My elderly dog refuses to pee/poop outside

[Guest]

Daisy is a 17yo Papillon. She has congestive heart failure, vestibular disease, is nearly deaf and blind, and has severe anxiety. Any tiny thing outside of her normal routine causes her to shut down. She recently had a severe vestibular episode - we carried her down the steps at first to go outside and that worked but she was so wobbly she often didn’t pee. As she got better, but still wobbly, she attempted the stairs on her own and fell a number of times. Now that she is almost fully better, she’ll sometimes go out the door but will immediately turn to come back in; if we leave her outside a bit she’ll just bark like crazy to come in. If we carry her out now, she shakes nonstop - and won’t focus long enough to pee. She immediately turns and goes right back up the steps to the door.

We have pee pads in specific spots in the house and she uses them 90% of the time. But it’s gross and smells and I want to fix this issue.

I’m assuming she equates going outside to the pain of falling down the steps…. Given her severe anxiety, I don’t know how to fix this.

Side note - I just started her on gabapentin last week for anxiety and it hasn’t seemed to do much. The going outside issues haven’t changed.

Any suggestions? Daisy is my first baby and I’m not ready to let go. But my family is getting impatient. The vet says we’re nearing the “quality of life” conversation but I’m fighting it HARD.

[Julie]

Would she use kitty litter? I have seen a indoor balcony toilet for dogs advertised, not sure how expensive it is or if it works, it just randomly popped up in my feed one day.

[Pamela]

It's the hardest part of owning a dog , their life is always about quality not quantity . You need to do a pros and cons list of her life . If she has more plus than minus then yes fight for her but also be aware there are things you cannot fix and will have to live with , if she has more minus than plus you need to think seriously if your doing the right thing , my heart breaks for you , I've been there -- but it has to be about her needs , can I wish you the very best whatever you decide xxx

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[Diane]

Try diapers. Then you just need to wash her bottom. It sounds way too stressful for her and due to her age you need to make accommodations to help her become more comfortable in her final years. Does she still have a quality of life? Happy etc. things to consider.

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