My 15 yo. cocker has lost all bladder control!!!!! Help! Final update :(

[goofy's friends]

We had this happen with one of my pugs a while back and it was just a bladder stone. Very minor surgery and she was good as new.

How old was your pug?

 

[goofy's friends]

DH took her to Dr. today. Doesn't look good. He suspects kidney failure. we'll get blood work back tonight or tomorrow. If so, he said it is the beginning of the end, but didn't give details on the next step. So sad. DH also saw them exchange looks while feeling her, and later felt in the same place by her back leg and said there is a definate lump there. So, he felt that they suspected there was more going on, but didn't say. Anyway, if we find out anything else, we'll let you know. Thanks.

 

[luvmy2sams]

Sorry to hear the latest about your cocker. We lost our boy at age 11 last July, and our girl is now 11 years old. She's perky most of the time, but we know there are more days behind us than ahead. I hope that the tests results give you the answers you need.

 

[DawnCt1]

I am sorry. Everytime one of my doggies get sick, I worry. Its hard to accept that they age so quickly.

 

[goofy's friends]

Thanks guys

 

[iggbees]

our dog had the same problem. she was an english springer spaniel. she all of a sudden started having problems with peeing everywhere. she ended up having diabetes, which was controlled by insulin injection for almost a year. we had to put her on a diet as well. i won't tell you the sad ending to my story though.

 

[goofy's friends]

Oh, dear. We heard from the Dr. He said that she is in kidney failure. What do we do now? Options: 1. IVs several times a week could prolong things. 2. Specialized prescription diet could prolong things. 3. Put her down.

The problem: DS5 (birthday today) would be devastated--he loves her and doesn't realize there is even a problem. DD7 and 9 would have a hard time as their great grandpa died last week and it was the first time they've had to deal with death. It would be a lot this soon.

If we were to put her down, I would want to do it before they are out of school cuz I don't want to have to explain that we chose that, just that she died that day. Or should they get to say good-bye? Anyone have experience with this, if we let it happen naturally, how long would it be?

He did say that she is not in pain but will become uncomfaortable as she gets sicker including vomitting (has done 3 times recently) and become lathargic (which she is very lethargic now). She is also very impatient and grumpy, where she used to be so much more tolerant of DS.

Anyone want to tackle this? Which one of the 3 options would you choose? Why? How long would you wait? Any other words of wisdom appreciated.

 

[mickeyfan1]

I would look at her quality of life now. Pain is not the only consideration. If you were me, you would make the appointment to have her put down. You would tell the kids that it is her time to go to heaven and be with thier Great Grandpa, and let them say good bye. Amd you would be at the vet and hold her while she slips into forever sleep, letting her see the love you have for her and knowing that she will be in a better place. It is so hard to do, but it isn't right for our animals to suffer. I put 2 dogs down in the last 2 years, I had them from 7 weeks old, and I still cry for them.

 

[horseshowmom]

I would look at her quality of life now. Pain is not the only consideration. If you were me, you would make the appointment to have her put down. You would tell the kids that it is her time to go to heaven and be with thier Great Grandpa, and let them say good bye. Amd you would be at the vet and hold her while she slips into forever sleep, letting her see the love you have for her and knowing that she will be in a better place. It is so hard to do, but it isn't right for our animals to suffer. I put 2 dogs down in the last 2 years, I had them from 7 weeks old, and I still cry for them.

This is what I'd do too. I stayed with him, because I knew he wouldn't have left me (that's just me, I don't mean to imply that everybody has to do it that way). I knew he only had a few months left no matter what, and I didn't want to put him through all of the tubes, etc.

We're dealing with it now too. Our beagle/cocker mix has liver disease. She being treated for it and eats the special diet, but she's now started having seizures. She comes out of them quickly, gets up, runs around, and wags her tail. So, for now, we're okay, but we probably don't have a lot of time left.

You have my heartfelt sympathy. It really is hard.

 

[Snowysmom]

I agree with the previous posters. It is a very difficult decision to make but you have to do what is right for your beloved pet. We just had to put our westie to sleep last month. She fought cancer for 5 months but we knew we had to do what was best for her when her breathing became very labored. You and your kids will miss your dog incredibly but it sounds like it is the right thing to do. My kids are older (16 and 20) so they said good bye to Snowy and younger DS and DH stayed with her until it was done. I nursed her for 5 months and just found it too hard to stay with her for the medicine. You know your kids best if you want the kids to say good bye or if it would be easier to tell them she is with grandpa now. It is very hard and I send you my sympathy. Take care.

 

[lisajl]

I agree with the other posters. Look at the quality of life. My boss usually tells people when they are no longer a dog, is the time to put them down.

It is up to you when you put your pet down. It is never an easy decision, but you also must take in to effect the suffering. If things are going well right now, bring your doggy home and try the special diet for a while.
This will give you and your kids time to say goodbye. They may not understand everything, but it sounds as if they really love the dog.

I would not recommend you taking them with you to the vet. We have had several people do this and it is very disturbing to the younger kids. I have NEVER made my kids stay while it was done for our pets.
It is hard enough to lose a lifelong pal, but to watch being put to sleep is really tough.

Good luck with your decision.
Lisa

 

[robinb]

Oh, dear. We heard from the Dr. He said that she is in kidney failure.

He did say that she is not in pain but will become uncomfaortable as she gets sicker including vomitting (has done 3 times recently) and become lathargic (which she is very lethargic now). She is also very impatient and grumpy, where she used to be so much more tolerant of DS.

Anyone want to tackle this? Which one of the 3 options would you choose? Why? How long would you wait? Any other words of wisdom appreciated.

First of all {{hugs}} to you. Putting an animal down is one of the hardest decisions that we, as loving owners and doggie parents, have to make. Your doggie is sick and peeing in the house. This is something she has not done since she was a pup and she is probably very embarrassed that it is happening. It goes against a life-time of training. She is vomiting and is lethargic. She is getting impatient with your DS and may bite him. She is no longer the dog she was. I think it is time to help her over the Rainbow Bridge. I was in your exact shoes 3 years ago with a blind, incontinent 100 lb 15 year old Japanese Akita who was beginning to growl at my 3 year old DD. Putting my beloved Akiko down was the best thing I could do for her and for our family. It was also incredibly hard and I am crying now as I type this.

If we were to put her down, I would want to do it before they are out of school cuz I don't want to have to explain that we chose that, just that she died that day. Or should they get to say good-bye? Anyone have experience with this, if we let it happen naturally, how long would it be?

I put Akiko down on the sly while my DD was in pre-school. I thought she was too young to understand about putting an animal that you love down. She's now 6 years old and I would probably now tell her that Akiko is very old and sick and tired and will fall asleep and then go over the Rainbow Bridge. I think you should tell your kids and let them say goodbye.

{{hugs}}

 

[Nancy]

I had a cocker spaniel that had kidney problems from about age 2 until things got so bad at age 14 that we had to have her put to sleep. It was the worst decision I ever had to make, but it was the best thing for her. She was so sick, with no hope of recovery. Our kids were still pretty small then and I thought the same as you. I took her in while they were in school. My now 16 year old was devastated that we took the dog whithout her. She said she overheard us talking in the bedroom that morning so she knew what was going on (she was still in grammar school). The kids would have loved to say goodby to her.

I think you have to judge it on your kids, how mature are they, will they understand the process and why you are doing this? My kids understood after explaining it.I wish we would have descussed it with them before hand. They decided it was the best thing for Ginger and that we shouldn't keep making her suffer just so she could stay with us, no matter how much they loved her.

to you, this is not an easy time.

 

[DVC Sadie]

First of all I just wanted to send you some hugs and to tell you that after reading this entire thread I am now crying. The best advice came from Mickeyfan1.

Best of luck to your family during this difficult time.

 

[gris gris]

I just wanted to send you some hugs. What a great life, 15 years old!!

I'm going to be posting soon about our dog once I hear from the vet. We're having a problem that could turn into kidney failure and I read that cockers are one of the breeds affected by it.

 

[laurajetter]

So tough.

I think you inevitiably will need to put your dog down; She is already 15 years old, and in liver failure. Not too much quality of life left. I agree with a previous poster to maybe try the diet thing long enough for your family to say goodbye.

I think you should DEFINITELY let your children say goodbye. However, if you don't want (or know how to) explain that you are choosing to put him to sleep, I think you should sit them down and explain that when animals get older, they can get very sick and eventually they will die. Tell them that it looks like the dog is sick, and tell them that she is very old. Explain that you just wanted to let them know that he may not live much longer, and you think everyone should take a turn to tell him how much they love him, and to say goodbye because he might die soon.

Just try to keep it as simple as possible. After they've said goodbye, I would schedule an appointment to put the dog down, without telliing them. THen you can just tell them after school; ask them if the remember the talk you had a couple days ago. Tell them the dog passed away, but explain that even though they will miss him very much, it is better because he isn't in pain anymore and is playing with all his doggy friends in heaven.

Good luck

Laura

 

[damo]

It sounds like the time is near. You will know when the time is right. I think the kids have a right to know what is going on. My son was about 10 when we had to put our first cocker down. He understood, as Samson had lost most of his faculties. We will be in the position again with our 13 y.o. deaf and blind Barney. It is so hard but the years of joy far outweigh the moments of grief.

I would discuss the situation with the kids as to the health of the dog. They will probably have some good advice for you.

 

[justjulie]

My thoughts are with you. We had to make the very difficult decision to put our beloved Montana down after her hips failed and she could no longer walk. She was our first "child" and my children grew up with her. I gave them the choice and they both opted to go with us - they didn't want her to be alone. Hard, you bet but the best decision I ever made.

 

[arminnie]

It sounds like the time is near. You will know when the time is right.

A very difficult decison - you don't want to do it a day too soon or a day too late. I chose to be with my first cocker when he was put down. I am so glad that I made that decision.

I knew for at least a year that the end was coming (congestive heart failure which was progressive). I just could not imagine how I was going to be able to look him in the eye (we were SO bonded) and drive him over to be put down. He trusted me so much.

But in the end he trusted me not to make him suffer either.

 

[disneyfanforever]

We had to put our 14 year old Cocker Spaniel down almost 2 years ago. It was so difficult to make that decision. We talked to the vet about what was best and he helped us a lot with his advice. Our dog had lost most of his bladder and bowel control and his quality of life was very poor.

Our boys were 3 and 7 at the time, and we told them that Thunder was getting sicker and he would probably die soon. We did not tell them that we were putting him to sleep because I did not think they would truly understand. We had a few days to love on him and I took pictures with each of my boys with Thunder. It was a hard time for them as well because my grandpa (their great-grandfather had just passed away completely unexpectedly). We took him to the vet while they were gone, and then told them that Thunder died at the vet. They were, of course, heartbroken as was our whole family. We just made sure they knew that Thunder was no longer having any problems and was all better up in Heaven with Grandpa.

I am so sorry for you and what you are going through.