Handhold, I am waiting to phone the vet

[BookWitch]

My old girl is really struggling.
She has slowed down considerably over the last few weeks, but has been happy enough.
Yesterday we went to my mum's -her first time in the car for 11 weeks), for a socially distant BBQ, she was fine (slow, but her usual self- barked at the cat next door etc).

Yesterday evening, we noticed she is barely putting any weight on her back right leg, and the other back leg looks like it is barely holding up.
I've come down this morning and she is the same, she struggles into the garden and then lies in the garden as if she can't get back in. I eventually got her back in, she's only eaten half her breakfast (Unheard of) and she won't settle in her bed or on the floor, it;s as if she just can't get comfortable.

We don't know how old she is, at least 12, probably nearer 14. (she is a rescue).
I can't bear the thought of losing her, even though I know this day would come, and I can't bear the thought of her suffering.

[Family143]

Handhold here. It's so difficult as they get older isn't it? It could be arthritis and she's in pain.

[Passmethegin67]

Handhold here too. Never easy as dogs age. Hopefully the vet will be able to help. Lots of love and positivity.

[TimeWastingButFun]

Are her eyes Ok, not moving backwards and forwards? My mums dog was almost put to sleep by a vet who thought she'd had a stroke - it turned out to be vestibular disease, which was only diagnosed after we saw a different vet. She's made a full recovery now, but at the time she couldn't walk and was just lying down (they literally don't know which was is up).

[TARSCOUT]

Oh OP it's so difficult but you are doing the right thing.

[Beamur]

Could well be vestibular problems, very common in older dogs. My dog has it, it came on quite strongly and dramatically at first and was scary. She still has it and is a bit tottery.
I took my dog to the vet yesterday, convinced she was on her last legs. She was not!
Vet said a lot of older dogs are struggling with the heat. I mentioned this on Facebook and all my friends with old dogs agreed in unison that their dogs were off food, refusing to go for walks and being generally very lethargic.

[Eckhart]

Let us know how she gets on, BookWitch. You're not alone. I, for one, really feel for you.

She knows you love her and will do the right thing for her. That's important.

[BookWitch]

Thanks for the info on Vestibular problems. I'll mention it. We are waiting on a phone call from the vet. The receptionist was lovely and has put us on the list for a call this morning. Just waiting now. She did just have a drink, so that's good.

[BookWitch]

It's just I am a big advocate for the Better a Day Too Early than a Day to Late approach to end of life care.

[moosemama]

Here to hold your hand.

I really feel for you are, we’ve been in a similar position, although with the younger of our two (he’s 7 so not super young) several times over the last two months, we were sure we’d lost him last week, but he’s still here with us and now well enough to start being naughty again.

It’s hard enough dealing with this sort of thing, without the problem of not being able to just rush to the vets like we would normally. It just adds another layer of stress to the situation. Do call the vets back if they don’t contact you soon. Our vets were inundated last week and didn’t seem to be triaging, so you need to let them know if things are urgent or if there’s any decline or significant change. I’m pretty sure our vets are sick of us, but they do understand and when my boy got worse the vet came out to call us in the middle of a consult.

Please let us know how things go.

[AwrightDoreenTakeAFuckinDayOff]

Handhold from me.

[atilathehut]

My dogs being acting strange - glad to know other dogs are too because of the heat. Sure that must be what it is

[Roselilly36]

Handhold from me too OP been their myself a few times, worst thing about pet ownership. Good luck.

[BookWitch]

Vet rang, has upped her dose of Previcox which she has been on for a while and I'm to give her half a human paracetamol. Vet phoning again Thursday morning to see how she is.
I just gave her a half paracetamol as per the vet's instructions wrapped in a piece of ham, and that went straight down, so that's a good sign

[Beamur]

You can also give dogs Calpol, but - it must not be sugar free as sweetener is toxic to dogs. Our vet calculated the quantity for our dog as she doesn't tolerate the canine equivalent well.

[moosemama]

If she’s not keen on eating or drinking much I can recommend Oralade. There are two types for dogs, hydration and GI support. It’s chicken flavour, which encourages them to drink and I’ve found my boy will have a few laps of it regularly when he doesn’t seem to want water. It’s been a godsend over the past couple of months. The vet gave us the first couple of bottles, but you can buy it on Amazon for quick delivery and all the vet/pet supply shops sell it as well.

Paracetamol has been the other revelation for us. I didn’t know you could give it to dogs and it does have to be recommended by the vet, but it made a massive difference to him and helped him to settle and get some sleep when he was in pain.

I hope she’s more comfortable after the paracetamol and she picks up soon.

[Eckhart]

Oh, that's good news, OP, if the vet thinks she just needs a bit more pain relief.

Paracetamol in ham, eh? I put pills for my dog in crunchy peanut butter. She doesn't even notice it's a bill, just another crunch!

[AwrightDoreenTakeAFuckinDayOff]

Here’s hoping the upped meds to the trick OP. x

Smooth peanut butter was the pill wrap of choice in this house. Princess left the crunchy bits wherever she could wipe them...