Senior Boston Terrier With Wobbly Walking and Night-Time Accidents

Reader Question

Two years ago I adopted a special needs senior Boston Terrier, Monster. Monster is very loved, but has a lot of health issues: epilepsy, arthritis, and advanced stage heart murmur. He takes Phenobarbitol and Lasix. Monster has been acting peculiar for the last 4 weeks, and I am not sure if the events are related, but they are certainly troublesome. Monster has been walking funny. He is not limping, but walking crooked, occasionally losing his balance (like a drunk walk). Sometimes he falls down the stairs when he gets close to the bottom. He has been super clingy (more than usual), has had moments of unprovoked aggression towards our other dog, and has had a few episodes of fecal incontinence during the night. He sleeps in the bed with us, and on more than one occasion we have woken up with a firm/small bowel movement in the bed. This only happens during his sleep. During the day time, he always alerts us when he needs to go out. The bowel movements are always solid. Otherwise, Monster has been happy and normal -enjoying daily walks, wagging his tail, playing in the yard, and has a very hearty appetite. Does this sound like a neurological problem? Given the dog's age and pre-existing health problems, I do not feel good about putting him through a colonoscopy, and I do not believe it is parasites since he has no diarrhea. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Answer from Our Team