Need help with female GSD peeing in house - Page 1

My female Gracie is about 10 years old. When I got her from the rescue group about 8 years ago, her beck leg had been broken and healed crooked. Over the years it has caused her more and more problems and she has quite a bit of trouble walking now.
In the past year, she has taken to sometimes peeing in the house. I am just getting back from time in a skilled nursing facility due to a wound in my foot and have trouble getting around the house and am not supposed to walk on that foot. I am trying to figure out how to handle Gracie. Right now, she is still being boarded at my vets, but I want to bring her home soon.
I was wondering if doggie diapers were the answer to her problem. I am elderly with that foot wound, I also have a bad back which makes it painful to bend over, and of course am not that steady on my feet.
I think that I would need something that I could easily take off and change... probably disposable as washing them would be an added task.
I have set up a separate room covered with a plastic tarp and placed training pads in it. This is where I can leave her at night, but I need something for the daytime.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Is she actually peeing in the house or is she leaking when asleep/relaxed?

She is actually peeing in the house. I am unable to take her out for a walk. Sometimes she will go outside and pee, but she has to walk down and back up 13 steps. Although they are not steep, it is a long walk and she really has a hard time doing it and sometimes just refuses to go out outside.

You could try an indoor dog potty.  Some examples:  http://petslady.com/articles/5-indoor-dog-potty-free-leash-68664

But because of your difficulty bending over and foot it might be hard to keep it clean.

If you go with diapers make sure you are vigilant about changing them when wet to avoid urine scald.

I was hoping for some suggestion on what is the best brand diaper to use. What would be easiest for me.

How much urine does she produce at a time.  I see on the TV that they have for humans a new incontinence pad that is made with a gell that looks to hold about a cup at one time. 

You could put that into a doggie diaper that is used for in heat females.

Sorry, can't help with that. I've only used the washable ones for my females in heat.

Hopefully someone who has used them will chime in.

Could you get someone to make her a ramp so she can get up & down the stairs to outside more easily ? Even at 10 years, when they sometimes start to get a little incontinent, this sounds more like a "Can't get out" (quickly enough) problem. You could also try giving her more access to the outside so that she can go out - at her own pace - more frequently than when she is actually at the point where she needs to pee.

Otherwise it sounds as this may get worse; and may start to involve worse incontinence problems.
She will only get older, from here.

Don't really like the idea of keeping any dog in a diaper full-time; too much risk of complicating the situation with a vaginal or urinary infection, in time.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this.  I have a 15 year old boy who lost muscle tone when he was ill and now can't get up without help (work in progress with his rehabilitation vet).  He has now reached the stage where he will leak at night when sleeping and after a couple of accidents, I put diapers on him (he only gets them at night or when my mom watches him when I am at work and going to be gone all day, just in case she is unable to get him to stand up and go outside, he can be stubborn and hates going outside in the thunder, he can't hold it longer than 4-5 hours).  I also have a harness for him that is a back saver. https://helpemup.com/ is the name of the website and I use the Blue/Large harness size.  My mom is 83 and watches my dogs during the day when I work and she uses the harness to help him get his feet under him and when he needs some steadying when he walks outside on the patio or when defecating because he can slip on the pavement of the patio which is under an awning (we are in the hurricane season here and we have thunderstorms almost every day, lightening is a serious danger here).  If he happened to go in the diaper, or leaked a few drops in the diaper, we take it off and wash him up, then let him air dry.  Also when I am home, I leave the diaper off if I am able to get him outside every few hours so he will not develop a rash. It is especially important for females to remain clean and air dry so they don't get a rash.  Think baby in diapers and diaper rash.  Good luck and I hope you heal up.

Maybe a combination of the ramp Hundmutter suggested, plus a doggie door. A basic doggie door can be locked at night or when you're away, and there are some that require a little sensor thingee on the dog collar to open, and there are some smart ones if you have a smart house. It sounds like you might also benefit from the ramp... check with doc and insurance/Medicare/Medicaid/other... important that the ramp be wide enough to accommodate both human and doggie wheelchairs for any possible future needs.