Jump to content

Night Time Toilet Problem From Medication


Issy
 Share

Recommended Posts

My Cavalier recently started on heart meds which makes him drink like 10x more water and he needs to go toilet every 2-3 hours a day. During the day this isn't much of a problem as I take him outside but at night if I don't set my alarm he ends up peeing indoors because he can't hold it in. My whole sleep cycle is broken because I have to wake up to take him out and I can't figure out what to do.

I tried to get a doggy door to my balcony but my door being part wooden/half glass the installer said it wasn't possible with the type of door I have unless I go for the half/half option which will cost up to $800 and I can't afford that at the moment.

I've heard the indoor toilets really smell bad? my unit is rather small and I have no room to put it in the bathroom which means it will need to be in the living room do I have any other option? can anyone recommend one?

The pee pads probably wont work, he pees a great deal (like more than a glass full at a time) and it wont hold it. I have really thick carpet at home and cleaning it is quite difficult :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it were me, I would go for the indoor loo option. I have no idea about them but I imagine that they would be much easier to clean than your carpet.

Maybe get a cheap one for Crazy Sales and see how he goes with it. This one has good reviews.

http://www.crazysales.com.au/pet-toilet-pad-indoor-dog-grass-restroom-medium-p684.html

Good luck with it all. I can sympathise as I have one on prednisone at the moment and the drinking and going to the loo is beyond belief!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Id set up an area that has tile floors, such as bathroom or laundry, and place puppy pads of loads of newspaper down every night. I would then start saving for a dog door as you have no other real option and it must be stressful for your dog.

Being a male, you might have to find something to place in the centre of the paper for him to cock his leg up against.

I had the same problem with Monte many years ago before we got the dog door.

Edited by ~Anne~
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've used newspaper for these cases before but an indoor loo might work really well for you as well.

Can get them on ebay a bit cheaper I think and there are different sizes, just get the smallest option.

I once rehomed a Jack Russell to a 22nd floor unit and they had one on an enclosed balcony - he went straight there and pee'd on it - he got adopted as they were so thrilled with him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got a friend who bought an indoor plant which was slightly taller than the dog could pee (she has tiny dogs) and placed that in a tray full of fake grass and takes the whole thing out to hose off every day. Not my cup of tea, but I have big dogs who do big wees. Haha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it's a diuretic you're talking about, giving it earlier in the evening with a few trips before bed can help a lot.

Also, try to get a phone progress update conversation with your vet each week or two, you may be able to reduce the dose slowly and that will be more satisfactory for both of you, but don't make any changes without checking in with them first. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did a home check on a couple who were successfully using a shallow plastic tray (like from an auto shop) lined with only newspaper for a similar reason. They picked up the wet paper every morning and gave the tray a wash in their bathtub and put it on the verandah to dry during the day. I saw it while it was inside and there was no smell. Very cheap option. You could probably just wash it in the tub and leave it there to drain/dry if it wasn't in the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had this with Louis when he was on a high dose of Pred. I got a loads of old bath towels and placed them in his favoured spots indoors, but kind of bunched them up into a mound rather than laying them flat. It helped reduce accidents in unwanted places and I would just cycle the towels through the wash.

You have my sympathies, after a couple of weeks of getting up every two hours during the night I was a wreck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd also check the dosage with your vet and let him know your concerns. My dog was weeing a lot on his heart meds and even weed a tiny bit in his sleep so we altered the dosage and he's doing fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it's a diuretic you're talking about, giving it earlier in the evening with a few trips before bed can help a lot.

Also, try to get a phone progress update conversation with your vet each week or two, you may be able to reduce the dose slowly and that will be more satisfactory for both of you, but don't make any changes without checking in with them first. :)

We had a heart specialist appointment today and she said the exact same thing. She did kidney tests and told me I could lower the dose a little. If his respiration rate remains the same I can keep him on the lower dose.

@vehs, thanks! I did exactly that today.

Edited by Issy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had this with Louis when he was on a high dose of Pred. I got a loads of old bath towels and placed them in his favoured spots indoors, but kind of bunched them up into a mound rather than laying them flat. It helped reduce accidents in unwanted places and I would just cycle the towels through the wash.

You have my sympathies, after a couple of weeks of getting up every two hours during the night I was a wreck.

Right now my house looks like mountains with violently folded towels everywhere! It certainly helped a little last night except one tiny spot so I made it through relatively unscathed :)

By the way I've decided I'm definitely going with a doggy door option. In the long run this will be best so I'm saving and asking around for quotes etc.

@persephone, thanks for the link. I'm going to get some of these in the meantime.

Edited by Issy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Issy you won't regret the Conni pads. Perse suggested them for me sometime ago and they've been brilliant. I have them on my bed and the lounge and they've saved my bed on more than one occasion. (I couldn't bear to banish Mac just because he was occasionally incontinent) I also bought one of the 'proper' Conni incontinence mattress protectors - I've also put vet bed under all their material/foambeds on the floor - so all bases covered - in combo it all works really well.

Edited by westiemum
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...