Elderly dog

[wendy Cochrane]

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Hi new to the forum. We are struggling to make a decision about whether to euthanise our dog. He’s a 15 year old lurcher with arthritis in his hips/back and signs of CCD. He is still eating and drinking and wants to go for a walk, but scuffing his back feet and walks very slowly and not for long. When not out he just sleeps all day, often in a corner of the room. Panting a lot and has started licking the carpet. He barks a lot at night and often poops at night in the house.

The problem is we’re unsure whether we are looking at euthanasia for ourselves or for him. We feel his quality of life is greatly diminished.

I’m not looking for advice as such just a bit of support/opinion from people who have been there.
thanks.

 

[Ruff Pet Natural Dog]

I'm so sorry to hear you are in this predicament, it's not nice. I have a 13 year old cocker spaniel who is blind and is in heart failure, but at the moment she still enjoys her walks, tries to jump up me at times when she gets a bit excited, loves her food and treats, but sleeps most of the day. She did go through a time when she kept barking, but that seems to come and go.

As you say it is hard to say if you are doing it for them or yourselves, but really I always look at my dogs towards their end of life and think, have they got a good quality. If not, I would let them go before it gets too bad, for them and for me. I think you will know when you know.

 

[JoanneF]

It's a horrible decision we have to make, but you may have heard the expression better a week too early than a day too late, so their final days are not spent in suffering.

There is a scale used to assess our pets' quality of life when they are approaching end of life. I understand it was developed for cancer care but the principles apply to any life limiting condition. What is their quality of life in relation to Hurt, Hunger, Hydration, Hygiene, Happiness, Mobility and More good days than bad days. It sometimes helps people to think more objectively.

I wish you all the best in making the decision at the right time.

 

[JudyN]

My own personal experience: my dog, Jasper, aged in a similar way - it was a toss-up whether his dodgy back end or his CCD would get him in the end. Have you researched treatments for arthritis & CCD? Jasper was on anti-inflammatories, and gabapentin helped a lot with his CCD-related anxiety. He was also on a fair range of other medications and supplements that may or may not have helped. If you're interested, there's more on CCD here, based on my research & experiences: Canine cognitive dysfunction (dementia in dogs)

He never stopped wanting to go for walks, even if sometimes he only went as far as the grassy verge near to home and settled down for a snooze there - he spent a lot of time snoozing on so-called walks! For a long time he was very anxious & pacing late evening and early nights (I slept downstairs with him as he couldn't do stairs, and wanted to go outside several times a night), but OK during the day. Then he was a bit anxious during the day but fine on walks - he then became distressed during the day unless on a walk, and that's when we decided it was time.

Remember that older humans also just want to have a slow amble and a sit-down, and then snooze all day, and probably have some level of discomfort, but are still happy with their lives, so you wouldn't want to make a decision on that basis. I'd be looking at whether he still enjoys the things he can do, and if he still engages with you happily.

I can only repeat what was said above, though, that a day too early is better than a day too late. And do everything you can do to make his last days really happy - if I could do it all again, I'd have bought Jasper an ice cream and a huge cake on the way to the vet.

 

[Ruff Pet Natural Dog]

Just to add, I have decided that I want my dogs PTS at home, not at the vets and I give them a lovely last day filled with treats and fuss (and lots of tears from me )

 

[wendy Cochrane]

Thanks for that, JudyN. He’s on anti inflammatories but nothing for ccd. His barking is early hours of the morning, so we take him out but then he often comes in and does poo. he doesn’t really interact much with us anymore, if he’s not in a corner he goes into another room to be alone. Doesn’t even get up when we come home. We never leave him more than a couple of hours.

 

[JudyN]

Do please ask your vet about gabapentin. All dogs are different, of course, but I'm convinced it gave Jasper a few more weeks. It can cause coordination issues, which isn't great for a dog who is already a bit wobbly, but timing the dose according to when he walked helped.

 

[Hemlock]

My heart goes out to you. I have been in this situation many times too. As others have said, it's about assessing your dog's quality of life, which isn't the same as for a human or for a different dog. You are the best person to do this. I wish you strength and clarity.

 

[Sus]

What a dilemma for you, it has almost reduced me to tears. I really do feel for you. My sister had to have 2 dogs put to sleep at different times one of which I was so attached to and it is like grieving a human, an awful experience. I hope you are able to make the decision and be happy that you made the right one