bowel control

Question
I have an 8 yo female great dane. She has always been an inside dog and was potty trained at a young age. For the first 7 years she never had an accident in the house after house broken. She would go to bathroom when took her outside and would bark and whine if needed to go any other time. We always lived in the same place until may 2009 we purchased a new home. At first she was fine then after about a month she would only pee outside and wait until inside and poop. At first I thought this might be her upset due to life change. So she had gotten better in the last 5 months. But now she will pee outside and wont poop sometimes, even if she is outside for long periods of time. Its almost like she holds it maybe? Then maybe an hour later she will be laying on her bed, will not get up, bark, or whine, she lays there and poops while laying on bed and doesn't move. She acts as if she doesn't know it until she smells it then she still lays there and starts hanging head like she knows she did something she wasn't suppose to. She doesn't have any hip problems and its normal formed poop, not diarrhea. So I really don't understand if aging or behavior problem? I'm really at a lost and any advise would help....thanks.

Answer
Callie,

If she is laying down and pooping, she is loosing control of her bowels. You can use a product called HomeoPet Leaks No more. This helps tighten the sphincter muscles that cause incontinence in dogs. You put drops into their water or food, or directly in their mouth everyday. You can get it here:

http://www.carealotpets.com/Products/HomeoPet-Leaks-No-More-15-ml__4322.aspx

I have recommended this product to a few people and they have always come back for more saying that it is a wonderful product.

It does say for urinary leakage but since the sphincter also controls the muscles in that area, I see no reason to not try this on your dog for bowel control.

Some more information on Bowel Incontinence for you:

What causes bowel incontinence?
Normal control of bowel movements depends on proper functioning of the colon and rectum, the muscles surrounding the anus (anal sphincter muscles), the brain, and the body's nerves (the nervous system), plus the amount and consistency of waste products produced.

There are many causes of bowel incontinence, including:

Damage or injury to the anal sphincter muscles or the nerves surrounding these muscles
Anal surgery for another condition
Certain medications, such as antibiotics or Neurontin
Improper diet
Radiation treatment to the lower pelvic region
Chemotherapy
Stroke
Conditions associated with chronic diarrhea or constipation
Systemic (whole-body) diseases such as diabetes or scleroderma
Spinal cord damage


I hope this answers your question and helps you out.