November 28, 2011
I have a 15 year old dog with spinal stenosis that barks for no reason and is having bowel accidents in the house. We work full time and sometimes he barks all night long, we are very frustrated.
Full Question:
I have an almost 15 year old black lab who has started to misbehave terribly. The worse is the barking. He has some difficulty getting up (although he can do so quite readily when food is the object) and barks every 45mins to 1.5 hours AROUND THE CLOCK to be picked up. Due to his age, he is under the care of our vet for spinal stenosis. He currently takes both a prescription anti-inflammatory (Metacam) and herbal tabs for relief. When the barking started about 6 months ago, we put him out everytime he barked. Sometimes he would relieve himself, other times not. Then he began to bark AND have bowel accidents in the house. Even after coming in, he will have bowel accidents within 10 minutes. Sometimes he just barks to be pet or moved. It is very frustrating because his barks have lost "meaning" and we are up all night (we both have full time jobs) lifting him, letting him out or simply moving him. We have tried letting him bark, but he can go on 
Cindy's Answer:
It’s not unusual for old dogs to suffer from confusion, frustration or even a form of canine dementia. They deteriorate mentally and physically as they age and lose some of the cognitive and physical function they had as young dogs.
If you are frustrated, you can imagine how he feels.
The bowel accidents are likely not under his direct control. I have a 13 year old dog who is paralyzed in the rear and losing strength in the front end. She can no longer walk at all, and she also has periods of seemingly pointless barking. I think it’s just her frustration at not being able to do what she wants, her body is not cooperating. Normal exercise stimulates normal elimination and I’ve found that since my dog can’t walk anymore, she has a hard time pooping when she needs to go. Sometimes she goes outside and sometimes she goes after we bring her back in. I say nothing and pick it up. I know she can’t help it.
All dogs are different and at some point it’s very likely we will have to make the decision to euthanize our girl. I will have to wait until she tells me she is ready to leave. I think your dog’s behavior is a symptom of his medical issues and age.
Have you discussed this with your vet at all? I think that would be my advice.
Good luck, I know this is not an easy thing to go through for anyone.
Cindy Rhodes
If you are frustrated, you can imagine how he feels.
The bowel accidents are likely not under his direct control. I have a 13 year old dog who is paralyzed in the rear and losing strength in the front end. She can no longer walk at all, and she also has periods of seemingly pointless barking. I think it’s just her frustration at not being able to do what she wants, her body is not cooperating. Normal exercise stimulates normal elimination and I’ve found that since my dog can’t walk anymore, she has a hard time pooping when she needs to go. Sometimes she goes outside and sometimes she goes after we bring her back in. I say nothing and pick it up. I know she can’t help it.
All dogs are different and at some point it’s very likely we will have to make the decision to euthanize our girl. I will have to wait until she tells me she is ready to leave. I think your dog’s behavior is a symptom of his medical issues and age.
Have you discussed this with your vet at all? I think that would be my advice.
Good luck, I know this is not an easy thing to go through for anyone.
Cindy Rhodes
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