loss of defecating control

Question
Dear Heather, I have a 10 year old black and white female great Dane. She has shown signs of hip displace for 4 or 5 years. She has been in relatively a healthy dog after having been bread and having 16 puppies w/ no problems. Then recently within the past 6 months, her feces just falls out of her rectum and she isn't even aware that it is taking place until it is already there. Then she becomes mortified of what has just happened. She is still very much on the ball and a great girl, but please tell me what I can do to fix the problem. We can't just put her down, but there has to be something we can do. Our vet says she was getting some paralysis in her spine. We are desperate.  Thank you Sincerely Fred Karban

Answer
Hey Fred. Is she still able to walk & move around ok? Does she drag her legs any? Sometimes when dogs get pressure on their spinal cord, they start to lose the ability to control their urination & bowel movements. Is she having any diarrhea? And is it the lab or the dane that's having these issues? Please answer these questions & it will help me to better figure out what's going on. Thanks!
-Heather