Pet Owners Opinions Wanted re Dog

17lbp

We have a lovely 13 yr old lab. He's had a good life but this last couple of years his back legs have been starting to go. He now no longer stands up tall, more of a back leg squat, sitting seems to be uncomfortable for him as he either stands or lies down. The last year and a half he has been pooing in the house which is getting progressively worse with the majority of poo being done in the house now. I don't think he knows he's doing it as he can lie in his bed and just poo, the result is his back end if often covered in poo or we'll come down in the morning and he's stood in it. He has now started to pee in the house too, although he does seem to manage to pee outside sometimes.
None of this is due to him not getting out enough to do the toilet. We can let him out and then he will come back in and poo or pee on the floor.
He isn't able to walk very far now and his walks are limited to a small park near our house where he just strolls about sniffing.
Hes on metacalm from the vet for pain relief and vivtonin to try and liven him up a bit although i don't see the vivitonin making much of a difference to him. The vet said recently he isn't in any pain but eventually his back legs will just give way, he also thinks he has a touch of dementia. Generally he does seem happy enough, he will greet us when we come in and come for a pet every now and again although sometimes he will pace the house and whimper.
I don't know what to do for the best. I'd be lying if I said the constant pee and poo in the house is not annoying, it often feels like we just clean up one mess then he does something else and that our house smells of dog mess; I am constantly spraying air freshners, plug ins etc, Its been well over a year now of cleaning it up. I wonder the quality of life for him too lying in his own poo and having to keep get his bum washed! We don't ever shout or chastise him for doing any of this as we are aware he can't help it.
There are the times though when he seems happy enough that I feel guilty for thinking about putting him down as he is one of the family.
I honestly don't know if its best to put him to sleep now knowing that he's had a good life before it gets too bad or do we wait until his back legs do collapse and he has to be carried.
Any advice from pet owners or those that have been in similar situations would be appreciated.

jackomdj

17lbp I feel for you. Deciding to have a dear friend PTS is not an easy decision to make.

Do you think he currently has quality of life? It doesn't sound like he does. Would the dog you had for all those years be happy to be constantly pooing in his bed? I doubt it.

Our old boy was on the same medication for a stroke and arthritis. He was happy though and still lived life to the full (although walks became shorter), he eventually got a lump in his face, the day we decided to have him PTS his whole face had dropped and he looked up at me with such sad eyes that I knew it was time.

Nobody can tell you what to do, but I am sure since you are here asking the question you will make the right decision for your pet. xx

POPPYOSCAR

Our dog is 15 and wets her bed everynight.


She also wees randomly inside so have to keep her in the kitchen.


She also has a skin condition which we struggle to control at times.


I am dreading having to make the same decision one day.


She will not go for walks and sleeps most of the time but does not seem in any pain or distress so not at that point yet.


I feel for you.

missbiggles1

Does he still enjoy his food?

For me, that and the question of pain are the two crucial factors but I do feel the time may not be long for your boy. It is hard ( I have dogs of 11, 12 and 13) but it will be the final thing you can do for him, to let him go to sleep in your arms.

Best wishes to you both.

tizerbelle

I've been through this with 3 dogs over the past 5 years (I adopt geriatric rescue dogs!) so I understand the worry/thought processes you are going through. But I would say, it's time now.

He's had a good life but now he is dealing with failing mobility and suffering the indignity of being doubly incontinent - for a dog that is used to being clean in the house, it must be distressing for them.

Do not feel guilty or bad about this decision. Given all you have said, your vet will understand and are probably waiting for the call anyway.

It's time to let him go. At least, you can plan for it and arrange it so the family members that want to be there with him, can be. Delaying it, could mean an emergency dash to the vets when something drastic happens and the decision is taken out of your hands in a blink of an eye. As I've heard before - better a day early than a day late.

Yes, it's hard. It feels callous but it is the last kindness we can offer, to let them go calmly, peacefully and with dignity.

Carer

Don't give up yet!

We had similar with our 11 year old Shepherd and were considering whether it was vet time soon. Coming down every morning to a living room full of dog pee and poo was just awful.

What we reluctantly did was: Start her on Youmove - 8 tablets a day for the first few weeks, then down to 6. This helped a lot with the back legs. She's still on these now.

However, we also changed the house around. We put an open porch on the utility room entrance to the garden and for the last 8 months or so the garden door is left open day and night and the dog has a bed in there and is shut off from the rest of the house at night. This means she's free to amble in and out of the garden all night and has some of the cats to keep her company.

What has surprised us the most is that even though she's inside the main house with us when we are home, she hasn't soiled in the house for several months and now asks to go out again when she needs the toilet. Before, she would just stand up and then look surprised when she weed or pood on the floor.
She seems to have regained control over her bowels and bladder. We are assuming it's because she's moving around a lot more and has strengthened the muscles up.
I'm often up in the night and if I pop down for anything she's mostly out in the garden mooching round the trees instead of passed out in her bed.

Whereas this time last year we were contemplating a one-way trip to the vet, this year she has a new lease of life.

Katiehound

Sorry to read all that.

I lost my old boy nearly 2 years ago at 15+, he was doing similar things to your boy, he had seriously lost the plot. The worst thing was that he became a dreadful traveller and grizzled and winged almost the whole of a 250 mile journey, that's when I realised it was time, it would be torture to bring him home, and for why?

I went to the local vet (the receptionist tried to argue with me!!!- hard enough when you have made that kind of decision) and she (vet) was delightful. She told me that I had made the very best decision to have him pts then. Said he had good muscle tone (which made me think I had not made the correct choice) but his tail drooped which was probably the result of a minor stroke? nothing I had known about, and that was possible why he was pooping. He had had a great life and wasn't in pain just emotionally distressed, so I held him in my arms for the last time............... a big wrench after 14 years.

I firmly believe that because we have the ability to prevent our beloved pets from suffering we should let them go, even if it is a day, a week, a month early.
Many years ago a friend very bravely told me I was being selfish keeping my dog alive(a different one) I was keeping him for my feelings not for his quality of life. She was right and ever since then I have thought very carefully and done the deed perhaps early.

It's a heart breaking decision. I don't believe that we will know when the time is right- our pets will tell us- but I believe we have to be compassionate loving owners and trying yet some other drug / treatment isn't always the answer.

Take care

Person_one

Dogs don't care about dignity, don't let the inconvenience of dealing with incontinence be the deciding factor. I believe you can get nappies for incontinent/on heat dogs now, might that be worth a try?

I agree with missbiggles, if he's not in pain, and he's enjoying food, its not time yet, although it doesn't sound far off. The fact that he still has a potter in the park and enjoys a sniff indicates that he still has quality of life worth hanging on to.

17lbp

Thanks everyone for your kind replies - its certainly a mixed bag, its good to hear different perspectives about it and has certainly given me a lot to be thinking on with. Its such an emotional turmoil that I argue with myself constantly over!

sangie595

The symptoms you are describing sound like geriatric vestibular disorder - not related to the arthritis at all. Ask your vet for an assessment for this - if it is the case, at this stage the chances of any improvement are not likely to be good. Some older dogs can partially recover, but seldom fully and never after this amount of time. I've had two older dogs with this - one lived on another 12 months or so as a happily disabled dog (the only thing he cared about was food!); the other was a very active dog who would never have been happy with disability had he recovered any, so I chose to let him go. GVD does have physical manifestations, but the most obvious ones are the sort of dementia / mental ill health that you describe, and forgetting toileting behaviour is common. Pacing, or staring fixedly at a spot are classic symptoms, as is being unable to move backwards.

I disagree with the poster who says that dogs don't care about dignity. They don't care about your carpet. But from the moment they are born they are taught not to soil themselves or their den. If the dog can't even move far enough away from the den to find another place to go, then it is quite certainly very unhappy with its life.

I am not going to tell you what to do. I would advise you to think about what your first instinct is. You know your dog. What do you think would be best for him? Your first instinct is usually the right one - the argument with yourself after that is about not wanting to make that decision. Either way it is not an easy choice for you, but it will be the right one.

*Robin*

Sent you a pm, 17lbp.