dilemma with older dog

needsomecash · 17 May 2013 at 5:12PM

Hi All,

Our family dog is a 12 and a half year old collie/Alsatian. We went to the vets a few days ago for his annual booster as he is booked into kennels in july for 2 weeks.

Our dog has been fine but over the last couple of weeks he has sometimes fell over and he also struggles to get up when he has been laying down for a while. In the mornings when I let him out he just looks at you however once he is up he runs around the garden like normal although he will fall over sometimes. I know this was a sign that his back legs are failing.

The vet examined him and was concerned that he has gone thin (he has a thick coat so it was hard to spot). I have noticed in the last few days before the vets he doesn’t eat all his food but then the next day he will eat it all. He may not eat the food in the bowl but if you throw him some scraps he will eat them, so I do not think his appetite has gone! I have now started to give him smaller portions with a few hours in between and he has eaten it all. He drinks a lot of water (sometimes nearly a big bowl full) however, he has been doing this for years and they vet was not concerned last year.

The only other major issue with him is that he will go through periods of “bleeding”. He will walk around and leak blood, when he lies and stands up there is a blood. He does look uncomfortable when this is happening. However, this happens randomly i.e. it may happen for a few days then it disappears for a weeks. This has been happening for about 2 years now and as it is so random the vet has put it down to age related. He had it last week and it lasted about 4 days but that is the first time this year.

The vet has said that he has arthiritis and the nerves in his back legs are no longer working properly as when he bent his paws he got no reaction. He said he is more concerned about the weight though. He did not give the booster as he said he feels the dog may only have months left. He give him medicam to help with pains and said to see how he goes. He said our dog is close to the end however he is not quite at that’s stage yet and it is a hard choice at the moment. He advised however that it would be kinder to let him go while he has quality/dignity and do not leave it until he is too far. We are going back in about 2 weeks to see if the medication has had any effect.

Most people are saying now is the time to let him go however when I see him running around I feel that he isn’t ready, then I see him struggling to get up and I then I feel I am being cruel by keeping him here. I have said to the vet once he is up he can run around and play with the younger dog except he will fall over sometimes and needs a good rest after. I still do not feel he is ready to go yet though.

My other dilemma is thinking ahead. Although our holiday is quite a few weeks away, if he is still the same condition as he is now do I risk putting him into kennels for 2 weeks (there is nowhere else he can go) and risk something happening while we are not here or do we give him a few good weeks (hopefully) and consider putting him down before the kennels so that it would happen in his home with me there and we would all have the chance to say goodbye.

Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble and a long post! but this is our first dog we have had since puppy and it’s just a hard decision on when is the right time. I know a lot can change as well in the next few weeks but I cant stop thinking about this.

rising_from_the_ashes · 17 May 2013 at 6:13PM

Ohhhh so sorry that you're reaching "the time" with your dog - it's the hardest part of being owned by them ..... but we can at least end their suffering when the time comes which is the biggest, most unselfish thing we can do.

I honestly they will let you know when it's time - for me personally, I tend to weight up the good / bad things and count the number of good & bad days .... when bad starts to take over .... I'd always go a whole week too soon than 1 day too late ....

Re the timing and the holiday .... very difficult. I had something similar when I lost Smudge, except it was moving house. I knew how stressed he would be by the whole moving thing .... how happy he was where we were etc etc and ..... I had him pts just before I moved.

Yes, he may have lasted a few weeks longer - but putting him through loads of stress for the sake of those very few weeks - to me, it was kinder to say goodbye while he was happy .... (((hugs)))

ANGLICANPAT · 17 May 2013 at 6:31PM

Agree with sentiments in the post above. From your dogs point of view , I doubt he would be very happy if he felt unwell in kennels and you were not there. Personally ,for that reason if people close to my dog were not available to look after him towards the end and I had to go away, I wouldnt hesitate to have him put to sleep first .Sorry you're having to make such difficult decisions .

zaksmum · 17 May 2013 at 8:46PM

Very difficult time and my heart goes out to you OP.

Horrible decision to have to make but if this was my dog I would let him go now rather than take the risk of him becoming seriously unwell amongst strangers without that last cuddle from his loved ones.

Most dogs are stressed and none too happy in kennels anyway and it does seem like he's quite ill right now and it may all be too much for him.

Easier said than done, I know.

But sadly it looks to me like it's time, before his condition deteriorates further.

Thinking of you and sending you hugs.

pawsies · 17 May 2013 at 9:01PM

Is this any good to you if you do decide to persevere?

http://www.vetmedsdirect.co.uk/naf-canine-relief-with-devils-claw-250ml/

mumps · 17 May 2013 at 9:16PM

My collie cross is older, she was a rescue and we have had 13 years, she was four or five when we got her. We had similar problems last year, although at one point she couldn't actually stand. The test with bending the foot was the same. She had steroid injections and painkillers, which she still takes. We didn't want to have her put down but had a big family wedding to go to. Someone recommended a retired couple and she went to them. They made a great fuss of her and she seemed to be quite happy.

She is still enjoying life 12 months later, still eating, stiff in the morning particularly if it is cold and damp. We are hoping for a nice summer as she is loads better if it is warm and dry. One last good summer will be worth it to us. If she was uncontrollable pain we would have to face that but we don't think she is ready for that yet. Good luck whatever you decide.

needsomecash · 20 May 2013 at 8:47AM

Hi All,

Thankyou for the replies.

At the moment we have decided that it maybe kinder to let him go before the kennels. I think it would be kinder for him to go while we are with him rather than risk having him in kennels for two weeks and the kennels deciding to put him down without us being around. We also have a 6 year old dog that would be going to the kennels with him and I can imagine it would be distressing for him as well if he is suddenly left in the kennels alone (although they have had fights they cuddle together most the time).

Unless he gets suddenly worse then we will probably wait until about two weeks before the kennels and that will give the other time to adjust before we go on hols. Being a smaller dog I think someone may take him so he doesnt have to go to kennels.

It still is a hard decision though as I have watched him close over the weekend. He seems to have good days/bad days. Saturday he just lay around a lot looking sad and down and didnt eat as much as normal. The kids droped crisps by him which normally he would rush for but he didnt even move and they were next to him but then yesterday he was happier, running round the garden with the younger dog, ate all his dinner and seemed back to normal although he did 'slip' a few times on his legs. When i see him like that I think he can go for quite a few months yet.

However he is leaking blood again and we have noticed his wee is a dark yellow and he a stronger not pleasant smell, so whether this indicates a kidney problem or something else internal I am not sure. We have the vets in a week so I will see what they say.

Thanks again for the advice.

Sharon140 · 20 May 2013 at 9:19AM

Needsomecash my heart goes out to you, its the worst decision ever but in my humble opinion I think you have made the right one

:kisses3: Its a rough road you have to travel but knowing you have done the right thing for the old fella will hopefully help a little bit

zaksmum · 20 May 2013 at 9:33AM

For what it's worth I also think you have made the right decision. I am so sorry that you have to go through this but the welfare of your dog has to be the priority and sadly he does seem to be quite unwell.

Hope you're ok

~Chameleon~ · 20 May 2013 at 9:37AM

What do you mean when you say he's leaking blood? Have you mentioned this to the vet?

needsomecash · 20 May 2013 at 10:10AM

thanks again for the replies

although it has been a hard decision it does seem to be for the best. Anything could happen in the next few weeks though but at the moment that is the "marker" we have. Hopefully he can have a last few weeks with plenty of treats and affection.

The leaking has been happening for a few years. Whenever he is walking around or lying down fresh blood will leak out of him. Occasionly it has been in his urine (although not now) but mainly it just comes out as he walks around. He didnt seem to affect him. It is quite random as it will happen for a couple of days or maybe just a day and then it not happen for weeks/months.

We have been to different vets with it in the past. first they tried anti biotics and it did go but then returned. They examined him and put it down to getting older and not being done. Last year they did suggest having him done to see if it would stop it although with his age they did say it may not be worth it. As the blood was fresh they did think it is not a serious internal problem and as it is so random would be best to just leave it.

After this it went away for months. It started happening again about 2 weeks ago for a couple of days. We told the vet last week and again he said it is done to being not done. It had stopped then although sat and yesterday they were a few small random spots leaking as he walks around. It can be between a teaspoon full or a few tablespoon fulls of blood. At the moment it is more a teaspoon if this makes sense.

Thanks

dilemma with older dog

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