When your aging pet is ill...

[Cindy B]

We inherited a beautiful 13 year old Black Lab, named Cody when my mother in law passed away. She is a beautiful wonderful, kind pet.

Lately, in the past few days, she has been having trouble getting up, coming on the couch and bed.. (she has fallen off a few times), and sometimes walking into things. It seems that if you talk to her, her head is turning a different way (maybe vision?)

Anyway, we did take her for a checkup in September. She is as well as can be expected for a dog her age. She does has some fat deposits which have grown. My mother in law was aware of them (before she passed away) and decided not to operate and let nature take its course. We have respected her wishes on this and are just making Cody comfortable.

A vet tech friend of mine actually looked at her in January, and said she is older, but doesn't have some of the problems other Labs have.

She is still eating, and walking around, but to see her detioriate is so sad. I haven't had a dog in 20 years, so its a shame to see this happen.

But in the meantime, she is my husband shadow.. she follows him everywhere, even in the bathroom! Her new nickname is Shadow!

Anyway, what do you do when your pet is ill?

 

[nativetxn]

My dog is older and she is going blind. It's sad to watch. What is worse is that a few months ago she became insulin dependent diabetic.

If your dog has arthritis there are medications you can give her that will help with her movement. One of the worst symptoms of my dogs diabetes was that she fell alot and her back legs seemed very weak. You might want to have your dog checked for diabetes.

Our Sassy girl doesn't seem to be in pain so we are just treating her symptoms and diabetes. We can't bring ourselves to put her down because she is ill. Not yet

 

[tcfdick]

When my miniature poodle Cissie, was older (she passed on about 7 years ago now), she went blind and deaf. I would clap my hands so she could feel the vibrations when I wanted her to come to me and didn't move furniture or leave anything out so she could walk around without fear of falling over something. She went outside in the yard and I didn't fear that she couldn't find her way because we had lived in the same house for most of her life. I took care of her like I would my children. I picked her up when she needed me to, let her sleep in the bed (I had to pick her up the last couple of years because she couldn't jump up into our bed anymore) and did all I could to make her comfortable. I even bought her special treats and foods that she loved. She was a great pet. It sounds like you are doing the same for your MIL's dog you inherited. They do tend to touch your heart, don't they!

 

[Pop Daddy]

I got one real old dog, the only time shes happy is when she eats , I hope she just dies in her sleep, so someday I wont have to put her down

 

[sammi]

to all of you who have aging fur babies.......it's so hard to see them grow old.

 

[minnie56]

I have been where you are.

I would first of all have her checked at the Vets in case perhaps she could have had a mini-stroke? Not sure what if anything they could do....but I still would have her seen. As mentioned...there are good medications to make her more comfortable especially with getting up etc. My dog has bad knees and hips and takes Metacam and Glucosamine daily and the improvement is tremendous.

Other than the above and any recommendations a Vet makes...just love her and she will carry on loving you back.

She sounds as if she is blessed to have you in the twilight of her life.

 

[ZachnElli]

We have the same problem with our 12 year old golden retriever. She has arthritis really bad and the new medicines out are hard on their stomachs. It makes her quite sick. It's just getting worse daily. I just took her to the vet and she said "not last resort yet". I really wish for a quick peaceful ending for her. I just found out I'm pregnant again and I won't be able to pick her up (just to set her on her feet) for much longer. And she will bark at me all day long to pick her up. I'm really worried about our upcoming trip. Our pet sitter quit and she has to go to a kennel. I'm so worried, who will pick her up to go to the bathroom?

 

[Karel]

It's hard. We watched our 13 year old Golden go downhill the last month. Every week there was something new going on and we were at the vet every week. I think you have to decide personally how much you can spend to keep him going and how much he is suffering. And then just be there and do your best to keep him comfortable. You'll know when it's time.

OTH, we spend an obscene amount of money last summer to make our 6 month old Westie healthy again. I just felt he was too young to not even try.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had tried medical intervention for our Golden. Would it have been worth it to extend his life by even a few months, even if it meant tests and operations? Or was it right to let nature take it's course?

 

[Feralpeg]

One of my golden retrievers is only 8 years old, but she is in bad shape. She had to have hip surgery when she was only 6 months old. She is very crippled. She has a hard time getting up and down. The cold weather really bothers her. On top of that, she has hypo-thyroidism. This has made her look like she is 12 years old. She takes pills daily for the thyroid problem. She is allergic to everything. She scratches constantly. I give her pills for the itching all the time. She has constant ear infections due to the allergies and thyroid problem. She can no longer get into the car by herself. Unfortunately, she weighs 90 pounds. I'm not getting any younger and it is getting hard for me to lift her in and out of the car. With all of her problems, I have to take her to the vet on a regular basis. She also breaths very hard. I'm not sure what causes that. The vet seemed to think that she may have the beginnings of congestive heart failure.

Since we are moving, I think I may have to make a very difficult decision. We are still trying to decide whether to fly our pets to Florida or drive down. If we fly them, I'm not sure how she'll do. The agitation of the flight may be too much for her. If we drive, I will have to lift her in an out of the car numerous times. In addition, she will be cramped up in the car. We have another golden, so they won't be able to stretch out. As sad as it seems, it may be time for me to put her down. I love her and don't want to, but am I doing her a favor letting her carry on in her condition? She can't be comfortable. I'd hate to go through what she does on a daily basis.

Everytime I lose a pet, I tell myself I won't go through it again. If only they lived as long as we do!

 

[HLFDZN]

The hardest thing I ever did was have my 9 yr old Black Lab Sadie put to sleep. She had a congential Eye problem that caused her retina to detach and then they eye developed Glaucoma. The pressure in her eye was 56 which is horribly painful. The eye specialist said they didn't want me to have her put down, but honestly $1800 for surgery to remove the eye was not feasable. It cost $200 for this opinion. I miss her terribly. I felt like I had let her down by having her put to sleep. She became my shadow when she was blind in that eye and if I made sudden moves she would scramble to get out of the way... poor baby, slipping on the floor and bashing into people. I still see her in my mind after she died....The song.."Perfect day" remains her song in my heart..it was a beautiful day when we had her put to sleep..sunny and warm and she went everywhere with me that day and knew how much we loved her. This maniac puppy we have is nothing like her and I am glad..I can never replace her, she was the BEST dog anyone could ever want. My heart goes out to anyone in the posistion of making this decision..you never know if you did the right thing. Melissa

 

[ByTheSea]

this is such a sad subject. Our older dog is 12, she's got some arthritis now, not enough that she is noticably in pain, but she needs to use the front door to get in and out of the SUV easily. Her hearing is almost gone, and her vision is getting worse, but not enough for surgery. She's still pretty much herself but you can see the years creeping up on her, I just can't imagine not having her around.

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

Hi There! I work with a group called labs4rescue, www.labs4rescue.com . I help foster labs in need of homes. We pull from high kill shelters in the Southern States (like TN, LA and AK) and transport them to North Easter foster homes (me) and then place them in new adoptive homes. I also have 2 of my own, one who is almost 10 years old. Many Labs can live very long lives, upwards of 16 years.
There are a few things you can do.
1. If finances are a concern you might contact the Labrador Lifeline (they have a website) as they help folks with labs who have need of medical attention when owners can afford what the dog needs. Im not sure of the requirements.
2. What are you feeding her? Nutrition will help a dog out a lot everything from their teeth to their bowel movements, to the length of time they live if started early. Look for a high quality food, without a lot of fillers- dont trust the store clerk- learn to read the label yourself. When I do home visits for potential adopters I show them how to do this. You do not want items like corn, wheat, flour, etc in the first 3-5 ingredients. Wellness dog food is a good one- human grade deboned chicken, sweet potato, apples, blueberries are just a few of the ingredients you will read. Solid Gold is another thats very good.
3. There are nutracudicals out now (my vet recommends them) Nupro (silver container) is great for dogs with arthritus. Biotin is great for coat. Dermcaps too help compete against dry, itchy skin.
MSM is a good supplement as well. And Vit E. You can buy most of these items online through Drs Fosters and Smith or at your vet's.

Your sweetie black Lab may just need some additional meds or nutrients to help her out.

Oh and NOT to be forgotten- massages- these help a LOT.
If you see that she is extremely lame you can give her 1 buffered aspirin to help her with the pain and stiffness (Ascriptin) is what my vet said.

I hope this helps and please keep us posted on Cody!!

Peace and happiness be with her during these last years.

 

[arminnie]

The decision to put down a beloved pet is the hardest thing in the world. You don't want to do it one day too soon or one day too late. It's a fine balancing act.

I thought I would DIE from the pain when I had to put down my first cocker spaniel Sundance . I loved him SO much, but I had to do it as he had been fighting congestive heart failure for almost 2 years. He was at the point of getting terribly bloated (was even drained to try to help) and didn't want to eat anymore.

I still miss him and it's been 10 1/2 years since he's been gone. When I got my second cocker Cody from a rescue group I remember looking at him (neither one of us was bonded at that moment) and saying "Are you going to break my heart someday too?" He's 11 now and deaf but is in pretty good shape otherwise.

Cody - we were both a little younger in this picture but at least I am thinner now!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sad stories here, but so full of true love, caring and compassion. I called home a bit earlier this evening (still here in Atlanta) and Marie said Doc had his second chemo treatment today. Sad, only 4 years old. 's to everyone here, great people, great pets.

 

[catsrule]

I dread the thought of this. They are gonna have to put a straight jacket on me.