Why is my dog having trouble peeing or pooping? Is it serious?

HI, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Star! I am assuming when you say he has difficulty walking after defecating that he is walking hunched like he still has to poop? I see that Star isn't neutered, I would have your Vet feel his prostate to make sure it isn't enlarged and painful. Intact male dogs are at risk for benign prostate enlargement, inflammation of the prostate and prostate infections. As the prostate enlarges it can press on the colon or the bladder and make urinating and defecating challenging. I would also want be sure he doesn't have any back pain too. It still could be his anal glands and they could be still empty but inflamed and need antibiotics or anti-inflammatories. I hope this helps and please feel free to contact me with any further questions.

King's urinary symptoms could be due to a urinary tract infection, crystals in the urine, stones in the urinary tract, a mass, endocrine disease, or toxin ingestion. It is important that you have King seen by a veterinarian to help determine the cause of the signs and to start treatment. If you notice him straining to urinate/unable to produce urine, this is a medical emergency and can be life threatening, so he needs to be seen by a vet right away. Skin lesions can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. I recommend having King seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the lesions you’ve noticed and to make sure they are treated appropriately. The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. In the meantime, you can bathe King in hypoallergenic shampoo for dogs to clean the area, but this will likely not resolve the lesions.

If king is urinating blood he has to go to the vet. In the above info you refer to king as a girl but in the info page it says king is a boy. Either way damage to the penis, bladder infection, bladder stones and urethral issues can cause blood in urine. King really needs to see a doctor to determine the cause and give proper treatment.

If the area is too swollen for him to urinate (ie the urine cannot be evacuated through the opening prepared by the surgery), then this needs to be rechecked by your veterinarian. He could also withhold urinating due to pain, so make sure you give him the pain medication given to you for him by the vet , or get some from the vet for a few days. Any movement, including pressing to poop, probably hurts, so Ginger may try to avoid eliminating. Again, pain medicine is necessary to help him eliminate without fear and pain. Food wise, I suggest you feed him the food he is used to, do not abruptly changed his diet. If Ginger does not urinate within another 23 hrs, it is an emergency and he must be seen by the vet.

This can be a sign of nerve damage, dementia or pain. If he is too painful to get up. And posture and go, he will just go on himself. If there is arthritis in the spine that is affecting the nerves he may not be able control it. Your vet can do an exam to see what the cause and what treatment options you have going forward

It sounds like Trevor has fecal incontinence. This can have several causes, including nerve damage to the rectum and arthritis, which causes pain when posturing to defecate so they hold it longer than they should. Prostate enlargement can also cause some issues. I would recommend taking Trevor to the vet for a thorough evaluation. They will do a physical and neurologic exam to determine if there are any issues. They may recommend x-rays to look at the pelvis and bones around the based of the tail, and to determine who things look on the inside around the colon.

Hello. It may not be obvious, unless you can tell that he might be dragging his back feet a little. But this can be very subtle. You might notice the nails on the back feet are quite short. Your veterinarian will due a neurological exam by testing placement reflexes with his feet. A positive response is not anything to be overly concerned about. These are very common aging changes. All I was saying is this may explain the accident in the house & by no means indicates this will get worse. It is just something to be aware of. And, there are other reasons for house soiling accidents, so if it happens again, just have Maverick fully examined to make sure nothing is missed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.