Fecal Incontinence

About 2 weeks ago Mugsy went to the vet to have a small mast cell tumor removed from one of his back legs. He has had some mobility issues due to arthritis and hip dysplasia but has always been a very regular pooper and never had any accidents in the house....as soon as we took him to the vet he has basically lost control of his fecal continence, he is no longer regular and has been having multiple accidents daily in the house. At first I thought it was stress related but he hasn't gotten any better. I can take him outside and walk him around the yard for 30 minutes, he will come in, lie down and have an accident and doesn't realize it. He pees outside no problem and doesn't have any pee accidents in the house. We have been trying to make him comfortable and have installed baby gates so he can live in the kitchen which is an easy zone to clean up and we let him sleep on puppy pads in our bedroom at night because my heart can't let him sleep alone in the kitchen. Has anyone else had any experience with this coming on so quickly, am I fooling myself by thinking about trying doggie diapers? I hate seeing my poor little guy go through this

So sorry your guy is going through this! The fact that it came on so suddenly would give me hope that it might be a temporary issue. I have had fecally incontinent Pugs and thankfully the poops have all been firm little dollops and easily picked up and disposed of. My Imi is virtually fecally incontinent and I don't give it a second's thought. Just follow her with some loo paper and dispose of it in the loo. No mess left behind.

This is definitely something I would be discussing with the vet. Hope all is okay!

Yes, do talk to your vet and let us know their opinion.

It came on quite quickly after the surgery, so maybe, just maybe, there is some internal immflamation which means that he is unaware that he needs to poop - maybe even unaware that he is pooping?

If that is the case, it may get better. But sometimes it is just age and you learn to clean up after them or put diapers on them when they are sharing carpeted areas with you. No big deal.

Hopefully it is just a temporary side effect of some sort. I would definitely talk to the vet. How old is Mugsy now? We've had several fecally incontinent pugs who were/are older so it really doesn't phase me. Like Rona, I just pick it up & flush it. It's just part of the aging process for most pugs, I think. I probably wouldn't put a diaper on him since the poop would be trapped & not only would it be more messy to clean up, but it could lead to other problems by having the bacteria trapped in there. I know that, at least for girls, it can really exacerbate urinary tract problems. Good luck & please keep us posted. Kisses to both of your babies!

Thanks for the input everyone....we have been back to the vet twice and thy are pretty much stumped and just keep giving us different meds that in my opinion aren't helping him at all so at this point I have taken him off of everything and he is much happier. We are going in tomorrow to get his stitches removed so I will talk to them about it one more time. I wish it was as easy as walking behind him and picking up poop, but he usually has accidents when he is sleeping, his poop is not so hard and then he tries to get up and because his legs are so weak he ends up spreading it all over the place....I have no problem cleaning it up and giving him baths 2-3 times a day, I know that comes with the territory when you have an older dog ( we went through much worse with poor Opie) he is around 11 now, It just seems odd that it happened so quickly. Changing his diet get harder poops is not an option as he has always had soft poop no matter what food we have had him on. I don't think I have used the word poop so much!

No suggestions, but I hope it gets better. If not, send him to me, he and Yoda can be poopers together in my house!

FurSprinklers wrote:No suggestions, but I hope it gets better. If not, send him to me, he and Yoda can be poopers together in my house!

Yoda can come visit but Mugs isn't going anywhere :)
They can have a pooping party!!

Do you have any vets nearby that do chiropractic or accupuncture? I have to wonder if maybe some position they put him in during surgery might be pinching a nerve. Since he was out of it he would not have yelped in pain so they might not know.

I have had 3 fecally incontinent pugs in the past few years and I found that accupuncture and chiropractic did help a bit. But when they got a lot older I just took this attitude "Poop Happens". And when it would happen in my bed with me I would sing this little song "There's a turd in my bed but its not on my head so for God's little gifts I am greatful". And if there was diarrhea all over the place that I had to clean off my carpet my mantra would be "be mad at the poop, not the pooper".

Good luck with your baby!

Adding some pumpkin or other digestive aid may help with the firmness of the poop.

And, I agree with the acupuncture / chiropractic suggestion. I have been taking my Ichiro for a few weeks, and I think it brings him a lot of relief.

No advise, Martha, as I am dealing with a similar situation with Angus. Hugs to you both--and I hope the problem is temporary!

Renee wrote:And, I agree with the acupuncture / chiropractic suggestion. I have been taking my Ichiro for a few weeks, and I think it brings him a lot of relief.

We have a fabulous integrative vet who does acupuncture on Buster & Zoe, if you'd like her info. Martha. She works out of Arboretum View Animal Hospital in Downers Grove & another office in Bartlett a couple of days a week (where we usually see her).

Penny, at age 13-14, has become more of a Pez dispenser when she barks. And I do occasionally find a firm (thank all the Buddhas) turd in the bed. As others have said, poop happens. But the chiropractor/acupuncturist sounds like a good idea to try.

I'll keep Mugsy and you in my thoughts. I second trying acupuncture for your ol' man. I'd say a trip to see the vet Brenda recommended would be well worth it. I've also heard great things about the vet she mentioned.

Martha, I have no advice to offer but hope that Mugsy improves

I have a theory, certainly nothing but my personal observations are involved.

Many years ago, I had a springer spaniel & a Manx cat. As they got older, they had problems knowing that they had to poop.

Now I have pugs, and although Beau had a back problem that contributed to his pooping out-of-turn, Rocky now has a similar problem (he's almost 13).

All the above had tails that went straight up, not hanging down. In fact, the cat didn't have much of a tail at all, but what there was stuck straight up.

I wonder if the incontinence could be attributed to the 'un-natural' way their tail sticks up instead of hanging? Maybe their spine is different, or the nerves in the intestines are different?

Just a theory, nothing more. I wish I could research this somehow.

I am reluctant to say this as I am probably jinxing things, but Mugsy hasn't had any accidents in the last 24 hours and has been pooping outside! I found out they expressed his anal glands while he was at the vet and I think he had some inflammation and irritation that finally went away. He even seems happier and spunkier over the last day and a half.
Yay for outside poop

It sounds positive, I hope we continue to hear more good news on the pooping front !

You may be onto something, MJ. My foster, Dory, is also fecally incontinent. She also has no tail at all. She was abused and it had to be amputated. I know the vet did some tests with a pincher thing when she came back into rescue and she does have some very slight nerve damage too.

Fingers crossed that Mugsy is back in the outdoor pooping club for keeps!!!