my older dogs behavior/problems

Question
Hi there, i hope you can help me.  i have a beagle/basset mix, about 12 years old.  she has been "fixed"(i don't remember which word is for females)and i got her from the humane society about 8 years ago.  she has been a wonderful dog for me and i have recently noticed some changes that i was wondering about.

Bailey(her name)has been urinating in my room during the night while i sleep.  she used to wake me when she had to go but recently she hasn't been doing that.  its mostly in the same place which is right in front of the door, but there has been an occasion where is was closer to my bed further away from the door.  i was just wondering if this is simply incontinence from old age or something else?  I have three roommates and one of the roommates just got a puppy.  Could it be that my dog is digressing in behavior because of the puppy? Out of spite or jealousy?  The puppy is going to be gone in one week but i cant help but think this could be more serious; after all, Bailey is old.  I hope you can help me--i love my dog and don't want to punish her for something she cant control, nor do i want to make her strictly an outside dog.  Please help!

Seth

Answer
Seth, it could be either of the things you suspect. She could be 'marking' because of the puppy, to assert that this is HER territory, or she could be having bladder leakage as she sleeps, or just not quite able to hold it long enough to wake you up. I would try crating her first, to see if the problem persists even if she's in her crate. If it does, talk to the vet about it. She may have an infection, or she may just be becoming incontinent due to age. There are medications she can be put on to help if it's incontinence. If she doesn't pee in her crate, then it's most likely because of the puppy. I would continue to crate her until the puppy leaves, since you say it's only going to be there another week. Thoroughly clean the areas where she has already peed, using an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle to remove all traces of the smell, to discourage her from continuing to do it once the puppy is no longer in the home.


PS- Female dogs are spayed, male dogs are neutered. ;^)