Fecal incontinence.

Dr. Marie replied:

I'm sorry to hear that your dog is having these problems. This is a tough question to answer without being able to examine To eu, but I'll give you my thoughts.

I have seen dogs who have housetraining issues because of pain. My thought is that if it hurts to get into the position they need to take to defecate then the dog will hold the stool for too long and then eventually it can get to the point where it just escapes out because too much stool is there.

There are other possible reasons though. If something is affecting the nerves to the anal area this can cause difficulties with keeping stool in as well. I am guessing that this is more likely. Some causes could be arthritis in the spine or even a tumor in the spine (although a tumor is not common.) Pugs can sometimes get something called cauda equina syndrome which is a problem at the very end of the spinal column and it can affect the nerves to the anus. While there are some treatments that sometimes can help a little, they are not always effective. *If* this is the problem, sometimes a spinal surgery can be helpful.

Another possibility is a condition called degenerative myelopathy. This is much more common in German Shepherd dogs, but it can potentially affect little dogs.

If this were my case I would likely be trying him on anti-inflammatory medications to see if this helps at all. I probably would want to be taking some spinal xrays just to see if I could find evidence of a problem.

It probably is a good idea to have your vet take a look at him.

Dr. Marie.


Do you have a pet website? Interested in learning more about SEO for Wix?

---

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.

Dr. Marie replied:

If this was something that could be treated with spinal surgery it would be very expensive. In my area, such a surgery could be $4000-$6000.

It's really hard to answer the question about pain because there are varying degrees of pain. He may or may not be able to walk properly but I would expect that if there is some pain there would be *some* kind of change in his ability to walk.

The symptoms of Cauda equina are very similar to other spinal issues so it is really hard to say what to look out for. An xray may be helpful here.