German Shepherd urinating in house

[marie3B]

I have an 11 yr old GSD female.  We have had her since 8 wks old.  She was easy to train to go outside.  NEVER went inside.  I had her at the vet for yearly check-up a month ago.  Everything was fine.  About 2 weeks ago I noticed she had peed on the floor by the back door.  I was surprised, to say the least.  Since this she has peed in the basement several times.  She is a hundred pounds almost, so this is a major problem.  She is let out all the time, day and night.  I am disabled, so she is not left alone.  I have not acted angry with her.  I know she is not doing it on purpose, something must be wrong.  She has acted a little confused at times also.  Any idea what is going on?  Karma is a really nice dog.

[ginger899]

I am so very sorry this happened to Karma. And I am sorry I couldn't have known this, and helped a bit more! I guess her heart went 'under the radar' at her previous assessment. Sometimes they check out ok at their annual health-check, then soon after something happens. That was what happened to my last dog, so I know, it is baffling.

Of course you are going to miss her, you poor thing! It's very sad. My thoughts are with you. Prayers for you too.

[marie3B]

Karma died Thursday night.  The vet said it was her heart.  We took her to the emergency vets and they put her to sleep.  She was stuggling to breathe.  It is so odd that she had a good check up just a month ago and now she is gone.  She had another appointment the next day to see her vet, but she didn't make it.  I miss her and I thank you, ginger, for your help.  Marie

[ginger899]

Marie, I am so sorry to hear that news about your own health. I only hope and pray that your own situation will improve. I hope your recent surgery was successful, and send good positive thoughts for any follow-up treatments you may have. I wish you well.

It is likely a dog will drink a lot more during the hot weather. Especially a thick-coated dog like a German Shepherd. But together with the incontinence, this does seem to signify a problem of one kind or another.

[marie3B]

Yes, she is spayed and also has been drinking much more than she used to.  She used to have her water bowl filled 3 times a day and now I am needind to fill it more than 3 times that.  I told her vet, but she seemed to think it was just the heat.  I don't.  I will take her back in too see the vet.  I have a recurrence of late stage ovarian cancer so this is hard.  Money is scarce and I just had surgery.  My husband will help get the sample.  Thank you for your help and I will post an up-date when I see the vet.  Marie

[ginger899]

Hi marie,
At a guess I would say that Karma might have a urinary tract infection. If that is the case, a course of antibiotics would probably clear this up. My own dog did exactly as you describe, some time ago, and a UTI was diagnosed. Amoxycillin cleared it up almost instantly (but as usual even if there is sudden improvement, still complete the course)

It will be confusing to her if she finds herself 'caught short' like this. She doesn't realize she's not too well, she must keep sensing she is doing the wrong thing, as she is so well trained.

It would be a good idea to take her to the vet as soon as possible. Take a fresh urine sample with you. If you find this hard to do (I don't know the nature of your disablement) -could you ask a friend to do it? If not, speak to the vet, and I am sure they will work out a strategy for you.

Another possibility is urinary incontinence, which unfortunately, can happen to spayed females in middle-age. Is she spayed?

Have her drinking habits changed at all recently? If she suddenly started drinking copious amounts of water, that is a symptom that needs prompt attention. That could be a number of things.

Good luck. Please post back if you can to tell us what happened.