficult for your dog to walk or find a suitable place to go to the bathroom.
- Cognitive decline. Your dog may forget where they are supposed to go or may forget the meaning of body signals that warn them it’s time to go.
Finally, many of the above conditions can increase your dog’s anxiety levels, which Dr. Denenberg says can further escalate the situation. It’s important to be patient with your senior dog, so you don’t add to their stress.
When Should You See a Vet If Your Senior Dog Is Having Accidents?
As there are so many potential causes of senior dog potty accidents, you can’t simply blame it on aging and leave it at that. It’s essential you take your dog to the veterinarian to diagnose and address the underlying issue. Dr. Denenberg suggests, “When owners notice that house soiling becomes frequent (e.g., not a one-off accident), they should start to investigate with their vet. To me, a rule of thumb is two to three times a month for a dog who was trained entirely.”
How Can You Deal With Your Senior Dog Having Accidents in the House?
Depending on the reason for your senior dog’s accidents, treatment will vary. For example, a dog with hyperthyroidism may find relief with medication, whereas cognitive decline will likely continue to get worse as a dog ages. In cases of spayed female dogs becoming incontinent due to decreased estrogen, it’s often treated with medications that increase urethral tone or hormone replacement, either alone or in combination. “Not everything is treatable or can be ‘cured,’ but often, you can manage it rather well. That, of course, depends on the underlying problem, its severity, and its duration. The sooner owners investigate, the better,” Dr. Denenberg says.
But what do you do about any accidents that continue to happen? There’s no doubt it’s stressful cleaning up messes all the time, and it can feel like your dog is willfully disobeying the rules. After all, they were house-trained for years. But in most cases, your dog simply can’t help it, and accidents can be quite stressful for them as well. Fearing reprisals from their owner will only make matters worse. Don’t punish your senior dog for having accidents.
Instead, consider ways you can help your dog cope. For instance, diapers or belly bands can help some dogs make it through the night or other times when you can’t take them outside, although you need to change the diaper or band regularly for good hygiene. You can also place pee pads in the house then train your dog it’s okay to go on the pads. For dogs who simply can’t hold it until they get outside, this can be a great solution. Or consider another type of indoor potty spot like a litter box or patch of artificial grass on the balcony.
Can You Prevent Your Senior Dog From Having Accidents?
Dr. Denenberg tends to suggest indoor options only when a dog is limited from going outside due to a behavior concern, such as agoraphobia, or due to physical health constraints. With indoor solutions, he advises that owners should be diligent to clean and remove all remnants and odors. “Voiding urine and passing stools are physiological needs; the dog must do that. I don’t want to stress the dogs by forcing them to use unhygienic areas.”
If a dog is still able to go outside, Dr. Denenberg prefers the owners find a different solution. For example, changing their routine to include more frequent walks, hiring a dog walker when they can’t be home, or putting the dog in doggy daycare. In fact, these solutions might prevent accidents from happening at all. For example, if your senior dog has a consistent routine and sufficient opportunities to go out, they might not need to soil inside the house. But realize you need to adapt to your dog’s changing needs. A few trips outside a day may have been sufficient before, but your senior dog might need hourly bathroom opportunities now. Work with your vet and experiment with different options to prevent or manage accidents and provide your senior dog with the best quality of life possible.
This article is intended solely as general guidance, and does not constitute health or other professional advice. Individual situations and applicable laws vary by jurisdiction, and you are encouraged to obtain appropriate advice from qualified professionals in the applicable jurisdictions. We make no representations or warranties concerning any course of action taken by any person following or otherwise using the information offered or provided in this article, including any such information associated with and provided in connection with third-party products, and we will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages that may result, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death.