Old dog won't eat

onlyfoolsandparking

@mad_spaniel
Just wanted to add my sentiments and wish you all the best. I remember our dog not eating for 5 days too and I had to get 3 tablets twice a day into her, it was awful trying to force them down her, sometimes I managed it sometimes didn't but amazing thing she didn't/ wouldn't bite me, bless her. Looking back now I don't think it really mattered, yes she was poorly (heart failure) but I don't think a few missed tablets made any difference in the end. I think what I'm saying is take it one day at a time, do what you can for your dog and enjoy whatever time you have left, I wish I hadn't have stressed about her not eating or getting slower etc It's just what animals do. It's only been 10 weeks for us since we lost ours , I'm no vet but I hope you just enjoy the days while you still have your furry friend.     

mad_spaniel

Update. Sorry I haven't posted earlier but I was too upset. I had my old spaniel put to sleep last week. He suddenly went lethargic and wouldn't eat again He wouldn't touch the special wet and dry kidney food , so I had been feeding him cooked chicken and mince, but eventually he refused that too. So took him back to the vets again. The vet said that what he needed was a kidney transplant but obviously they are not available, so the next best thing had been the 'flush through of toxins treatment' but since he'd already had 2 of these treatments, it really was time to say goodbye. He said the not eating was a sign that the toxins in his system were making him feel very poorly indeed. I was with him at the end and he went peacefully.  I miss him terribly. He's left a big hole in my heart.

mad_spaniel

JUST FORGOT TO ADD. I asked the vet if he thought the local dog's home would welcome the opened kidney dry dog food and the tinned stuff. He said the charity were in virtually daily and he thought they would be really pleased with the donation. So I'm dropping these off when I pick up his ashes sometime this week.

onwards&upwards

I'm so sorry for your loss.  

He was obviously well loved and cared for, you did everything you could to give him his best chance, and then when the time was right you let him go with no pain and you comforted him right to the end.  You couldn't have done anymore. 

I'm sure the charity will be really grateful for the specialist food.  Take care of yourself. x

elsien

So sorry that you had to say goodbye to your boy.  Just take comfort that you did what was best for him at the right time, and he went peacefully. It can be really hard to make that decision but sadly all part of loving pets with a much shorter lifespan than us.
I'm sure the dogs home will be very appreciative of your donation. 

KxMx

It is the worst decision for you but the best one for him.  I am so sorry for your loss. 

I donated a whole load of my cats stuff after I lost her last year, including specialist food opened and unopened, local Cats Protection were overjoyed and what food they didn't subsequently need was sold to raise funds when it was closer to date. They even took the very large used hooded litter boxes as apparently very popular in their shop due to being expensive new. 

Missus_Hyde

Very sorry to read your sad news about your spaniel and I do understand how bereft and sorry you're feeling. It's always a difficult decision to make.

We had our elderly spaniel PTS in January and still miss him. He had a good life and I accept that this is the final kind thing we could do for him and ensure that he leaves this world peacefully and with dignity. I hope I can say the same when my turn comes.

hb2

I am so sorry that you had to say 'Goodbye' to your beloved boy Please know that your decisions were made with a loving heart and that you let him go for his sake.

 Run free at Rainbow Bridge sweet boy.

ladyholly

This is long but very touching

"Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to ‘death’, don’t really understand this. I’ve had no desire to explain, but won’t be around forever and must.

Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: ‘No, no, not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.’ Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk.

It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacaphonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone (exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.

However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don’t teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget that dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.

When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging its tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: ‘Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.’

When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more. (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk, it’s a day full of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it’s a week, well one of your days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks.)

Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they wake up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.

But don’t get fooled. They are not ‘dead.’ There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.

I feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs sleeping in their heart. You’ve missed so much. Excuse me, I have to go cry now.”

Ernest Montague

donnac2558

So sorry for your lost.   Kidney disease is as another poster said by the time it is found very well advanced.   Your old boy had a long  happy live and was much loved.