r/SeniorDogsHealth

My dog Shaq has recently experienced urinary incontinence the last 2 months. He never had issues before and is very well potty trained. It happens most often towards the end of the evening after 7pm, once he has had his excercise for the day, eaten and drank water. He usually will lay down and fall asleep but will be awakened by small leakage. If it occurs overnight and he doesnt get the chance to pee outside, a larger pool may accumulate. It also does occasionally happen to a lesser extent during the daytime.

He has done blood and urine tests. His urine concentration has been consistently diluted. They also saw slightly raised levels to do with his kidneys and requested an ultrasound. The ultrasound ultimately showed no major damage or noticeable structural changes or growths or masses with his kidney (which has mostly ruled out the worry of serious obvious kidney disease). It looks mostly normal although may be slightly small.

The vet now thinks what he's experiencing may be most likely related to Diabetes insipidus or Psychogenic polydipsia. The vet has described it as still somewhat of a mystery though, because even those 2 conditions may not be the culprit. I've been instructed to track how much water intake he has on an average day and keep a record. Shaq has always been more of a guzzler with water, often waiting until he is very thirsty and then finishing a whole bowl. Im curious to see if his daily water intake is much above normal, as it does not seem obvious to me.

Has anyone experienced or heard of anything like this with a 3.5 year old Male Greater Swiss? Appreciate any commentary.

I have a terrier chihuahua mix who turns 16 next month. I'm struggling to decide if it's too soon. He has very cloudy cataracts that make it hard to see, arthritis (poorly controlled), and elevated liver levels (currently controlled). He seems confused and lost on bad days, which I have brushed off until recently, and has had a few seizures (months apart). The vet also suspects cushings but I have made it clear that I have no desire to test or treat for that at his age as it is expensive and is unlikely to extend his life (and she agreed).

I have been taking the QOL quizzes for several months and he has wavered around the middle depending on the quiz and the month. He still eats and drinks fine, but other factors are concerning me. I don't know if I should realistically wait until he stops eating and drinking again.

I first started seriously considering euthanasia 3 months ago when he had an episode that caused him to stop eating (his favorite thing ever), drinking, and getting up to do anything without being carried. I had a euthanasia appointment scheduled and he perked up and showed interest in life and food again hours after I made that call. I still took him to the vet, and long story short she deduced that he was feeling terrible from severe arthritis pain and tightly clenching his belly area. So he was put on a pain med and muscle relaxer, which seemed to perk him up more. He was originally taking carprofen but taken off of it a year prior when his liver values started to climb.

He had been treated for a UTI a month prior to this which I was only able to catch after he started frequently urinating indoors.

Because of his vision impairment, he frequently trips, falls off of, and runs into things. He's taken some serious spills back to back in the past week that are probably adding to the next paragraph.

The pain started breaking through at the start of this month even with the medication, followed by return of the frequent indoor urination. I had an NSAID blood panel ran and a urine test and both came back fine (I struggle to afford a full blood panel right now, please don't recommend without good reason). He was also the worst behaved I have ever seen him at the vet. He has always been friendly and patient, but this time he was scared, squirmy, and even whined, cried, and snapped at the vet. He has NEVER snapped at anyone before this. I forgot to mention the breakthrough pain at the appointment, but his options are limited because of his liver. The indoor urination has continued for a week after this last appointment, to the point that he's done it in bed and needed washed 3 days in a row. He's also been extra lethargic, disinterested in walks, not interested in snuggling, wobbly, prone to falling over, and confused and anxious.

Today was a good day. He was still very quiet and a little confused, but he was interested in going outside, went on a very short walk in the park, and followed me around the house. The past week has been mostly bad days or a wash, but maybe it could get better if I can help prevent him from hurting himself more? Maybe he's peeing more because he hurts? I really wish he could just tell me how he's feeling.

The last piece of my qualm is timing in my personal life. I know it's coming, and I know no time is really a good time... But an okay time for me to call it while his life is still good(ish) is next week. He has an appointment already for annual vaccines, AND I will have two weeks to grieve before starting a new job. That's all I'm really willing to share about my personal life, but back to the qualm: Should I do it within the next couple of weeks while it is easier for me to grieve without disrupting work (I envy the people that can function after the death of a pet), or risk waiting to see if he gets better again? How long would better even last for?

I'll be calling my vet tomorrow to ask her opinion, but it's unlikely she'll be able to talk to me until the actual appointment.

TLDR:

My 16 year old dog has had a rough time off and on for 3 months. I've done the QOL quizzes, he ranks in the middle. The last time I thought he needed euthanasia 3 months ago (he completely shutdown), he got better shortly after I made the appointment. This time he has had a slower decline over the past couple of weeks and I'm not sure if he can pull out of it or not. I have a window of time that would be good for me to grieve if I euthanize in the next couple of weeks, but I think I'll carry guilt of euthanizing too soon because, "What if he has more good days than bad left still?" I could find a way to fund vet bills for testing and treatment, but I honestly don't know if it will improve his QOL and lifespan for more than a few months, a year at best. I will get the vet's opinion as well, but needed to use Reddit as a sounding board for my thoughts.

My dog has some heart issues and a heart murmur, and I’m looking for a decent vet in the North Texas area (Prosper, Frisco, Aubrey, Denton, Little Elm, Carrollton, The Colony, Cross Roads, etc.).

I may need to get an echocardiogram done, so I’m hoping to find a vet or veterinary cardiologist who is:

• knowledgeable about cardiology/heart murmurs
• compassionate and good at explaining things
• reasonably priced and honest about recommendations

If anyone has had a good experience with a vet for heart issues or echocardiograms, I’d really appreciate recommendations. Thank you!