Adult dog has started peeing in the house. What to do?
He is 4 years old and willingly goes out to do his business -- during the day.
But we've just discovered to our dismay, that he's been urinating on the rugs at night. One favorite place was the small carpet by the front door. Since we always use the back door to enter, it was quite a while before we discovered it. Unfortunately, the wood floor beneath is quite stained.
I realize that I should wake him up and make him go out before I go to bed at night. Is there anything else I should do, like restricting his water intake? (He does drink quite a lot of water).
= new reply since forum marked as read
Our Bosley was 8 when he started having 'accidents' at night. He never had accidents. We got him to the vet and he was diagnosed with diabetes. He's been on insulin 2x/day for over 4 years now and he's doing great. So, first thing to do is get him to the vet, who can check his sugar and other things that might be causing the problem. (But the excess water drinking is also a symptom of diabetes.)
Dogs don't seem to mind getting shots the way people do. We now have two diabetic dogs and they both look forward to their shots, because of the treats they get along with the shots.
One other point. If your dog does need to go on insulin, and you don't happen to have lots of extra money lying around, hold your nose and check prices for insulin and hypodermics at Wal-Mart. Typically, insulin and needles at Wal-Mart are about 1/3 the price of anywhere else.
Couple of other things:
1. You will need to periodically have the vet check your dogs blood sugar, more frequently until you find the right dose (every 1-2 weeks), less frequently once you get him/her stabilized (every couple of months).
2. You will be told to give your dog x 'units' of insulin twice a day. Assuming you feed twice a day, give the insulin after the dog eats, not before. If for some reason your dog chooses not to eat a meal, adjust the insulin downward.
3. Here's the really strange one, but the most important one. 'Units' come in two sizes! Typically, you will be talking about 'Units' that are 100 Units/Ml, specified as U-100. However, there are needles that are U-40, which means 40 'Units' to the Ml. Make sure you always get the right needles! (U-100 needles have orange protective caps, while U-40 needles have red caps.) We almost killed our dog when someone at the vet's office gave us U-40 needles by mistake and we didn't know to check the Unit size. A U-40 unit is 2.5 time bigger than a U-100 Unit. It is your dog so always double check when buying needles to make sure you are getting U-100.
4. BE CONSISTENT. Always feed at the same (or nearly same) time and give shots at the same time.
Diabetes is not a death sentence, more of an inconvenience. Handled properly and kept under control you and your dog won't even be aware of it, except for the shots. And if you find a treat your dog really likes, he will look forward to the shots - probably more than you. 
