how do you know when its time to put down an old dog?

[LastKnight]

ive had this dog for 16 years... and up until a few months ago it would seem like she would live forever, she started having problems with her eyes about a year ago... and her vision is completely gone now. her hearing has been slowly going over the last 8 months and is almost nothing anymore. and last night she either injured her lower back or hip. and this morning is the first ive seen a real lack of spirit or fight in her, she has never been vocal about pain so i can never tell if she is suffering. how do i know if i am tortuing this animal by letting it live? shes gone through bad spots before but nothing this bad.

Edit: she was into the vet about 2 weeks ago for being sick and just a a general checkup, vet gave us some antibiotics and it seemed to do the trick for that problem, vet also did some xrays and said that her back was about ready to go, so im assuming that it was the lower back. and the doc said that they couldnt tell if the animal was in pain either. its a small dog, mixed breed half cocker-spaniel half poodle, it was around 27 pounds its whole life and now its under 15 pounds. this morning i had to take the top off of the doghouse to pick her up and get her up, and hold her up while she found her legs again, shes been sluggish to get up before thats not new, just never been unable to do it herself. a little more background on it cause people have asked


argh, this sucks

thanks for your input in advance

-LK

[nini]

1. the injury is a big clue... she's most likely in some kind of pain

but I think the rule clue is the like of spirit.

It's probably time to let her go - if you can afford to take her to a vet for a physical to see what they say then it will help you at least know the decision is best, or take a few days to be with her and make sure.

I'm so sorry.. this is the hardest thing to do. :hug:

[TX-RAT]

2. Talk to your vet.

sixteens not that old. Maybe theres something that can be done.
I'm not very good at putting down pets, to emotional.

[Surf Cowboy]

17. Sixteen is DAMN old for a dog--hell, it's 112 human years!

[TX-RAT]

20. My last Brittany Spaniel ( Snuffy ) was 22

He was still hunting at 19, not like he was when he was younger. He wouldn't let me get in the truck without him. My dog now is 12 and doing fine, still hunts like a 4 year old.

[mr_hat]

3. So sad. I've had to do it twice. >

The best I can recommend is to not allow your dog to become frightened by his pain or circumstance -- that's just the worst.

It'll haunt me forever that I once waited too long to let go.

[GodlessBiker]

4. It is so very difficult

I don't think anyone who does not know the pup as well as you do can help you out here. It is such a painful decision. You must judge when you think it's appropriate and backhand anyone who tries to substitute their judgment for yours. Anyone who knows how much you love your dog will know that you will make the decision to put it down with no other consideration than the dog's comfort and quality of life. I have always found that making the decision as you look the dog in the eyes is the best way to do it. Upfront and honest. Good luck.

[ret5hd]

5. when your love says...

"i want you free from pain" louder than it says "i want you with me"

[MuseRider]

6. So sorry!

16 is old if she is a big dog. We have done this many times because we keep lots of dogs. Check with your vet as to the health status, he/she might be able to better tell you if she is in pain and give you an idea if she might heal. Don't do anything until you are certain about those things or you may end up feeling really guilty. This is hard enough without having to question your decision. You have given her so much in 16 years and she, as most dogs, manage to give so much more. You will know what to do after you get her checked. Here is a big :hug: for being good to your sweet dog. Let us know, if you need we will be here.
:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[Butterflies]

7. I would talk to her Veterinarian

My 5 year old corgi was diagnosed with cancer and is now getting chemotherapy treatments because I felt she's too young to die. If she had been over 10 years old I don't think I would put her through the treatments. She's now in remission, and even though it has been very expensive I'm glad to have decided to do it. I made the decision with the help of the Veterinarian because she has had experience with dogs going through the illness. Your dog's Vet knows her and knows what has happened in other cases like your's. If it's time to let her go, maybe you'll decide to give a home to an ASPCA puppy that might have been euthanized before getting much of any time on this earth.
I really feel for you. It's a tough situation for both you and your dog.

[Imalittleteapot]

8. My blind and deaf pup lived for 5 years after her

afflictions were apparent. She did great, relying on her nose to get her where she wanted to go. Blindness and deafness were not enough reason to put her down. She ultimately developed cancer at 15 and we had her put to sleep.

My advise: Take your pooch to the vet. They can determine what's best for her.

I feel your pain. Best wishes.

By the way, make life easy for your blind doggy. Don't leave things out of place on the floor and keep all furniture in the same place at all times.

[Mandate My Ass]

9. You have my utter sympathy

I wish you and your puppy the best. What an excrutiating decision to have to make!

My 14 1/2 year old is starting to fail. Her eyesight is bad but it's not gone and neither is her hearing but she's losing it noticably.

One night last week she had a seizure. We rushed her to Penn's emergency vet clinic and they said the most likely diagnosis for a dog her age having their first ever seizure is that it's cancer that has metastasized to her brain. She's still so damn spunky though.

Now I have to put her on anti-seizure meds but the doc said the only way to be sure was to have a $3000 MRI of her brain. I would love to do it but can't afford it.

Just in case this is the end for her I started looking up vets who will come to your house and put your dog to sleep but I started crying so hard I had to log off before I found out anything.

I suppose your vet could advise you but the decision is ultimately yours. My mother (who has my father put down pets) always says that you'll know in your heart when it's time. :hug:

[skygazer]

10. It does suck

The best thing you can do is work with your vet. Take the dog in and find out exactly what the injury is and what the prognosis is. Find out if you can do something about pain management. Pain is very frightening to an animal and contributes more than anything else to a loss of spirit. If you can manage the pain for her, she may very well last a couple of years longer.

It's very much worth it to prolong the life of a loved one - just because someone is ill does not neccessarily mean they cannot enjoy life. You can help with the vision thing by always keeping your house arranged the same way and being careful to avoid clutter that may trip her up.

If you and your vet determine that she is truly suffering and that nothing much can be done to make her comfortable, you will have to consider putting her down. I strongly recommend being there to hold her in your arms and let her know she is loved as she drifts away. It's incredibly difficult but it is, in my opinion, important to say goodbye and to ease their anxiety on their final journey.

Good luck, I wish you both well.

[skygazer]

11. About the back issue

If the back is not so much painful but is causing difficulty moving, consider wheels. My best friend put his female Boxer on wheels when she developed a tumor near her spine that caused paralysis. It was inoperable but the wheels prolonged her life for about a year - not being able to move around is nearly as stressful to an animal as pain. I have some excellent brochures from a company that custom makes wheels for dogs - very affordable too.

www.eddieswheels.com

[RebelYell]

12. If the reason for the weight loss is because the dog won't eat....

...it's time. Call your vet and ask them what the protocols are for euthanasia. All vets are different.

:hug:

[LastKnight]

13. this morning is the first time shes ever turned down her food.

shes always eaten, the pace has slowed over the last few years, but she always finished. this morning though she just let it sit like it wasnt there. however she did go for a piece of bolagna i dangled in front of her just to see if she would... so... maybe shes just being stubborn.

-LK

[Butterflies]

14. My dog stops eating when she gets urinary infections

But a couple days after the Vet puts her on antibiotics she eats normally again. You can't always tell when there's an infection unless the Vet does a blood test.

[Surf Cowboy]

18. Hate to say this,

but dogs don't just turn down their food.

Get to a vet. You probably are not going to want to hear it, but it sounds to me as if you're pretty close to the end.

You want the dog to go out on his/her terms, not the disease's.

[RebelYell]

19. What is the reason for the weight loss? n/t

If the dog has been eating, but losing weight, it's a serious problem.

When dogs are in pain, they won't eat. Please call your vet.

[LastKnight]

21. no idea, its been bewildering the vets as well as us

since it started. we are thinking its loss of muscle mass, first she started losing a bit of weight, then she started slowing down, then she started losing her ability to do things like going up/down stairs without losing her grip, then she started falling. and now we have to carry her on stairs.

last time she was into the vet she had less than 3% body fat weight or whatever they call it, so she has already lost most of the fat and the muscle is going now. the scruff of her neck is almost non-existant... you cant see her bones or anything like that but you know she is having issues keeping weight on. and we dont know why she was losing muscle, she was staying active until she couldnt due to loss of weight, walks, running and playing, eating 2-3 meals a day but she kept losing weight.

-LK

[displacedtexan]

15. Don't wait until she dies in your arms.

My 12 yr old bichon went blind and deaf and then developed heart problems. I kept putting off the inevitable until he had a stroke in the middle of the night on my birthday last August and died in my arms.

My advice: don't wait.

His death still haunts me.

[Surf Cowboy]

16. By the time you realize that

you need to put the dog down, you're already a few days late.

If your dog can't:

1. Eat like usual;
2. Breathe like usual;
3. Get up and down flights of stairs;
4. Play with you or other animals

It's probably time. I had to put my prize Chocolate, "Porter" down about 2 1/2 years ago. He had cancer. It jumped all over him in just a couple months. The only regret I had in putting him down was that I didn't do it a week earlier.

[LastKnight]

22. kick. nt

[Beaverhausen]

23. I think it's actually a very loving decision to put your pet down

You probably know in your heart if she is suffering. You know her best. 16 is pretty old for a dog and the not eating thing is usually a good sign.

I had to put down a young (7 years old) cat who ate some lilies and was poisoned. It's a very peaceful death and if you can be there with her you won't regret it.

I'm so sorry :hug:
If only they did live forever.

[daisygirl]

24. It's never easy

I've had experiene with having to have two pets put to sleep in the past. About four years ago, we had our almost-18-year-old cat put to sleep. He had thyroid and kidney disease, recurrent urinary infections, and arthritis. He was down to about five pounds (used to be about a 10-12 pound cat) despite thyroid medication (at first he gained some weight back, but then he got much worse). His quality of life had deteriorated so much, but we kept hesitating about it because it was so painful. We decided to go ahead when he went off his food (he was obviously hungry - he would sit at his full bowl and yowl - but he wouldn't eat) - he was so sick already, and if he wouldn't eat there was no way he would ever get better.

The other time was this past winter, with my almost three-year-old dog. He was a stray and had been hit by a car when he just was a puppy - we saw it happen (the driver didn't stop) and rescued him off the side of the road. He had two broken hips, some broken ribs, and a broken vertebra, but luckily no internal bleeding, and he once he healed up he could get around fine. He did okay for a couple of years and only started getting the arthritis we'd been warned was inevitable this past winter. We were treating the arthritis and he was getting around well again, and then one day my husband got home from work and found that Crash couldn't walk. We're still not sure what happened - the vet says the old fractured vertebra re-fractured and severed his spinal cord - he was paralyzed from about the middle of his back down. It could have happened when he was playing with our other dog - she told me it was probably inevitable that it would have happened eventually. There wasn't anything we could do, given the severity of the injury, and really the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep. I still miss him like crazy - I never expected to lose him so soon, that's for sure.

It's hard to be sure you're making the right decision because it's such a painful subject, but if you know in your heart that she'd be better off, then it's probably time...