I have a 15 year old lab that I’m not sure if I should have put down or not.
His back legs are very weak, probably due to arthritis. Getting up and down is very difficult for him but he can still walk around. He can’t run anymore and walks of any distance are impossible. Overall he doesn’t seem in discomfort from it, just stiff. Meloxicam and rimadyl didn’t seem to help.
About a year ago he started not making it outside to poop. We got used to that, but now in the last week he isn’t making it outside to pee, either. We let him out 6 or 7 times a day, but we still find messes. He poops in his bed which clearly tells me he has no control.
He doesn’t show any interest in any toys or even just being outside. He had been losing weight but we started mixing in canned, wet dog food and that got him to eat more. He looks like he is at a good weight.
He drinks okay. He shows no other signs of anything being wrong.
I’ll get him to the vet next week, but assuming that his toilet habits aren’t medically treatable, would you euthanize a dog with his symptoms?
Sadly, dogs seldom die. One’s final act of love for them is to put them down when its time. And, unfortunately, that time has come for your best friend.
I once asked my vet if anyone ever says that they now feel they put their dog down too soon. She said, hasn’t ever happened. But many people wish they had done it sooner. I know I have. It’s just so damn hard.
What does he show interest in? Being with the family? Anything? There are stronger painkillers, like tramadol, that are not expensive and may help with quality of life if you want to try them
I had two dogs with similar symptoms and I put one to sleep and one I helped with her potty issues until she passed. The entire difference was their apparent outlook. The first dog, despite adding the stronger painkillers, seemed miserable. Was not interested in anything, even me. It broke my heart, but it was time. I miss him still.
The second dog, although she was not playing anymore, was still happy to see us. Loved her head scratches. Happy to just hang out. She wasn’t miserable. So I kept an eye on schedule. Got her up and out for potty, restricted water before overnight, etc. Used bedding I could wash. she was more work, definitely, but while she was happy, I didn’t begrudge it. She died of a heart attack one day, while trying to follow me from a room. I miss her too.
They do sell doggie diapers, for overnight, if you decide to keep going a while longer.
Just went through this with a cat about 6 months ago. She was 22, and the last couple of years had seen a pretty steady decline in her mobility, but she could still get around and we set up some steps so she could get up on the couch. She stopped using the box to poop a couple of years ago, but she still used it to pee although we did have to improvise for her with something with a low lip that she could get in and out of without a problem (water heater pan, in case you ever start having that problem). She still enjoyed a good lap, had a good appetite, and generally seemed to be pretty happy up until the last few days.
Our thinking was that as long as she seemed to be getting some enjoyment out of life, we were going to keep her as happy and comfortable as we could. She stopped eating pretty abruptly, and it got to be very hard for her to walk at all. It was a tough call to make to the vet, but not a hard decision.
The latter is my dog. He still loves to hang out with the family and scritches. He doesn’t seem miserable to me, but I could be biased. I am planning on buying diapers today. We already use washable bedding and will be keeping him in a heated garage with carpeting we don’t care about during the day when no one is home and possibly overnight.
The vet visit will be the key. I can’t imagine he has more than a year left, but then again I didn’t think he’d make 13 when he was 10 because labs don’t typically live that long. But here is at 15.
We had to make this decision about our pup earlier this year. One thing that helped is that our vet makes house calls for this final visit. It was certainly a terrible day, but it was so nice to not have to do it in an uncomfortable clinic room with a nervous dog. You vet may not do this, but I understand that it’s likely in most areas that there’s at least one that will.
What helped me when it was time for my first dog to be euthanized, was to get a sedative from the vet. She was a yard guard dog all her life, except when she came inside for cuddles, and the sedative kept her from struggling at the end.
Without hesitation. I know it is my call, but if the vet feels my dog will just be uncomfortable and have substantially less quality of life, it is time. I’ve known this for years.
We put down our almost 17-year old border collie cross this past spring. She was right around the same point the OP’s dog is currently at.
We knew it was coming, but of course nobody can predict the optimum time. I tend toward what my vet says: They will let you know.
Ember was getting once-monthly shots for her hips at this point. Her legs were so weak that I had to lift her in and out of the car (she also couldn’t navigate stairs at this point, btw). She never minded going into the vet’s since puppyhood. She had her shot appointment the morning of “the day”. We got to the vet and nope, she suddenly didn’t want to go in. I had to plead, then cajole while thinking, “WTF?” Then it dawned on me. Right then and there I got down on my hands and knees and told her, oh god, NO NO NO, this is your regular shot, baby girl, the one you get every month, you know?
She collapsed later that evening right after I took her for a walk around our not-very-large block. We rushed her to the regional animal hospital as the vet was already closed. They gave us a choice: They could operate on her with the hope she’d regain functionality but there was no guarantee she’d survive the operation. Or, we could put her down.
We chose the latter. There was no way we were going to make her go through that torture. We loved her dearly and of course we didn’t want to make that choice, but it was her time.
It’s never an easy decision even when it’s the right one. From what you say, your dog doesn’t have anything left that he enjoys, and he’s unable to keep his bed and himself clean and dry. It sucks, but if he were mine I would help him go now.
I’m all for putting down an animal when it’s time, and have done so on many occasions. However, this dog is still enjoying being with family and she’s still eating. I suspect the arthritis is causing her to not make it outside. cmosdes, you said she seems “stiff”, which most likely means she’s in pain. Tramadol was suggested by someone previously, and I don’t know if it’s used in dogs, but Buprenorphone gave my senior cat a few more lives.
I’d really try to treat the arthritis more aggressively before I made THE decision.
It’s impressive you’ve gotten a Lab to 15. Glad to hear you are consulting the vet. Spring/summer of 2013 we lost both our Lab mixes- Bert was almost 14 and died the night before his date at the vet- he was in no pain, but was also like the OP not playing and had no control over his bowels or bladder. I’m pretty sure he had congestive heart failure. (IANAV). The other dog was younger, 9, but she had osteosarcoma- when the pain required 100 mg of Tramadol every six hours we let her go. I still weep over it. She was still trying to “get the Kitty” and was loving and bright eyed- but she was rotting inside from her mets (stank to high heaven). I still find her hair in odd places. Did it in my car, on her favorite blanket.
Condolences. The thing we DON’T have to grieve over is the last futile struggle- and that makes it a tiny bit easier. It can be our last gift to a beloved pet.
I talked to the vet this morning and he recommended we put him down. He said the arthritis and incontinence could be treated, but we’d just be delaying the inevitable and, “at some point you are trading length of life for quality of life.” I told the doctor I was incapable of being unbiased if he’d reached that point, and the doctor said he had. I could put him down and it would be the right decision.
They wanted to put him down right then, but my family has not had a chance to say goodbye, so I brought him home with some medication for the incontinence and we’ll be going back in a couple of weeks to have him euthanized.
