Puppy pad training older dog

Hi, I haven't been on in quite a while due to personal problems and my dogs problems but I wanted a bit of advice and knew this is the best place for it.

I have a 9 year old staffy cross (about 30kg - perfect weight) who has problems with his spine and seems to be struggling with holding his urine and faeces.
I'm not happy with installing a dog door and he is so upset when he has an accident and we come home. We never ever tell him off but he was 'punished' by my father as a pup for it and is very very sensitive.

I have been toying with the idea of puppy pads or one of those fake grass indoor toilets but not sure which way to go and if he might start weeing all over the house.
The other idea I had was a dog walker to just come and let him out but she/he might not even be there are the right time...

Please help, and I can take blunt comments, please don't feel the need to sugar coat anything.

You're going to need to make sure he's not pooping and peeing for another reason, and that it is indeed his spine that is causing the problems.

I have an old dog (11 years) and before I got my puppy, she had no accidents at all... but now if I let her into my room at night to sleep with me and him, she pees on the floor I am assuming she is trying to mark out his scent or something...

If you've been having issues, say extra emotional or physical stress... your dog might merely be reacting to this which is causing the accidents.

If it is indeed his spine that is causing the issues... pending nothing can be done about his spine... then I'd probably shoot for the puppy pads placed in a solitary location away from his food and bedding and away from any rugs etc. where accidents cause more of a mess.

They have scented ones that draw the dogs to them so the accidents are less likely to end up on the rug. Also, how long are you leaving him home alone? This might have something to do with it. Older dogs bladders etc. sometimes simply weaken with age and you'll need to take him out more often.

If he uses a crate.. you can perhaps put him there while you are gone? It works as a test, if not anything else. Dogs hate to poo/pee themselves so if he holds it the entire time... then it's not his spine causing the issues!

If he does potty himself while in there... it seems kinda mean to trap him in there with it the entire time, doesn't it? I'd not install a doggy door, either.. so i'm with you there.

Also, I have a Labrador mix puppy that is right over 30kg... so I'd think that 30 kg is a bit big for a Staffy?? Perhaps I am wrong, though. Anyway, good luck with your doggy!!

He has fortnightly acupuncture at the vets and we are trying to look into it, but at the moment she wants us to keep a journal of how much he drinks, what he eats and when he goes.
He usually has sickness and the runs when he is stressed. I had an operation (just day surgery) last Thursday and left at 11ish for it, OH came home to a couple of piles of sick.
It varies from day to day tbh. Although the hours may be extending since my OH started a new job today and somehow didn't factor in the time to get there and back plus working an extra half hour, I only just found out at the weekend... Fuming isn't good enough to say how annoyed I was. I may try to reduce my work hours.
His accidents are so random. Sometimes wet sometimes poo. He does do them in bed, and it appears as though he has done it in his sleep and not noticed. They are always little, rather than a full toilet trip!
I did say a cross! Haha. People always tell me I must have his weight wrong. He is only a tiny bit shorter than my mum's lab and he is a big lab. We think he is staffy x GSD but were not sure. I wanted to explain how big, especially since puppy pads are... well for little puppies.

Thanks for your help.

Not being funny but if you think he doesn't know he needs to go, how is he going to know to use the pads. I have a bitch with spay incontinence which until she started on meds was horrendous, she was completely unaware but was p!ssing pints. She also used to pop out the odd poo and the vet claimed the two couldn't possibly be related but she's never done it since starting the meds and she's now on a very low dose of meds. Tbh I think she just lost all feeling down there and was completely oblivious to what was happening because she would never knowingly toilet inside.

This is one of my concerns. They are not always in bed, but sometimes are. I don't know if it's just because he's asleep or too lazy to get up or what! Maybe while he's awake he knows and could use it... I don't know, I've never seen him do it, just found it afterwards.
I've heard of plenty of bitches struggling with this after being spayed or later on in life but not really with males. Do you think it would be worth trying to see if it helps, or do you think I might still be cleaning up the messes he normally has and then have a dog who thinks it's okay to go inside anyway and have even more mess..... So confused!

I think if you can train him to use the pads then great. I don't think he will then assume it's ok to go just anywhere inside because usually when you train a pup to use pads the hard part is then convincing them to give up the pads in favour of outside. I think he may have lost the feeling/sensation that tells him he needs to go until it's too late. Ask the vet next time you see them if meds would help because males can definitely suffer from age related incontinence too and his would be aggravated by his spinal problems.

Thank you Trouble. I am hoping to use the bathroom since the floor can be easily cleaned and it is next to the bedroom (where he sleeps) with an adjoining door. We are moving soon as well so hope that that doesn't upset him too much.
I will continue with the diary the vet has asked me to keep and I will keep pushing to get to the bottom of it and everything else with him.

Do you think puppy pads or something else? I've seen fake grass things or trees with a urinal type thing around it...

I've only ever used the pads and they're probably the cheapest to start with to see if he'll actually use it. The only problem with them is they can easily be ripped up. Puppies have a habit of playing with them. If the pads are successful you can move onto something more substantial.

I'd try the pads, as well. I know when properly toilet training a dog, that you don't need to use them... but I think that even if he is having health related accidents, he can feel them coming no and perhaps you can use that to teach him to use the potty.

It also seems that maybe sometimes he is left alone too long and ends up being unable to hold it. If this is the case, he will simply learn that it's okay to pee inside and it will become a habit. So make sure he isn't being left alone longer than he can hold it.

Also, if you're supposed to keep a journal of when he goes potty... how can this be done if nobody is with him a lot of the time? Not trying to be mean, just kind of confused a little bit there.

My old dog would sometimes get to dreaming or whatnot and pee a little in his sleep as well. But he never had accidents on the floor, so I think we've got something different here.

Also, apologies for the weight thing mix up... I missed the staffy cross and somehow just saw staffy. oops!

Has the vet mentioned Propalin at all? If it is incontinence that might make all the difference, I can't imagine any dog being too lazy to get out of bed to "go", Ima used to pee in her bed when she started with the incontinence that's when we knew she was in trouble, she simply didn't know she was going

How long is he left? You mentioned dog walker earlier, do you think he may be alone too long for him to hold it any more? Or is it too random to tell?