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Incontinence / Blood Clots / Mobility Issues

Last month, I came home to find blood on a throw rug but was not sure if my 14 year old yellow lab had urinated or vomited it up. It was accompanied with just clear "water" looking liquid. The next day, I came home to find not only the "water", but actual blood clots the size of an earthworm in two spots in my home. She wasn't acting any different and was eating and drinking her normal amounts. Within a day of these two incidents, she began her "incontinence" in the house. She also has cataracts and has extremely limited vision, so it is normal for her to "run into things". However; the other day, I was trying to get her outside to go to the bathroom and she squatted right by the door and started urinating. It was as if she forgot what she was doing and where she was going. I do believe that she has some "doggy dementia", but am concerned with her incontinence and lack of mobility. She sleeps all day, and is on 1300 mg of dog aspirin a day (650 mg in morning / 650 in evening) per vets request last year for her arthritis. I give it to her after her food, so it has less of a chance of irritating her stomach. I am deaf and I have had her for 12 years as my hearing dog; so I don't know if she whines in pain or if she is in any major discomfort. When does one know when it is "time" to put his/her beloved pet down? I have been struggling with this for the past month now. She is difficult to get into a vehicle and to the vet due to her size and lack of mobility and eyesight. I cant' find any vet in my area who is willing to come to my home to check her over. Any ideas as to what may be happening with her? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your dog is vomiting blood clots because aspirin causes stomach ulcers. Your dog needs to see the vet, stop aspirin, be treated for the ulcers and placed on different products to relieve canine arthritis pain.

There are many natural dog arthritis supplements available with Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitan sulfate, Omega-3 fatty acids and Hyaluronic acid that are safe and very effective for your dogs arthritis pain. This is not a reason to put your dog down..
If I can help further, feel free to follow up with me
Thank you
Dr Carol Osborne, DVM
Helpful - 1
234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
This is Dr. Cheng answering:

Stop the aspirin for good.  If she has gastric ulcers she should be placed on Sucralfate ASAP. Please ask your vet.  Once the ulcers have healed your dog could be placed on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory under your vet's supervision.  Not to scare you but your dog should also be assessed for other causes of blood loss besides ulcers, such as a ruptured splenic mass.  Splenic masses can be benign or malignant, so please don't panic yet.

I know that it is difficult to get her to the vet but she may have some anemia from blood loss and a CBC and other blood work needs to be performed to assess the anemia and also to assess her liver and kidney function, whether she has hypothyroid disease or Cushing's syndrome,  or if she has a urinary tract infection or is a diabetic.

There are quite a few causes for inappropriate urination, such as urinary tract infection, diabetes, Cushing's syndrome, kidney disease, bladder tumor, and of course, urinary incontinence (which can be a laxity in the muscle that innervates the urethra).  

If it is pure urinary incontinence she will pee in her sleep and be unaware of when the urine spills out.  She does not sound urinary incontinent to me.  She sounds as if she can't hold it because of a arthritic mobility issue, UTI, diabetes or Cushing's.  These really have to be diagnosed by your vet but, happily they all have efficacious treatments!  These treatments can really be very helpful!

There are traditional effective treatments for cognitive dysfunction that are very helpful also, such as the medication, Selegiline.  Selegiline can be supplemented with Prevagen, alpha lipoic acid, ginkgo biloba and other supplements to preserve brain function.  The supplements are available over the counter, and the Selegiline is available by prescription by your vet.

Lastly, if you would like to post again please post as a new question.  Otherwise it might get buried.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
What about her incontinence? She didn't have any accident yesterday, yet just about a half hour ago, I caught her peeing in the back room. It seems that if I don't get her right outside when she goes into the back room, she then squats and pees. Is this a common occurrence for a dog of her age? I DO have to help her get up and down the steps for her to go to the bathroom, but other than that, she walks on her own. I thought about getting those "puppy pads", but after reading the back of the package, it states that there is something in the pad to "encourage" the animal to go on the pad. I don't want her to get "lazy" and just go inside because the pad is there. What do you suggest? Also...is there anything that I can give her for the possible gastric ulcers that she may have as a result of the dog aspirin. I am upset because that is what the vet prescribed for her last July and we haven't had a problem with them until recently. She was on ascriptin first until she started vomiting that up. Then I changed it to the actual chewable animal aspirin that is on a popular animal pharmacy website. She has done well on that until recently.

Thank you for any input that you can give me.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you for your help!
Helpful - 0

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