I have a 12 year old chocolate lab that to this day since we moved into our new house (3 years ago) has always lived on the incloseded porch. She is old and has a bladder and bowel problem where she can't control when she goes. The vet checked her out and she's healthy. It's just the age. We want her to be a complete outside dog in a dog run we have in the back of one of our barns. We used to use it for our 2 pit bull puppies that are now a year but they can jump over the fence. We live in Maryland so it can get hot. Very hot in the summer so I was wondering what supplies I can get to keep her happy cooling pads ect. I already have an igloo we don't use and there is a door for her to go into a kennel in the barn. It would be around the same temp as when she was in the porch because it wasn't connected to heat/AC so if you have any tips please feel free to share.
Hello there, and a very warm welcome to you. Is your old dog going to be happy in a barn, do you think? It sounds as though right now she is close to the house, and close to her family, and I assume gets your attention on a regular basis? It seems a bit tough to move such an old girl to a new place. If she is already in the porch, is it not possible to effectively clean up after her there? At 12, which is a good age, you probably won't have her many more years, it would seem kinder perhaps to let her live where she is used to being....
Hi to you to. For one yes she gets daily interaction from me and the family but no it's not effective cleaning on the porch because there are cracks in the wood as in between the boards. we have considered sealing between them but then decided against it. I just want tips to help her adjust outside. Keep her cool and happy ect.
Lino is really good laid on a wooden floor when a dog might pee or poo - I used it when my boy was a puppy and didn't want him soiling a wooden floor that was hard to clean. Perhaps a large sheet of lino on your porch floor might be the thing? Something like that, anyway.
Can you tell us exactly what the bladder and bowel problems are? My old girl hurt her back and became faecal incontinent. Honestly, we are not sure if the neurological degeneration in her back was the cause of her incontinence or if it was the pain meds making her too numb to feel a bowel movement coming on. Faecal incontinence is much easier to deal with than urinary, just pick the poopers up and put them out. But a higher fibre food did help her, it bulked up her stool so she could feel a movement coming on sooner, although not always soon enough. There are meds for female dog incontinence, it's not unusual at all. They won't help your girl?
I don't know exactly about it but wee did try pills from the vet to treat it but we had a very bad reaction to it so the vet told us to stop giving it to her. I just want tips on moving her outside and stuff like that.
