Bladder Issues

Suddenly my dog seems to be peeing all about when before he was trained and never would do this. He is a small dog and only 8 years old so I don’t think its age related and he seems healthy. Is there anything special I can feed him or is this all probably behavioral?

Although your dog appears to be “healthy”, the body expresses symptoms externally to reveal that something is not correct internally. The first thing to do is address the food and treats your dog is consuming. If you recently switched to a different brand or decided to try a new treat look and see if “salt” is included in the ingredient panel. Salt can lead to increased water consumption which could potentially be the culprit for the accidents in the house. Keep in mind that “all-natural” or “organic” products can also contain salt so don’t overlook reading their ingredients.

If you haven’t already done so I would consider scheduling an appointment with your vet to have a urinalysis and blood work panel performed. These tests can help rule out possible health issues such as UTI, bladder stones or kidney dysfunction. If diagnosed in the early stages any of the above possible issues can easily be treated with herbs or homeopathic medicine.

If food, treats and blood work check out then I would consider if this new habit is behavioral. Our pets are emotional creatures. Sometimes we forget this and don’t realize that a move, addition to the household (child or another pet), or change in YOUR schedule can impact our pet’s stress level. Sometimes pets do urinate in the house to show anger or to receive more attention regardless of the consequences. If anything has changed you can always see if spending more quality time with your dog helps or seek the advice of a good trainer to help with this new behavior.