I have an old dog. Bandit is 13 years old, he’s medium sized. A few years ago he had some nerve damage in his back end. He couldn’t use his back legs, they wouldn’t support him. After a lot of care and work, he finally could get up and walk on his own again, but he hasn’t been the same, mobility wise, since. Lately he’s been having problems with his bodily functions. He will walk around and pee, it’s like he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. Starting last weekend, he has been pooping while lying down. I will call the vet tomorrow to see if they can help. He will lay in one spot on the floor all day, we bring him water and food. He still gets out for a daily walk, once he’s up he’s fine - it’s just that getting up is a long, painful process for him. I don’t think he’s in constant pain, but he doesn’t have interest in much anymore.
I don’t know what to do. He is my first dog and I want to do the right thing for him. I don’t mind cleaning up after him, I 'll gladly do it if I know he is still happy. I am so torn. Can a dog be happy with the life I’ve described above? I don’t want to make him hang on to spare me the grief, but I don’t want to prolong any suffering.
Your vet will have the best answer to that question. But judging just from what you’ve said here, if he’s still enjoying his walks, I’d say his life is not all misery.
Give him lots of love and concentrate on petting rather than games if you get the sense that he’s physically hurting when he plays. Or play games that he can play lying down, like tug-of-war. Also, if it’s possible to let him lie on a porch outside, weather permitting, so that he can get some entertainment from watching/hearing and above all smelling the world around him, that will probably add to his pleasure in his life.
But again, let your vet tell you whether or not he’s in pain more than not. But don’t get guilted into outrageous medical expenses. At his age and with his problems, nothing is going to make him young again.
I have an older dog myself, and will be facing the same problems soon enough. I’m sorry.
Thanks. We have a fenced yard he goes out in too, but he doesn’t really like being outside anymore. He’ll go out and pee when we make him, but he wants to come back in right away. We have to help him get up, he can’t do it alone. It is just so sad for me to see him laying in a pile of his own poop. It’s not a big poop, I think it is more like the effort of him trying to get up on his own makes him expell a little chunk…I know he doesn’t like it. I will see what the vet can do for us, but the last meds he gave us actually made the peeing part worse. I don’t think he realizes when he’s doing it. It’s so sad, I’ve been crying a lot lately.
I went through the old doggy thing when I was younger. My mom was real big on not putting your pet to sleep just because he gets old but she and the rest of the family have changed our minds since the ordeal we went through with Gizmo. He was something like 15 yrs old, was senile, deaf, blind, and had a few non-dangerous tumors on his body. Most importantly he seemed…mindless. Like he lost it mentally. I remember my parents saying he wouldn’t last it through the year but 3 years later he’d still be around. He didn’t seem like he was in pain but he couldn’t go walking or do anything but be insane. I wanted them to put him down but they refuse to, even paying expensive surgery to have some of his tumors removed. That poor dog suffered a few strokes and was even runned over by my dad accidently, but Gizmo just kept going. Finally he suffered (painfully) kidney failure one night and the next morning we took him to the vet to be put down. We have three dogs now that will be put down for sure once they get into Gizmo territory.
Your dog sounds different because he still enjoys walks. That’s an important point to keep in mind.
I’ve been trying to type up a post telling you about our cat, Clyde, who at 17 years of age went through similar things as your beloved pet is now going through. It still makes me sad to think how this great animal faded so quickly. It was really hard having him put down, but I could not let that poor creature suffer.
I’m sorry about your dog. You will know what to do, and when.
I’d think you’re getting close to that time, but if he’s still enjoying his walks, I don’t think it’s quite time yet. If he quits enjoying – or refuses entirely to go – on his walks, I’d take that as a sign that it’s about time. I’ve read that one way to judge whether it’s time is to consider the thing that your dog loves above everything else in life – walks, a particular game, a particular toy, FOOD!, whatever it is. When they lose interest in that, then it’s time to think about having them put to sleep.
As a matter of practicality in the meantime, if he’s having so many problems with elimination, I’d get a bunch of old and/or cheap towels and put them down everywhere. It’d be easier than cleaning up the carpet.
I’m sorry he’s not doing well. Dogs have an amazing talent for getting into our hearts, don’t they? It sounds like he’s in good hands, and being throughly spoiled, which of course he deserves.
Wow, your post really rings home with me. Right now my life revolves around whether my dog can poop, when he does or doesn’t and his basic mobility. I also am in the same dilemma but he is 15 years old right now and has severe arthritis and is on Rimidyl for it, I’m not sure if I can add anything practical except is your dog on any joint medication. It has really helped in my dog’s case, at first he was using Metacam and now we have switched to Rimidyl. Our dog Max also sleeps most of the day and he goes out for short walks only to eliminate. He has had a couple of surgeries and we are wondering about how do you know when its time. Like do you put a dog down when they can’t walk anymore, because yours is able to poo lying down. I actually carry Max home when he is too tired to walk back and up and down stairs and try to make his life comfortable. The vet says he has a couple of years in him but I don’t know when its time is it obvious?
The best advice I can give you is you’ll know when it’s time. I dreaded having to make the decision about Kate. She was 14 years old, had a problem with urinary incontenence, I was making a chicken and rice stew for her to keep her eating. I moved into the guestroom so she could have my waterbed when her incontinence got so bad I couldn’t sleep with her anymore. She still enjoyed being with me. Finally I woke up one morning and she had apparently had an inner-ear thing go wonky in the night. SHe kept trying to stand up, but she could only go in circles and kept falling down. I took her into the vet that morning and the vet said with a younger dog they’d hospitalize them for about a week and tranqualize them until they adjusted to the new equilibrium. The vet and I both knew she wouldn’t survive being away from me and I made the decision to have her put to sleep then. I knew it was time. and although I grieved and mourned her lose, I never doubted that I made the right decison for her. You will, too, for Bandit.
Putting down your trusted friend is one of the worst things a person has to do.
I remember when I was a kid and my Dad took our old dog to the vet to have her euthanized. She too had kidney problems. Mom fed her baby food by the spoonful to try to get her up.
I’ve had to put 2 dogs down,took them to the vet cause I couldn’t do it myself.
The first was the purebred shelty I bought for my wife when we were dating.
he also had kidney problems.
The last one was really hard. We had nipper for 17 years. He was mostly blind and deaf and slept most of the time. He found his way around the yard with his nose.He could hardly walk when I finally decided his life was lots of pain and I didn’t want him hurting.
The old boy tried to steal a doggy treat at the vets office.
All I can suggest is that you don’t let them suffer.
It sounds like it’s very close to time. At the risk of sounding like the big bad bitch out to rain on your parade, I’ll be perfectly blunt. I’m going to tell you the things I can’t tell our clients, because I think it’s in Bandit’s best interests not to pussyfoot around on this. If he were my dog, he’d be scampering off toward the Rainbow Bridge about now.
By your own description, Bandit is elderly, incontinent, and unable to get up and down on his own. Even when you help him, getting up and down is horribly painful for him. He has no interest in much anymore, which means he’s not enjoying much anymore. Your vet might be able to help with the pain, but he’s not likely to ever really regain his mobility or his continence. Would you want to live that way? Would you want your parents or siblings or spouse to live that way? If the answer to those questions is no, then you’d be keeping him alive for yourself and not for him, and it’s time to pull the plug. If you wouldn’t put your other loved ones through that, don’t put him through it.
It’s hard. It’s beyond hard, really. It’s gut-wrenching and heart-breaking, and it really sucks. It’s also the last gift we can give those who have given us so much, the final gesture of love and respect we’re able to offer them. It’s a good thing for them, even when it’s a shitty thing for us. Trust me, I know exactly how shitty for us it is. I love an old dog, too, and she’s got cancer. Right now, she still has mostly good days, but it’s just a matter of time for the old girl.
Good news…it’s not his time! He’s been great since the day I wrote this post, and we went to the vet this AM and got some new meds- Deramaxx. I am so relieved.
We will continue with blood tests every six months, but I am so happy that he is otherwise healthy. I have been doing some deep thinking about this whole situation, and I honestly think he is still enjoying his life.
Oh, he’s precious. I’m so happy to hear that he’s doing better! My dog is only nine, but he’s starting to get that greying around the nose and eyes, too. Your posts hit me a good bit. Good luck with him; I hope he’s got many more great years ahead of him.
Glad to hear he’s feeling better! You’ll probably want to give the Deramaxx with food, as it can cause some stomach irritation. You’ll also want to keep an eye on his stool for changes in color, texture, and odor. I know, it’s gross, but sometimes dogs on NSAIDS like Deramaxx get GI bleeds and that’s one of the best ways to monitor him between checkups. If you notice these sorts of changes, you need to call your vet, pronto.
If he develops other problems, though, keep in mind what I said before. If you wouldn’t want yourself or your human loved ones to live like that, don’t make him live like that.
Our old boy Angus is on Deramaxx and responding well. He has severe hip dysplasia (both are completely out of the socket) and blew out the ACL in his right knee not too long ago, so his time is coming soon.
Incontinence can be a warning signal of something very serious, make sure the vet knows about it.
Glad to hear you no longer need an answer to your question, but for others or for the future, here are some general guidelines to know “When Is it Time?”
Wow- that’s your site? That was one of the websites I looked at these past few days when I was thinking about htis whole situation, and one that made me think that it isn’t the right time for him to go. He loves eating still, and likes his walks in the park (once he gets to his feet). That is a great site, thank you for it.
After his first dose of Deramaxx yesterday he spent about a half hour with me out in the garden. He spent almost the whole time on his feet, sniffing around, with only a few short rest periods. I don’t usually allow the dogs in the garden area (they have a plenty big enough fenced in area - our yard is 3/4 fenced, 1/4 garden) but he enjoys it and I am not going to worry anymore about him peeing on anything. He can’t raise his leg anyway, and I don’t care about the grass paths. So far, so good. I will keep an eye open for any changes mentioned CCL and richardb.
We have a fenced yard he goes out in too, but he doesn’t really like being outside anymore. He’ll go out and pee when we make him, but he wants to come back in right away. We have to help him get up, he can’t do it alone. It is just so sad for me to see him laying in a pile of his own poop. It’s not a big poop, I think it is more like the effort of him trying to get up on his own makes him expell a little chunk…I know he doesn’t like it. I will see what the vet can do for us, but the last meds he gave us actually made the peeing part worse. I don’t think he realizes when he’s doing it. It’s so sad, I’ve been crying a lot lately.
