suddenly scared of crate
 

I have a 10 yr old Yorkie named Zoe. She is sweet and we love her to death, but she has some bladder control issues. If she is sleeping on the floor, she'll wake up, startled, and move to a different spot, leaving a very small wet spot behind. Honestly, we can deal with her "leaking". But the real problem is when we have to go to work. We bought her a crate last year that's made for a German Shepard, because I was concerned that if she "leaked", she would want a clean spot to move to. In the crate she's got plenty of space, a pee pad that she doesn't really understand, her bed, and a bowl of water. She used to go in the crate with very little argument (and even sleep in it at night), but lately she is resisting it with all her power. She is normally a very obedient dog- she walks without a leash and responds to my "stern voice" with very little argument. But now she has been running all over the house, trying to avoid getting in that crate, and when I corner her, she sits and tries really hard not to be moved. I washed the whole crate out very well over the weekend, thinking that I missed something that was bothering her. I also washed her bedding, as I normally do, and she is still very much against going in the crate. When we get home from work, she has torn the pee pad into a million pieces, her bed is upside down, and her water bowl is spilled all over the place.

PLEASE HELP! I'm considering sending her to Doggie Daycare if I can't get this resolved! I'm open to anything, including diapers (but I'm afraid that she'll dirty them, pull them off and shred them all over the room), pee pads (but I have tried unsuccessfully to train her on them) or even a container of grass in our house, so she will use it while we're out.

Did you take her to the vet? They have a medicine for incontinence, it's called Phenylpropanolamine AKA PPA and the brand name is Proin. It's very inexpensive. I would try that first!

Has she had a UTI recently? I've seen that happen (temporarily) after an oldie has a UTI. Just curious... I would definitely take her to the vet first and see what they could do. You would want to inquire if her kidneys are working properly, too.

Have you maybe tried a playpen?

Also, can she see well? Does she have cateracts? I was curious if she might have a sight problem, because that can lead to restlessness.

Zoe hasn't been to a vet in awhile. We just moved across the country and we haven't found one yet. I'll try to find one this weekend for her. I guess I never thought of a UTI.

I think she probably does have cataracts or some vision problem. Her eyes are cloudy, but her restlessness only happens when she thinks she has to get in the crate. If we are home, she is sleeping near us. If we are on the move, she is very well behaved.

Bless your heart. Yeah. I think a trip to the vet would help somewhat. I've had some oldies and I know that there are sometimes some unexplainable problems. If she's scared of going in the crate, I think I would try to put a gate up in a room where there is vinyl or tile flooring. I know you don't want to make her go in her crate if it scares her. It could be that she can't see well enough and it looks different to her now. Like I said, there are just some unexplainable things that sometimes happen when they get older. Let us know what you find out. OK?

I agree! A friend of mine went through this with her older shih-tzus and she ended up gating off the laundry room as the "dog room" and put washable pee pads on their beds and then it was easy to clean up after them. They could wear diapers when they ran around the house and otherwise they stayed in their room. When you aren't home and she can't see... it's probably scary for her. Good luck!

little terror
 

The only problem with giving her a room is that I tried gating the kitchen and letting her spend the day there while I was at work a few years ago. It was a difficult transition, but she was dealing with it for a few weeks. Then one day, I came home to find her looking crazy, bits of drywall paste all over her face and paws, and the start of a hole in my kitchen wall!! Honestly, I thought she had rabies or something because she never acts like that! So you can understand my apprehension to try such an idea again! ;)

I think she has separation anxiety or something because she always wants to be near us. If I could take her to work with me, I would, but I really can't. I just feel bad for the crazy little thing! I think I might try to hire a neighbor to visit her and let her out once or twice while I'm at work. If she get in the routine of having a visitor, she might calm down about us leaving.

They have that calming stuff (I forget the name of it). But I've never used anything like that and I don't know if it would be safe for an older pup. There are other YTers who have used things like that for separation anxiety. I guess she just thought she'd have some fun and show you what she thought of being shut up in there!:D

Wow! This really surprised me! :eek: I know that Phenylpropanolamine is an appetite suppressant for humans. It really is amazing to me that it is used to control urinary incontinence in dogs. I wonder if it also suppresses their appetites....??

For me, that was a real Hmmmmm. :confused:

Yeah it used to be in Dexatrim. But, according to my vet there are no long term side effects. The short term side effect of an over dose is hyperactivity. Loki's appetite is just fine, so I'm sure it doesn't effect that. He lives for food. :D He's been on it for 2 years or so now. It works! (He has diabetes insipidus, not regular incontinence, so he is also on a 2nd medication for that but the PPA still helps!)

Yes...I used to take Dexatrim when I was younger. It worked! It got to the point that if I ate one bite too much (and that was very little food) I would get sick. It took me a long time to get normal again after I stopped taking it. It was a bit scary. But I was r-e-a-l-l-y skinny while I was taking it. :D I think I would take it again now if I wasn't too afraid of it. LOL I sure could use it these days. :p