Old Dog Peeing and Pooping Inside?

I have an 18 year old Whippet, and granted your first answer to the question I'm about to ask is; she's old - it's normal. But I am asking because I think this behaviour could be rectified.

My dog used to sleep in the kitchen and if walked right before bed - late and woken 6-8 hours later she would have done nothing. She lives with another old dog, a 14 year old Pug, who is very good with bladder control, holds it in as a rule so it's not like she's being encouraged to do what she now does.

For the last 2 years or so, unless she's in their room outside (from late spring until autumn) they have an open door so she can go freely outside. Because given the choice she will go outside to pee and poo.

But now that it's winter, and they are inside the kitchen with no dog door, she goes three times a night, peeing especially, relatively large quantities and usually one poo.

I've tried a few things:

• I am feeding her only in the morning, so that she digests everything before bed (on the assumption dogs digestive systems are faster than humans) I give it 6-8 hours.
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• Feeding later, feeding gradually through the day, etc. (I've changed the rhythm around to see what works - no improvements with any).
• Removing the water and dry food bowl in the kitchen through the night.
• Making her wear nappies - now on two nappies at once as the pee load isn't absorbed fully by one nappy.

Now the reason I do not put it simply to the fact that she is old, is because if I am in the room she will hold it until she notifies me, she does that very well, comes up to me, nudges, walks to the door and back a few times until I get it. But especially if she sleeps in my bed she will hold if for 10 hours or more. Now the obvious reason is because she feels she will be scolded if she pees, but now she pees so often that I don't do anything, I know there is no point screaming or hitting as I find out usually a minute later and she won't understand.

And even if I catch her peeing in another room, and scold her, she doesn't seem to cotton on. So intermittent with the large amounts of peeing through the night, I let her sleep with me, and she won't go for the entire night if not more. So that's odd.

I am writing this now because it has gotten to the point that if I leave for 4 hours during the day she will pee at least once. I don't want to put her in nappies through the night and if I leave. And I think she doesn't hold them in because the nappies have trained her to be able to pee without consequences.
So what to do?

She has one medical issue, she has renal problems, but from what the vets have said it only affects her weight (as she ingests all the fibre and protein and good things but only a tiny bit of the fat - that's why she's so thin 7 kgs.) I am trying to fatten her up. It's taking a while (puppy food and renal specific dry food).

Now other than this, she is incredibly fit, I am considering entering her is some kind of record book, she still runs as whippets do, is excitable like a puppy and so on.

Any help or advice on any front would be gratefully accepted.

Thanks

By Elektra L.