Jake

Question
My dog Jake is a 12 year old shepherd mix.  A little ove a yr ago, we moved from Phila. to New Orleans.  In Phila. we had 4 dogs, but we could only bring 1 with us when we moved. At first he was mopey, he wouldn't play or anything. He has adjusted pretty well,and there are days when he just sleeps all day, but then he's as rambunctious as a puppy (!) but in the past 3 months or so, he has been gagging a lot, sometimes to the point of vomiting.  I felt his throat, and it feels like something is stuck there, but nothing comes out when he throws up except his food, or grass. He licks the carpet, eats grass, then gags and throws up.  The past 2-3 days (and nights) he has woken me and/or my boyfriend up to let him out about 3:30, 4:00 A.M. We get right outside the bedroom door, and then he pees on the rug.
Last night I let him out before I went to bed, then 10 mins. later, he peed on my bed, AND my boyfriend!  About 1/2 hr. ago, I went to make the bed, and the bed is soaked with pee.
Does this mean he has something wrong with him, or could it be he wants more attention? A friend of mine says he's just getting old, and should be put to sleep. I will do ANYTHING not to have to put him to sleep.  I love him, and want to help him.

Answer
Jill,
Don't let your friend's advice overstress you. Although at twelve years old he is considered a senior citizen; that does not mean he might still have a few good, healthy years left to provide.
I want you to understand that when a dog displays elimination behavior such as he is; it is a form of communication. Similar to their wolf cousin's, dogs use both urine and feces to communicate both to each other and to us. I feel your dog has something very important he is trying to communicate. My first thought is that he is experiencing a medical condition or problem that needs to be addressed. Such problems include bladder infection, diabetes, hormone imbalances, or even kidney failure, all of which can be treated and supported.
I recommend that you schedule and appointment with his regular veterinarian and have him examined. Your vet may choose to perform blood work or a series of tests to help ensure a proper diagnosis, if this is the case. However if he comes to receive a clean bill of health, the problem he is having could very well be behavioral related. Yes, he may miss his previous companions or be overstressed due to the move and his new surroundings, but the problem could also be more complex and require some detective work on your part. I am going to offer a few suggestions that may help if the problem comes to be behavioral.
Limit his water quaintly after eight pm, to help in cutting down his bladder capacity, (however makes sure any kidney or liver problems have been ruled out first, as these medical problems would require him to be medication that would increase his thirst and need for water). Next I suggest you look to providing him with his own bed, and not yours. Limit his access to your bedroom when you can not monitor him. Also make sure you both are providing him with the same signals in the way of rank. If he has come to accept that he is the alpha male and you his alpha female he may be feeling that your boyfriend is "butting in" , and is trying to communicate that he will not stand for it.
Finally I want to address his diet, as most pet owners are not aware of the ingredients being used in the commercial foods that they choose to feed their pets. Look to the main ingredients in the food you are feeding, and know that by-products consist of not only indigestible items such as; feathers, hair, hooves, fecal matter, and diseased meats, deemed inconsumable for human consumption and that are what is scraped off the floors of slaughter houses. Listed fillers are items such as compressed hair, peanut hulls, and even newspaper. Not only are most of these foods indigestible, but they provide inadequate nutrients.
Most likely your dog is lacking the majority of the nutrients his body needs to function on a daily basis. This can not only leave him immune system weak and vulnerable, but can lead to most of the diseases that are pets come to be plagued by.
I will offer a few food alternatives to the current food you are feeding, and can assure you will see a complete change not only in his appearance, and behavior, but in his overall health. The foods I have come to recommend are the result of years of research on nutrition, and its relation to canine and feline diseases I have done. Before I started my research I was also completely unaware of the direct relation. I came to realize that several of the breeds of dogs I own, (Mastiffs), where all developed in Europe and it made complete sense, that they evolved eating food ingredients indigenous to that region.
Before hand my dogs my dogs suffered many ailments from allergies to the occasional onset of unexplained diarrhea. Once I started to provide them with foods made from lamb, chicken, and barley, and oatmeal, they did complete 180 turn around, and what seemed like overnight, all the existing conditions they where displaying previously disappeared. Most commercial dog foods on the market here in America contain beef parts, and corn fillers. Knowing that Shepherds have a tendency to skin problems and conditions; I recommend you change his food to one of the following, (in a senior dog formula);  Innova, (California Natural), Solid Gold, (Hund-n-flocken), Neura/Old Mother Hubbard ,(Wellness), Natural life, (Lambaderm), or Natures Recipe (Senior lamb and rice, or their breed specific created food for working breeds of dogs). Most of these foods can be found at large pet supply stores and although they are more costly, he will come to eat less, (since he will be filled with nutritional foods rather than indigestible fillers), and you will need to buy less. Your dog food bill will be actually less.
Finally, I recommend you add an over the counter supplement called, "The Missing Link" to his diet. It is also available at most large pet supply stores. It has not only all the proper levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals our dogs need, but also high levels of omega fatty acids that will ward off any skin problems, excessive shedding, and allergies.
I invite you to research these findings; there is a great deal of written informative information, in addtion to a vast amount of information on the internet.
I try and inform as many of my clients and questioners of these facts as possible, and have had nothing but positive feed back. I hope this comes to offer you some insight as well, and that if does come to be diagnosed with a medical condition that these suggested changes offer help in providing him some relief. Please feel free to get back to me for more information, or with any additional questions or concerns.
                                     Jodi