Advice Poor old lab on his last legs

[Punishment]

As of the last few weeks my poor old 14 year old black lab Lucky has not been near his normal happy self.

He has been wetting himself almost nightly
He comes into the house and he stands looking blankly into a corner until myself or someone else gentle guides him to his pillow to lie down
He is having awful trouble after lying down for any length of time getting back on his feet and it literally takes either myself or 2 other family members to help him up.
He also has not wagged his tail in almost six weeks.

I have got him eating a good diet/exercising him as much as is fair considering his age and how wobbly he is on his old legs and he gets all the love and caring for that can be done (he always has someone with him) and is being treated like you would expect an old lodger to be with the dignity befitting his time in life.

But it is breaking my heart to see him like this and we are going to the vet in afew days and if there is anything that can be done for his joint pain/signs of doggy alzheimers i dont care what the medication costs but from a humane point of view i don't think he will be coming home alive.

To anyone who has been in this position i have afew questions as i don't want to give up on him unless i absolutely have to.

What would/did you do when it came to this point ?
Did you continue to try and keep your dog going only for it to cause your loyal old friend more distress ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Aoami]

I hate to say it, but my girlfriends family were in exactly the same situation with their jack russell last summer. He was 16 i believe, and had exactly the same problems; wetting himself all the time, falling over, shaking, staring blanky at walls and corners, and not barking etc. They obviously found it very very difficult, but knew he was suffering and that it was for the best.

 

[Punishment]

I really don't mind if it comes to that if it stops his suffering, we have been coaxing him with painkillers/cold liver oil hidden in pieces of meat and he is on his liquid anti-inflammitory but it just doesn't seem to be making any odd's, all i care about is being there with him when he is put to sleep so he feels safe.

 

[caLLous]

Sounds like his time has come. Take him to the vet and see what they say. It's all about quality of life and when they don't have that the kindest thing you can do is end it. You sound like you're in control enough to make the decision when it needs to be made - a friend of mine kept telling herself that her cat was better than it had been and she left it far too long before having it put down.

Sorry about the situation though, I'm approaching it with my 12yo Lurcher - absolutely dreading it. It'll be a bloody big hole as well.

 

[Punishment]

Yea lucky is 6 stone, i know where im gonna bury him t though, picked out a nice spot in the corner of the large wooded area to the side of our house.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Devils avocado and all that below;

Friends cat was told to not have a chance in hell, then got better for another year. *shrugs* Who knows, I had two cases with my old doggy where i was asked if i wanted him to be put down(one after a car accident, one after some chest malarky), both times told the people to fek off and both times the snapper pulled through.

We usually let our dogs live their last days as they see fit and not decide on their lives. They'll die on their own when they choose to do so. Only differene is if it's a clear cut injury etc, as in lifelong pain yada yada.

Pissing yourself is just old age for a dog, not necessarily distress. And dignity, well, doggies don't think that way BUT that's what i'd do, if you think it's best to put the old chap down, then do so, but are you doing it for him, or for you?

In other(more dickish way to put it) words; would -you- rather die in your warm home you've known for years, or on a cold stressful surgical table?

 

[TdC]

not too sure about that Toh. from what I read that dog doesn't even know it's a dog any more, and it's a shame to have it shamble about imo. a mate had two quite old husky dogs, and I got to see the difference between a grand old dog that was still with it, metaphorically speaking, and it's mate of a lifetime that had lost it. One was still a dog, and the other was just a thing sitting about waiting to die. I was quite glad when it finally did, as the owners were very much of the "it will go when it wants to" persuasion.

I guess what I'm saying is this: if the animal does not suffer, and you can deal with the emotional side of things, do as you would, but if it is in pain, or not itself any more, then tough up and do the right thing. ofc that's hella easy to say, and quite hard to do: if I had a pet (eg a cat, cos I'm a cat person) I would be a complete wreck when my beastie had to move on to the great catnip field in the sky, but if beastie was suffering or basically having a shit life and couldn't be made better I wouldn't want to have it hang about just because I had the technology available to stretch it's existence.

 

[BloodOmen]

Best thing to do when its like that is just get it put out of its misery, really isnt another option i'm afraid... its a case of letting it suffer until it dies naturally or stop the suffering and let it rest.

 

[Fafnir]

Well 14 years is quite a bit for a dog, had 2 cats one reached 22 years of age before he got cancer in his jaw and could no longer eat, would only nibble on bits you hand fed him, other was 19 when we noticed he started having problem getting up got him to the vet and they checked him out and found all his ribs had grown together to form a shield on each side, we thought it best to put the two of them down instead of try anything. Mom said never a cat again, now she got two wildcats that decided to move in, one of them is starting to come around and is really cuddly but you do not want to try to lift her up, the other just sits there and tries to smack your hand if you try anything...

 

[Cyradix]

Can't you have the vet come over?
When my last dog was suffering to much at the end (he was 15 and had dog diabetes) we had the vet come over.
My dog went to "sleep" on his favorite spot on the couch...

 

[chipper]

went through this last year with my mums dog he was 14 yo german shepard his back end was failing him he kept collapsing on his hind legs. we could see it in his eyes he had had enough and decided to take him to the vet. he advised us he was in alot of pain due to his joints (he did yelp everytime his back end gave way) the kindest thing was to put him to sleep, broke my mum and step dads heart only time ive known him cry. its a horrible thing to have to do but you have to think of your friend and how bad he is suffering do the right thing and give your friend the kindest ending to his suffering dont let it go on. if you can do what cyradix did let him know he is loved till the end.

 

[Tom]

Part of being a responsible pet owner is knowing when to put it down. It might be upsetting for you but it isn't nearly as upsetting as it is for your dog not to be able to do the things it wants to, and not understanding why.

Don't let emotion get in the way of doing the right thing for a family pet that's always been there for you.

 

[Scouse]

He hasn't wagged his tail for 6 weeks is the argument for me.

My cat is 25. Three times since she was 15 the vet has advised me to put her down at times when she was very ill for a couple of weeks - the last time was about a month ago. But she made full recoveries and is still plodding on happily.

When she looks like she's not happy any more, that's when she goes.

 

[megadave]

I hate to say it, but my girlfriends family were in exactly the same situation with their jack russell last summer. He was 16 i believe, and had exactly the same problems; wetting himself all the time, falling over, shaking, staring blanky at walls and corners, and not barking etc. They obviously found it very very difficult, but knew he was suffering and that it was for the best.

Were you secretly delighted?


Girlfriend is a vet and says it sounds like it'll almost certainly need to be euthanised

 

[- English -]

Had to put our little pup down some months ago. I posted pics on here when he was a pup, but he had kidney failure. It was so hard to do, but you aren't fit to be a pet owner if you can't make the tough decisions imo.

 

[old.Tohtori]

or not itself any more, then tough up and do the right thing.

The problem with that is treating animals like humans. What is the definition of not dog? Being a bit derpy, pissing the floor and not wagging the tail? Then a 2 year old doggy can be deemed for farmhouse.

A lot of folk judge a dog as a person(not dignified etc), then when it comes down to putting them down, suddenly "it's the right thing to do", which you wouldn't dare even think about doing to your parents.

Can be equally selfish to put the dog out of it's "misery" if it's just due to old age creeping up. PArt of being a responsible dog owner is not to abandon a dog when it gets derpy because we can't read their minds.

By the way, on the tech to lengthen their lives, ii'm with you on that one. Never would lengthen a dogs life with tech. Unless i could get a cyborg dog to start with, cause that would be cool.

 

[Tom]

Once again Tohtori you're talking out of your arse. Your post contains so many contradictions I don't know where to begin.

 

[TdC]

The problem with that is treating animals like humans. What is the definition of not dog? Being a bit derpy, pissing the floor and not wagging the tail? Then a 2 year old doggy can be deemed for farmhouse.

A lot of folk judge a dog as a person(not dignified etc), then when it comes down to putting them down, suddenly "it's the right thing to do", which you wouldn't dare even think about doing to your parents.

Can be equally selfish to put the dog out of it's "misery" if it's just due to old age creeping up. PArt of being a responsible dog owner is not to abandon a dog when it gets derpy because we can't read their minds.

By the way, on the tech to lengthen their lives, ii'm with you on that one. Never would lengthen a dogs life with tech. Unless i could get a cyborg dog to start with, cause that would be cool.

ok, I'm going to leave this one at "me not understanding your answer".

 

[old.Tohtori]

Tom; You feel what you feel, useless post is useless.

TdC it's basically; people treat their dogs like people, yet when it comes to old age it's derpy=needle.

 

[Scouse]

Once again Tohtori you're talking out of your arse. Your post contains so many contradictions I don't know where to begin.

You're right, he's full of arse as usual, however I can see where he's coming from for some of it.

If I'd listened to the vet (or my mother) my cat would have been put down about ten years ago. Because I haven't listened and trusted my assessment rather than that of the "professional" my cat is still very much alive and annoying the hell out of me as I attempt to type this.

The last 3 or 4 times I've taken the cat in the vet has advised me to put her down. This is because I take the cat to the vet when she's bloody ill. I tell the vet that I think she'll get better and am treated to a condescending "you're not facing reality you stupid human - I'm the professional here so listen to me and kill your pet" look.

It seems to me as soon as your animal gets ill the advice tends to be "kill it".

I think you have to make an assessment yourself based on the perceived quality of life of your animal. Yes, I love my cat but it doesn't mean that I'm incapable of making an objective assesment myself.

 

[Insane]

I think you have to make an assessment yourself based on the perceived quality of life of your animal.

I just felt this should be quoted for emphasis...

carry on

 

[cHodAX]

It's horrible mate, I had to do it 10 years ago (he was my dog since childhood and was 17) and it broke my heart so much that I have never been able to face having another dog. You have my sympathy but when the time comes you just have to do it for thier sake, I hope that if I ever reach that stage myself then the people I love will be allowed to show me the same kindness.

 

[cHodAX]

Part of being a responsible pet owner is knowing when to put it down. It might be upsetting for you but it isn't nearly as upsetting as it is for your dog not to be able to do the things it wants to, and not understanding why.

Don't let emotion get in the way of doing the right thing for a family pet that's always been there for you.

Well said.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I just felt this should be quoted for emphasis...

carry on

Yeap, own call and nothing else. Just offering the opposing view to it so it's not all "yeah kill it", which i actually DO find that people do way too easily. VEts especially seem to have some kind of bonus for the amount of pets they snuf.

 

[TdC]

The last 3 or 4 times I've taken the cat in the vet has advised me to put her down. This is because I take the cat to the vet when she's bloody ill. I tell the vet that I think she'll get better and am treated to a condescending "you're not facing reality you stupid human - I'm the professional here so listen to me and kill your pet" look.

tbh I think your vet's rubbish.

 

[cHodAX]

VEts especially seem to have some kind of bonus for the amount of pets they snuf.

Here in the U.K. we have a domestic pets population issue, far too many unwanted cats and dogs, owners who don't have them nuetered and then abandon them when pregnant or the litter arrive. For that reason Vets are encouraged to destroy poorly treated or very ill animals, we have animal shelters full of healthy pets that no one wants and the only way to give those animals a home is for Vets to put down those animals that are suffering, thus creating a demand for replacements and saving the lives of healthy animals.

For that reason I think pet shops or dealers should be strictly regulated as far as cats and dogs go, we don't need more cute puppies or kittens stuck behind glass shop windows, we need people to take the unwated animals from the shelters and stop the daily genocide of healthy animals.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Here in the U.K. we have a domestic pets population issue, far too many unwanted cats and dogs, owners who don't have them nuetered and then abandon them when pregnant or the litter arrive. For that reason Vets are encouraged to destroy poorly treated or very ill animals, we have animal shelters full of healthy pets that no one wants and the only way to give those animals a home is for Vets to put down those animals that are suffering, thus creating a demand for replacements and saving the lives of healthy animals.

For that reason I think pet shops or dealers should be strictly regulated as far as cats and dogs go, we don't need more cute puppies or kittens stuck behind glass shop windows, we need people to take the unwated animals from the shelters and stop the daily genocide of healthy animals.

Yeah i can see the problem in that. In a smaller nation it's not that bad i guess and ofcourse leads to a difference in society.

 

[mycenae]

It sounds as though he's on his way out, specially with the pain and stuff. Its your call in the end, but most definitly enquire at your vets whether they will come out to you, and if they won't find one that will. My childhood doggie went 'to sleep' at home, spread across mine and my mum's lap...she was very chilled about it and the vet was lovely. If we had taken her to the vets to have it done, she would have been shaking, trembling and VERY stressed.
Its a horrid, heart rending decision to have to make.....I'm sorry

 

[Scouse]

tbh I think your vet's rubbish.

Actually, it's two different vets who've done that. Also, my mum's cat happily made 20 years old but was really ill for a week when he was 15, and the vet we took him to was exactly the same.

My opinion of vets is now very low.

 

[TdC]

well, in the light of what Cho said it's more understandable. I've been to a (decent) vet here in the NL a few times with both cats and dogs, and I don't think I heard any of the stuff you mentioned 0o