When I first found out Wrangler had DM I always knew I’d have a hard time with incontinence and I’ve always said this would be the cut off point for me. From the first time I read about it I’ve had this thought in my head about Wrangler not being able to control when he needs to go out and I’ve been dreading him having accidents in the house. I’ve read stories of dog’s in diapers and it’s not something I’ve ever been comfortable with. To me it seems embarrassing for myself and the dog.
It doesn’t exactly happen like this though, it’s more gradual. For Wrangler it’s been getting harder and harder for him to have his morning bowel movements. He goes out for his first pee around 9am and most days I’ll take him back out 2 or 3 times before finally getting him to go sometime after lunch. Luckily I work from home otherwise I’m not sure how we’d cope. I’m sure he’d end up having an accident in the house while I was away at work.
He also doesn’t have full bowel movements anymore, my explanation is that he doesn’t feel the urgency to go and basically walks around on a full tank of gas. Eventually his body takes over and decides it needs to lighten the load but most likely it’s just the top of his bowel. This also means, since he’s always walking around with a full tank, that he has a lot of gas. He goes the first time around noon, and the 2nd time around 5pm, but I’m not able to get him to go again after that.
Now I’m forced to decide if I should help him express his bowel so that he goes on a more regular basis. Again this is not something I’m really comfortable with. My friend MaryBeth who also has a boxer Clancy with DM has great success with this. Clancy now goes 2 times a day like clockwork and it has become a non-issue for her. For me, I just can’t wrap my head around it, maybe it’s a guy thing, haha.
There isn’t a lot of info on how to properly do this so I thought I’d share what I’ve read and the techniques I’ve learned from MaryBeth.
The short version of what you have to do is basically put on a surgical glove, dip your finger in petroleum jelly, then gently insert about an inch of your finger into the dogs bum. While you’re doing this you should have your arm under the dogs belly applying a little pressure. Your dog should clench and immediately go into pooping mode. You take your finger out and the poop comes out. As I said I still haven’t been able to do this but I read online that the same thing can be accomplished with a Qtip and then you don’t have to use your finger if you’re not comfortable. I’ve tried the Qtip technique 3 times now with Wrangler and everything happens as it should but when he goes into pooping mode, nothing comes out. I’m not sure yet if the Qtip isn’t working or he just doesn’t have to go. For now, I continue to take him out multiple times a day and hope that he’ll go on our walk, but I know this is going to be a real problem in the near future.