Author: Michelle E. Arthur
If you've ever come home and found that your mature,
always-housetrained Pug has just left you a big mess to clean up,
you're not alone. "Whoa!" you might say.
There's a sinking feeling when one realizes that it's the Pug dog that
made the mess and not something as innocent as a leaky pipe or
something.
It's typical, after a lot of screaming and disbelief, for the Pug to be
quickly banished out-of-doors. But the truth is that such harsh and
fast action can actually have a negative impact on a mature Pug dog.
That's because most often it is a medical or psychological cause
involved that requires some treatment.
Medical problems are the cause for the majority of problems that we've
seen with mature Pug dogs having accidents in the house. It's key that
you get to the bottom of the problem before you can move forward with
the proper plan to solve the problems, so don't be too hasty.
Many Pug dog owners believe that their dog will show signs of aging
with reduced vision and poor hearing. They figure that signs of
arthritis, decreased appetite, and more frequent naps are also typical
aging symptoms. They are quite surprised though when they learn that
house training is one of the most common marks of aging in mature Pugs
and subsequently one of the first warning signs!
Because this fact is not widely known and realized, it causes
frustration and confusion to the Pug owner who suddenly thinks that his
Pug has forgotten, is not as smart as previously thought, is lazy, or
has turned into a sneak. Such behavior on the part of a perfectly
housetrained Pug could simply be the first signs of the inevitable
aging process. In this aging process, the muscles of the bladder
gradually lose their control.
For male Pugs, aging can also lead to the prostate gland getting
bigger, which then leads to an inflammation that will cause him to pee
much more often. Also, about 75% of Pugs over the age of 8 suffer from
kidney disease. As Pug dogs get older, there is a gradual degeneration
of kidney tissue with a weakening of the kidney function, resulting in
more bladder control problems.
Older Pugs need to drink 2x the amount of water that Pug pups to fight
off these kidney problems. It's little wonder then, with such increased
water consumption comes the need for more pees.
Where the middle-aged Pug would have required being let out in the
morning and once at night, the aging process will require more freedom
outdoors. In most cases, the older Pug will try to make his needs known
to his owner. However, the owner, who is used to a regular routine,
just isn't tuned in to the Pug's new requirement. Then, the old Pug is
left with just one alternative. It's just as embarrassing to him as it
may be to the owner.
When this happens, negative reinforcement will only make the situation
worse, especially if the Pug tried to communicate to its owner and
these signs were ignored.
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