More Advice About My Elderly Dog

[Toba]

I posted a few weeks back about my elderly dog. I'm still having trouble letting go even though I know his time is nearly up.

Since writing my earlier post, he's peed on my brand new rug, defecated in his crate at least twice (even though he is still on his "let out" schedule, and then some), won't follow, won't eat, has to be coaxed (a LOT) to even get out of his crate or to go potty and just looks miserable. His breed weight is supposed to be around 60 lbs. for a male .... I would be surprised if he weighs 40 lbs. right now (I don't have a scale that works right now or I'd actually weigh him). He looks like one of those severely emaciated dogs you see on those pet commercials. Once full of muscle, he has lost SO much of it ... I don't even know if he really has any left. He sleeps all day or just stares at me. He won't eat anything except people food and even that has its limits. He's drinking well though, but not really peeing very much. He peed on his "out of the crate" bed and DH doesn't want me to buy another one to replace it, which makes me so sad. He trembles and bobbles when sitting still. He falls down a lot. He had a day a few days ago where he seemed like his old self ... he even played with me with his bone. That was the only good day he's had for weeks. It makes me cry. My son will be DEVASTATED when our dog passes .... I try to run down first to let him out just to make sure he's still with us.

Someone on the other thread said they had a talk with their pet before the pet passed. I tried that and he just looked at me. I have a hard time looking at him and then he gets perky ears .... and then thinking about putting him down.

I don't know what the point of this post is. I know what has to be done ... I just don't know if I can do it.

[kdeunc]

I am so so sorry! :hug: I have completely been in your position. We lost our girl dog last April and her brother this April. It was incredibly difficult. Our boy died while we were away for the weekend. Our wonderful sitters were with him and told him the night he died to just go on to be with Misty (his sister). Thankfully he died peacefully in his sleep that night. I swear I think he waited until we were gone. I wish you peace with your decision and I really hope that your doggie makes it for you. :hug:

[Pilotbaby]

So sorry! Have you tried asking your vet if your dog is suffering? Sometimes even though they are struggling with aging issues, they may not actually be suffering. My friend just went through this and her vet walked her through how to tell when the dog was suffering.
In the meantime, give him/ her lots of love as I'm sure you are.
So sorry you are having to go through this.
Liz

[BabyH]

I posted a few weeks back about my elderly dog. I'm still having trouble letting go even though I know his time is nearly up.

Since writing my earlier post, he's peed on my brand new rug, defecated in his crate at least twice (even though he is still on his "let out" schedule, and then some), won't follow, won't eat, has to be coaxed (a LOT) to even get out of his crate or to go potty and just looks miserable. His breed weight is supposed to be around 60 lbs. for a male .... I would be surprised if he weighs 40 lbs. right now (I don't have a scale that works right now or I'd actually weigh him). He looks like one of those severely emaciated dogs you see on those pet commercials. Once full of muscle, he has lost SO much of it ... I don't even know if he really has any left. He sleeps all day or just stares at me. He won't eat anything except people food and even that has its limits. He's drinking well though, but not really peeing very much. He peed on his "out of the crate" bed and DH doesn't want me to buy another one to replace it, which makes me so sad. He trembles and bobbles when sitting still. He falls down a lot. He had a day a few days ago where he seemed like his old self ... he even played with me with his bone. That was the only good day he's had for weeks. It makes me cry. My son will be DEVASTATED when our dog passes .... I try to run down first to let him out just to make sure he's still with us.

Someone on the other thread said they had a talk with their pet before the pet passed. I tried that and he just looked at me. I have a hard time looking at him and then he gets perky ears .... and then thinking about putting him down.

I don't know what the point of this post is. I know what has to be done ... I just don't know if I can do it.


I was the one who talked with my wonderful horse.... obviously the "talk" is more for us than it is the pets.....and I share that story with people and friends of mine who are going through the same thing you are. In that moment it REALLY comforted me, and the eerie coincidence the next day makes me feel like I really had something to do with him letting go.... But also like I said in the past post - you'll just know. Without knowing your beloved dog, it sounds to me like he's losing himself and he is not living a good life that he so much deserves (obviously this is not your fault, just the circle of life). Again, I'm so sorry you're going through this. It's the pits.

[SkyrMommy]

:hug: So sorry you're going through this, I had to face this twice last year with our two cats that battled cancer. Both had been with me for over 15 years and it was so hard to see how much weight they had lost and how hard they had to try to do anything like they had done before. The hardest part was knowing that their quality of life was diminishing so quickly and I only held on for me, not them.

I will second the talking to them and saying thank you for all the wonderful memories that you will treasure and tell them it's ok and you will see their spirit again.

Thinking of you and sending lots of P&PT.

[Toba]

We gave him roasted chicken for dinner and he scoffed it down. He walked back over to his bed (about 5 feet away) and started circling it ... and fell flat on his face. He got up very slowly and walked two feet over to DH and just fell/laid down. His legs were in a very awkward position so DH picked him up and carried him to his bed because he couldn't get up again. I fear the end is near. I almost wish it would end naturally so I don't have to make the choice .... as long as he's not in pain, and he doesn't seem to be.

[Ceepa]

I'm sorry you're going through this. We recently lost one of our pets and it was (and is) very hard. Very hard. :grouphug:

[Nicsmom]

I went through this 5 months ago and it is terribly hard. I took my dog to the vet and asked her if she was suffering and she said yes. That was it for me. Before this the vet told me to think about the 5 things that made our dog happy and if she was able to do any of them. In our case our dog was not doing any of the things she liked to do. But what made the decision a bit easier was knowing that she was in pain.

Hugs to you.

[R2sweetboys]

I am so so sorry. Letting go of a beloved pet is absolutely heartbreaking. We lost our 12 year old lab mix four years ago and it was so hard. This is just my opinion, but I think that you need to let him go. His quality of life is not good. He needs to leave this life with some dignity. He does not like soiling his bedding and falling down because he is so weak. While extremely painful, this is one of the times when we as pet-owners need to be truly selfless. As difficult as letting go is, it is actually a gift to our suffering pet. My MIL held on to her dog until the bitter end(she waited for him to die naturally) and it was awful to see. She let him suffer for months, if not years, because she wouldn't let him go. She thought she was a hero for spending every waking moment caring for him but I really felt she was being selfish. Of course she loved him dearly, but not enough to help him pass away with dignity. My thoughts are with you while you make this truly heart-wrenching decision. :hug::gloomy:

[Toba]

He passed this morning at home while we were preparing to take him to the vet to be euthanized. He rapidly went downhill this morning in the space of about 3 hours. Thanks for all your support. I don't feel like talking about it with anyone. I made DH come home ... he had to turn around when he was almost at work (an hour away), but I'm glad he was here. Now to tell our son (7), who's going to be devastated.

[jenfromnj]

He passed this morning at home while we were preparing to take him to the vet to be euthanized. He rapidly went downhill this morning in the space of about 3 hours. Thanks for all your support. I don't feel like talking about it with anyone. I made DH come home ... he had to turn around when he was almost at work (an hour away), but I'm glad he was here. Now to tell our son (7), who's going to be devastated.

I'm so sorry. Sending P&PT to your family.

[Ceepa]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[R2sweetboys]

:hug: I'm so very sorry to hear this. I was going to PM you today to see how he was doing. I'm glad that you were with him when he passed. Here are a couple of children's books that may help your son as he grieves the loss of his buddy...

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Dog-Bill-Cochran/dp/0060539399

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0590417010/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0060539399&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0575YJ1JNKYT0P98WDPW

Take care,

[SkyrMommy]

:hug: So sorry for your loss.

[Nicsmom]

So sorry for your loss. Our DS was devastated when our dog died, but he recovered quickly. Kids are more resilient than adults, I think.

[twowhat?]

Sending hugs. I nearly cry every time I think about the fact that our dogs will probably pass by the time the girls are 10.

You may have seen this online but the first time I read it, it really stuck with me. It's a child's explanation for why dogs don't live as long as people:

"Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

I don't know if the story is real, and the age of the child changes depending on where you read it. But, I like to think that it is true.

[lmh2402]

i'm so, so sorry for your loss :hug: :hug:

[kdeunc]

I am so sorry for your loss. I am glad that your pup was able to die at home on his own terms. Our animals are such a blessing but it is terrible when they die, even moreso with children. :hug:

[BabyH]

I'm so sorry.

The book "always" by Allison McGhee is a really sweet book. It's not about the loss of a pet, but I bought it and "signed" it from our two dogs to DS.

[karstmama]

i'm sorry for your loss.

[BebeRoo]

I am so sorry for your lost. I like to believe that all dogs go to heaven. At least for me, it helped when I lost mine. Sending hugs.

[elephantmeg]

I'm sorry for your loss, hugs to you all as you adjust.

[sunshine873]

:hug: I'm so sorry for your loss.

[daisysmom]

I am not sure if you will read this or not, but if you are I wanted to convey a few things.

First, try to dismiss any feelings about if he was in pain, if you should have put him down earlier, etc. We let our 13 year old die when she was ready. And we will probably put our 10 year old down in the near future. While a lot of people "know" when it is time, we didn't the first time and that's part of life. Dogs love their people unconditionally and you made the right choice for him. The perky ear thing got me tearing up reading your post. I am certain that your dog cherished the last several days with you and his family and his ears told you so.

We had 2 vets recommend we put our 10 year old yellow lab down this summer. She stopped eating and had very high pancreatic enzymes and we were at the emergency vet for 3 days ($3500). The vet said "you will know when its time, but if she won't eat, that's a sign". I tried to feed her from my hand chicken and rice 3 times, with an hour between each. The third time, she ate a bit of it. The vet wept in front of us, she was so happy. She said "bring her home and see what happens" knowing that we could bring her back if she got worse, and that we knew how dogs died. We got her home and she ate within an hour again, much more this time. She rebounded. While we know that we are on borrowed time, she is living like she is a young dog again. I am glad we didn't put her down. Our good friends though dealt with nearly the same thing 2 weeks ago and their dog wouldn't eat. They did put her down, it was right for them.

If your son was attached to the dog, he will grieve most certainly. But I urge you to get another pet. I know there are a lot of people on this board who aren't attached to their animals right now and find taking care of them very timeconsuming. But I am one to say that our pets have always benefited our lives, and our DD's life, greatly. I hope you will consider adding another pet to your family in time.

[jayali]

I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you.

They bring us some much joy over our liftetime, but in the end they take our hearts with them, don't they?