Disagreement over dog euthanasia.

[Ohthishayfever]

We have an old dog, he’s 15. He eats what he likes, enjoys a cuddle and a head rub / back massage and 3 very slow, lots of sniffs walks a day.

Mostly he can be found asleep in his bed. He’s a bit stiff and slow but can still get up the stairs. He doesn’t play with toys, when he’s awake he tends to follow us around or lays in his bed daydreaming.

Some members of family think he has no ‘life’ as he doesn’t play and he looks a little sad now and again. They think he’s just existing to lay around, eat and walk rather than than be the younger dog who ran, had fun, played and was full of life and energy.

I disagree, just because he’s old doesn’t mean we should put him down sleep! Surely we wouldn’t put our elderly down once they get old and slow!

What is the general opinion here? He won’t be PTS just because they say - he’s my dog - but they are making me think I’m being cruel.

If there's no signs of pain or distress, he's probably fine.

My almost 14yo dog could've gone on longer but I had him put to sleep after he became incontinent and very suddenly quite blind. He had previously just been very deaf and had trouble with stairs but coped well enough. The blindness meant he was tripping over toys and walking into things outside and I found him distressed and shaking around the house a couple of times. The incontinence also meant a lack of cleanliness for him and us.

I have small kids and so couldn't be there for him 100% of the time to follow him around and stop him getting lost and upset. Otherwise, I might have let him go for longer.

have you had him checked at the vets? As a veterinary professional it does sound like there is some pain there. Animals are very good at hiding it and most people are shocked when treatment starts how much they have missed.

there are lots of meds and treatments available for older dogs that would maybe make his days a bit brighter.

if nothing else it will give you peace of mind your doing right by him but also give you something to take back to your family that are saying it’s time

We put our old boy down a few months ago. But he went downhill fast - he went from slow walking to not being able to get up to standing in his own over three weeks. He would whimper as he tried. That was it. He was 15. Incontinence is a factor too - I told my DD that if he couldn’t get up in time to go out to pee that would be very distressing for him. That didn’t happen but the pain was obvious and it was time.
Your dog sounds as if he still enjoys his life. I don’t think it’s time yet.

See the latter, at minimum, sounds like time for me.

Aww he sounds like he is just happy pottering about with you, and just snoozing you know him best but by the sounds of it he isn't ready to go just yet.

Dog sounds fine- leave dog alone!

I’ve had many dogs and generally you just know when it’s time- they usually stop being able to use their back legs after going off their food for a while. Yours isn’t there yet.

Agreed.

Jeez! No way should he be PTS. Be careful you don’t slow down or they’ll be after you. He’s enjoying his life but at a slower pace that’s all.

My boy is 12, and he's on Galliprant for arthritis, along with Caniflow and Yumove. He's got a brilliant quality of life, but we do have a ramp for the sofa/bed, and we block the stairs off so he can't keep wandering around behind me as he's very prone to. We lost our last girl at 13, her back legs went very suddenly over 2 days and I just knew from the look on her face that she'd had enough. I do think you know, you can see it in their eyes. It's the worst part of owning a dog.