My old dog has a permanent cough that isn't getting better. Time to put him down?

So I know we’ve had several “should I put my dog down” threads here over the years, but each case is different, and my wife and I disagree at this point so I figure I’d ask the Dope.

The last dog I put down stopped being able to walk and eat one day, so it was obviously time. My current dog is going on 15, but he’s a little malty-poo mutt so I thought he had more time. He’s gotten an arthritic back over the years, but he has no real mobility issues that I can tell, besides just being slower in his old age.

But his breed is prone to getting a “collapsed trachea” in their later years. He’s coughed like this infrequently for several years, but starting a month ago, he just doesn’t stop coughing unless he’s calm and laying down. If he gets excited, or just gets up and walks around for awhile, he just coughs and coughs. And often, between coughing and calming down, he has a panting spell like he’s winded even though it isn’t hot and he hasn’t been active. We think it might be some sort of cough-induced asthma.

It’s sad to see, and I agree with my wife that his last days are upon us. But he still gets excited when we feed him. He still licks my face and jumps on my lap. He still likes getting his back and belly scratched. He still gets excited when company comes over, though it is embarrassing for him to cough in front of them the whole time they’re here. The vet gave him some cough suppressants, but they only barely seem to slow his coughing fits, if at all.

So she thinks he is suffering and it’s time to put him down. I disagree. I think he still gets enjoyment out of life, despite his waning health. I recognize it probably won’t be long until we DO have to put him down, I just don’t think a persistent cough is enough to pull the trigger yet. One day he won’t want to eat, he won’t want to jump in my lap, he’ll have trouble getting up to the couch for petting and lap time and then it will be obvious.

Am I being selfish here? She says dogs are good at hiding their pain, and he’s actually suffering the whole time, even when he wags his tail for dinner or licks my face when I pet him. I feel like he still has a few good months left in him, despite his annoying and persistent cough. What do you guys think?

Can you get an opinion from your vet? Is the dog really in serious pain? Might some medicine relieve the symptoms a bit?

I would also ask the vet’s opinion. It sounds kind of borderline to me. Your wife is right, dogs do sort of hide their pain and they’re also always happy to see you despite any pain they may have. But it’s hard to tell from here if he’s just having a little trouble breathing occasionally or if it’s so bad that he’s actually suffering.

Poor little guy.

But yes, check with the vet. He doesn’t sound like he is actually suffering, and he still can get some joy out of his life.

FWIW, my father the small animal vet said that no one he ever dealt with was sorry that he put his dog down too soon, but several were sorry they let it go too long.

Regards,
Shodan

My brother’s dog was living with my parents for the last year or so of her life. We brought her to mom’s permanently once she developed a cough and it turned out that the cough was related to an enlarged heart. My brother’s house has 3 floors and it was impossible for the dog to get around.

She was on meds for a long time, and the meds helped. Then they stopped helping and she would start coughing more and we’d go to the vet for another x-ray and to up her meds.

It was a very rough year for my mom and the dog, a lot of work went in to keeping the dog alive. My mom was on edge all the time, especially at night when she’d have her coughing fits and my mom was like “Is this it? Is she going to die right now?” My mom couldn’t/wouldn’t leave the house much. She had to get up at 3 AM to take the dog out to pee because the dog was on water pills.

We think the dog “overstayed her welcome” a little bit because when my brother and his wife would visit, the dog would doing well. During the day, for the most part, she was happy and still loved being petted and up until the very end she would even bark at and interact with my very young dogs. Basically my brother and his wife never saw the tragedy of the dog caught in a coughing fit or wetting herself at night. But for my mom it was just daily gut wrenching.

Making the decision is the hardest thing EVER. You are choosing to make your dog die! I almost couldn’t leave my bed for 2 weeks trying to make this decision. I “lucked” into it being made for me as my dog was having a test and they said she wouldn’t come out of anesthesia very well.

I think if the dog has an enlarged heart you can control it with meds for a short while as you prepare to say goodbye.

But you definitely need a doctor to tell you exactly what is up, what the prognisis is and what you can do for him. Don’t guess! Don’t ask a message board :slight_smile:

It will be hard whatever you do but the most important thing is that you have no regrets about the life and death of your dog. Do the absolute best you can do, and they will thank you for it.

Peace to you. This is definitely a hard road.

Talk to the vet. There may be something else to help with the cough, particularly if it is asthma. FWIW, I agree that he doesn’t sound miserable.

One thing I do is ask myself if I whatever the dog was experiencing was happening to me, what would I want. How would you feel if you had coughing fits whenever you got out of bed? Is it so bad that you can get by or are you miserable? In other words, stand in the dog’s boots and see how it feels? Then decide.

I’ve done it twice within the past few years and it’s a very humbling experience. But it’s one of the most important acts of love you can demonstrate to a pet that’s suffering. I’m lucky that the last two were very obvious to me that it was “time”. But I’ve also experienced what it’s like to not be sure and regretted how much the animal suffered while the decision was being worked out.

This jumped out at me. From my own dogs’ experience, this sounds more like congestive heart failure than asthma or collapsed trachea. A visit to the vet is in order.

If it’s heart failure, vasodilators can make the heart’s job easier and improve your dog’s quality of life. From what you say, he sounds like a happy little guy who still enjoys being around!

I’m not a dog owner, but I have owned many cats. I always knew when the time came to put each one to sleep.

You are not being selfish. You are listening to your instincts. Believe me, when the time comes to let go, you will know, because you love your dog. You won’t want your animal to suffer.

Listen to your heart, watch your dog, and wait until you know that the animal wants to go to the rainbow bridge. You’ll know when. Trust me.

This sounds like exactly what I went through with my dear elderly beagle…the constant coughing, etc. As other posters mentioned above, it was an enlarged heart. The vet prescribed enalipril and lasix, and my beagle’s quality of life improved immensely! The coughing went away completely, and we had three more years (good quality years, where the dog was happy and not in any pain at all) with her before it was time to say goodbye.

We had an end of life discussion with our vet just last weekend. Our yellow lab is somewhere between 12 and 14 years old (his previous owner wasn’t sure of his age when we got him), and is having nerve degeneration around the sacro-iliac joint. He has some fecal incontinence, and has had a couple of alarming episodes of falling and not being able to get up on his own. Friday was the worst such episode, and we thought that was it for him, but he bounced back a lot before we took him to the vet, and we deferred euthanasia for the time being.

The vet recommended this Quality of Life Scale as a guideline. The heuristic here is that a score of 35 or below out of 70 is an indicator that it’s time. Our Zeke is probably still scoring in the 40s. It’ll be soon, but not yet.

Good luck.

If he was mine, I wouldn’t have him put down yet. It’s true that animals are excellent at hiding their pain, but it sounds like he’s also coping well with it. From what you describe, if he’s still eating well and getting excited at times, then there’s no way I’d think of euthanasia yet.

Sometimes it’s really the humans who are most distressed by the dog’s problems in old age e.g.: incontinent, tiring out easily, high vets bills, or just the slow decline in health. Then there’s the opposite problem of the owner pretending the dog is ok because they can’t bear to be without it, but that certainly doesn’t sound like you.

However, I’m sure it’s uncomfortable for him and there are excellent medications available that should give relief from the coughing. Don’t accept it as just old age/breed specific. If necessary, I’d seek a second opinion from another vet, or a specialist.

Also, I would echo what was suggested previously about getting him checked out for heart failure. His symptoms are certainly typical, though that doesn’t mean he has it.

Yes, a talk with the vet is indicated.

My family’s dog had what the vet called a “heart cough”, but it wasn’t nearly as severe as the OP’s dog’s. It was treated with some pills, and he lived for several more years. Finally, one day he got suddenly worse; he was simply unable to get up and move around. That day we took him to the vet, and he said our dog was in heart failure. There was only one course of action: the kindest thing.

Collapsing trachea, enlarged heart, and asthma can all be diagnosed from xrays. They are also all treatable to some degree (for the most part). Collapsing trachea can be totally fixed surgically, and heart failure or asthma can be medicated. Now, if it’s cardiac, an ultrasound by a cardiologist really would be in order once an enlarged heart is found on x-ray. A cardiologist can determine exactly what’s wrong and prescribe the correct medications to make your pup the most comfortable. I’ve seen properly medicated pets get a few good years extra thanks to proper meds. For asthma, dogs can get an inhaler prescribed, used with a canine-friendly chamber for inhaling.

You need to get the x-rays done, and be willing to follow up on whatever the doc finds. I think if any of the above three are found, you need to then go the next step and start medicating appropriately. If your dog is going through complications that can be avoided with proper vet care and medication/follow up on your part, then you’re not being very nice to him if you don’t. I think if any of the above three are found, and you decide not to pursue treatment, then watching closely for good quality of life and euthanasia sooner than later is also an okay decision.