Any ideas??

Monty is still on medication but the symptoms are still evident. However..Monty is like a bag of beans and on the go non stop! :D Dribble splattered over the sitting room carpet and the pickup truck he sits in is now a puddle..YUK!
Thanks for asking Gogs

 

Hi Poppy33.I wonder if you could give me some advice.We have an elderly dog who will be 15 in November.She developed Cushing's disease two and a half years ago,shortly after being attacked by another dog.She had been on Veteril tablets for two years,then developed Addisons disease,due to the Veteril tablets.We were told by our Vet to stop all medication.
Since our holiday in July she has become incontinent,at first it was just the bowls,but that has stopped,now the bladder is the problem.
We make sure she goes outside quite regulaly,but is now having problems with her hind quarters,and struggles to get up and down form a laying position We find that if I go out for any length of time,she cannot hang on,even though she goes out for a last minute wee before I go.
She is also wimpering when we go up to bed,and then when we get up in the night to check on her crying,find she has had another accident.
My question is,is there anything that can be done for her,or is this the gradual decline as she comes towards the end of her days.I read somewhere that if you have a bitch spayed it can bring on bladder problems later in life,but if the bitches are not spayed they can get Pimetera{not sure of the spelling}

I am not sure what to do,as we know the time will come when we have to make the desicion to end her life,but we don't want to prolong it if her quality of life is suffering...

Thankyou Kandy

 

Hi Kandy I do hope poppy can help. It is always very hard to know when a much loved pets' quaiity of life has fallen far enough.

This is my lovely Lefty who died of Cushings' disease aged 14, 11 years ago. You can see the gap in her fur where she had to have regular blood tests to make sure her medication was right. Cushings' and Addisons' are opposite ends of the adrenal gland activity spectrum. Lefty lost a lot of fur and put on a lot of weight before she was diagnosed.
She finally began to suffer from strokes and her back legs were very weak. I think now that I should not have let her struggle for so long because I was reluctant to lose her.
Your dog sounds as if she is very upset by her condition- can she still go for walks?
I think it is the last thing we can do for a much loved pet to see that they can die with dignity when the time comes- would that we could do it for humans too.

 

Hi Liz.Lovely picture of your dog.I should have started a new thread,Rosa just reminded me,but I am a bit upset at the moment.

As each day comes and goes and I see her laying there I wonder how much longer can she go on.When we had to have our 21 and a half year old cat put to sleep after a stroke we were devastated,and we felt like we had murdered her.It will be worse for the dog.

Tina isn't interested in walking very far,only out into the garden to do her toilet duties or to lay in the sun.She has a last minute walk when we go to bed,but usually she only gets as far as the grass verge.She struggles to get up from a laying position,then struggles to lay down again.Her back hindquarters are not strong and sometimes gives way as she walks.We have to help her up the step back into the house.If she does move around,she just stands in the hallway,gazing into space,or does the same if she is in the garden,almost as if she has gone senile.

When I come down the stairs in the mornings,she is in a deep sleep,and it is only the breathing that tells me she is asleep and alive. If she went that way it would be knder I think.

Also when the time does come to let her go we don't know whether to bury her in the garden or to have her cremated.All these things go round and round in my head I just wish things were easy in life...

 

It's a very personal decision, and I don't think anyone has the right to say what they think is the right thing - only you can do it, Kandy. I totally agree with Liz about dignity. In our case wth our Jack Russell who had kidney and liver problems after years on steroids, it was when she didn't want to go out any more, and looked unhappy instead of keen to get on with life. It's the hardest thing to decide, but it's a responsibility you take on with having a pet, I think. All the best, Kandy.

 

It will be a very hard decision. I kept hoping that Lefty would die overnight in her sleep, she slept a great deal and only woke up for brief periods, but in the end I had to take her to the vet and I held her in my arms as she died. She was buried in the garden, under a gooseberry bush!
Dendrobium is right, I think, it's a duty we have and should not shirk. After a time there will be happy memories.

 

Hello Kandyfloss, I am so sorry to hear of the dilemma that you are facing with your elderly dog.
It would be very wrong of me and unprofessional to tell you what is the right decision. The decision must be yours. I think that In your heart you would like to say goodbye but just need some advice to assure you that you are making the right decision.I cannot see the deterioration that is occurring so I could not pass an opinion. why not discuss the problem that you are facing with your vet or one of the nurses that have regularly seen your dog,we are only to happy to talk things through with owners of elderly dogs, the decision would still be up to you but it sometimes helps to talk it through with a member of staff who have known your dog. You mentioned that you had to have your cat put to sleep and that you felt like you had murdered him, Please dont feel like that,we are so lucky that we are able to save the suffering of our pets and give them the dignity and peaceful end that they so rightfully deserve.you also asked about cremation and home burials ,again this is very much a personal decision and also one of practicality.We burried one of our Golden Retrievers in the garden,it took ages to dig the hole and we did have problems with Fox's trying to dig him up,eventually we put wire mesh on top and turfed over the area.On the plus side I took comfort from knowing he was in the garden.Cremation I think is a much easier option,but of course its more expensive and priced on the size of the dog. You can have a choice of individual cremation where by your dog is cremated alone and you will receive the ashes back either in a wooden casket or whats called a presentation container (which is a cardboard container for you then to scatter the ashes)If you feel that memories are more important to you than having individual ashes then you could opt for normal cremation which means your dog would be cremated and the ashes would be scattered at the garden of remembrance at the crematoriam. I have been for a visit to a crematoriam and have to say that it is very impressive, I visited Cambridge pet crematoriam and the staff were so dedicated to their job. I would not hessitate to have my own pets cremated when the time comes.

 

I ran out of space before I had time to end my reply so please find my continuation.
If you do decide that its time to say goodbye to you dog and you would like your dog put to sleep,do let the surgery staff know that you are booking the appointment for that reason, we always book these appointments either at the beginning or the end of surgery, that way if you decide you would like to be with your dog it is less hurried and more private for the owners.If you decide you don't want to be present, do not feel guilty,lots of people decide not to be with their pets when they are put to sleep,its a personal decision and one that will be respected. And lastly if you do decide its time to say goodbye don't try to hide your tears and be brave, have a good cry, don't be embarassed its normal and to be expected. Us nurses might look like we are in control but we also have been known to have a cup of tea and a good sob afterwards. I do hope that whatever decision you make it feels right for you. Please feel free to PM me if you would like a chat anytime.
Thinking of you, love Poppy

 

Hi Kandy, just read Poppy's reply and I feel really choked up now. I lost two Dobes, Rocky my wonderful boy last year and Diva my little girl in April this year, both had a heart attack (we think) ages 8yr and 8 months. I live not far from The Cambridge Pet Crem, they are wonderful people and very caring.

I had both of them cremated individually and they are still in their nice wooden boxes on my sideboard, I know it sound really bazaar and morbid but I planned to buy a container that looks like a rockery stone to put them in, that way even if you move house you can take them with you.

Thankfully we did not have to make the final decision about having them put to sleep but it was a shock when they went especially as they both seemd very fit and healty and showed no signs of deterioration.

My thoughts are with you.

Sue

 

Hello Sue, I am sorry my post choked you up. How very unlucky that you lost both your dogs in such a short space of time, my heart goes out to you.I have seen The Photo's of your beautiful girl Kira,what a georgeous expression she has.
Cambridge Pet Crematoriam are fantastic,we use this company where I work and I believe so do most of the vets.They will even let owners come to the cremation and perform a little service,such dedicated people providing a very worthwhle service for owners when they have lost a loved one.