Older Dog Digestive Traits

Question
Hello Kristen,

I have a 13 year old Toy Manchester Terrier. Although his best years are behind him and he has lost his vision, he remains pretty healthy. Over the last 5 months he has developed a habit of having to go do his business every two or three hours.  He is often fine during the day but for whatever reason, when everyone in the house goes to sleep he develops the urge to go more often.  At one time he was able to go 8 hours solid, but this seems to no longer be the case. Case in point this past weekend after being the last one to leave the house and letting him out, i opened the door about 2 hours later to find that he had pooped on the tile floor. Last week he peed on the carpet.  More often then none, it appears as if he's doing it when no one is home.

My question is this a common habit by aging dogs and is it even possible he is doing it out of spite that no one is home. When i offer to let him out he often refuses to get up and would rather sleep.

What is you experience with aging dogs and their digestive habits.

Thanks Marc

Answer
Dogs do not do anything out of spite, Marc. Your dog's problem is more than likely age related. A thirteen year old Toy Manchester Terrier is about the equivalent of a 70-80 year old person. As people age, they can often begin to lose control of their bladder and bowels, and it's no different with dogs.

You might want to speak to your vet to see if there is an underlying medical condition that may be contributing to the problem.