This 4 o’clock kickoff has me all screwed up, so I took the sister’s dog for another protracted walk (yes, this is the dog I walked with an extension cord). Here is a shot of the fellow:

His name is Irie, he is 13+, and he is beagle/lab mix.
He was always a super sweet dog, but now that he is a little long in the tooth, he has turned into a real pain in the rear. HE has a hard time walking because he is so old, but he has to go out a great deal because his bladder control isn’t what it used to be. He drinks an extraordinary amount of water, and no matter how many times a day I walk him, he finds an excuse to have an accident on the carpet. And I even have pads down for him.
At any rate, my sister has a real tandem- a mean 20lb diabetic cat and a dog that can’t hold his potty. She loves them both to death, though. Thank goodness I only have to watch them on some week-ends.
Nelson Muntz
He was always a super sweet dog, but now that he is a little long in the tooth, he has turned into a real pain in the rear. HE has a hard time walking because he is so old, but he has to go out a great deal because his bladder control isn’t what it used to be. He drinks an extraordinary amount of water, and no matter how many times a day I walk him, he finds an excuse to have an accident on the carpet. And I even have pads down for him.
Hey! Another fine consumer of Depends Media! And this one sounds just like its founder!
Nelson Muntz
Ah sorry about this diversion, but it is football related. It turns out that Pat Tillman was critical of Bush and against the war in Iraq.
Hmm, can’t wait to see Tillman get freeped and swift boated.
Ralf Goergens
A beagle/lab mix? He looks like a labrador. How size is he?
Ralf Goergens
That shoud have been ‘What size is he’, of course.
Infidel
Next Friday, I’ll have to post a picture of my cat. She has a feeding tube coming out her side.
Vladi G
We used to have an old dog that would drink a ton of water, too. It’s like she would go to the bowl and start drinking and forget how long she’d been drinking, so she’d keep drinking. Don’t be afraid to monitor it. If you think Irie’s had enough to drink, push him away from the bowl.
Friends know when to say when, John.
Krista
Awww…poor old guy. Be patient with him, John. There might come a day when you have a hard time walking and controlling your bladder. (Wait..that was last night…never mind.)
Walt
He drinks an extraordinary amount of water, and no matter how many times a day I walk him, he finds an excuse to have an accident on the carpet.
Your sister may also have a diabetic dog.
lily
Your sister’s dog might be diabetic.
What a sweet face. My old pug, Charlie(deaf, blind, arthritic) finally got to the point that I took him for “walks” by carrying him around the neighborhood. We had pads all over the house and a chair lying on its side to prevent falls down the stairs…but like Krista says it comes to us all. My dad is deaf, blind and arthritic too. ( I don’t carry him around the neighborhood, thank god.)
EricH
Whew, good thing both Pittsburgh AND West Virginia didn’t lose this weekend or old Irie may have had a bad encounter with a riding lawn mower.
Accidental encounter of course.
cac
John, it’s probably not his fault. My old cat had the same problem and it turned out not to be a bladder problem but kidney failure. He drank and drank but his kidneys could not concentrate his urine so he peed out clear urine constantly ( and all over the place) My vet said even though he was drinking a lot he was still dehydrated so it might not be a good idea to limit Irie’s water.It hurt,but I put my cat to sleep after a while because , although he probably could have lived longer, he didn’t seem to feel good at all and I know humans with renal failure feel like crap.
Zach
I second Walt’s comment. My sister had a diabetic dog and those were the symptoms. We ended up giving her insulin twice a day and she lived quite a few more years.
Diabetes might also explain the kidney failure of cac’s cat.
Krista
Poor puppy…it always hurts to watch them at that age, if they’re not well. This applies to humans, dogs, everybody — getting old and infirm is not for wimps. It must really suck to be so dependent on people, and to lose your dignity like that. I admire anybody, human, feline, or canine, who manages to keep a shred of pride or defiance in the face of such indignities. My boyfriend’s mom’s Airedale was like that — a lion in the body of a dog. She should have been put down about a year before she actually was, but her spirit and defiance were so strong that they just couldn’t. Even when she couldn’t walk or control her bladder or bowels, if you tried to pick her up and carry her, she’d growl at you.
metalgrid
It you haven’t already had his kidney function and bladder tested for chronic kidney disease or cancer of the bladder, you may want to. Also, in some cases choline supplements can halt incontinence in geriatric canines if there are no other underlying causes. They are definitely options worth investigating with your vet.
goonie bird
We had a dog that would sit on our cat kind of funny isnt it well cats and dogs can get along