When do you know it’s time ?

[Sn00pdogg]

Our dog is 16. He is absolutely adorable and apart from 1 issue with him he’s ok.

I moved in with DH with the dog and he’s always been there with us from engagement to wedding to redundancy to moving across country x2, to getting a puppy (who is now 8). He has outlived every dog he’s lived with / known in the family.

My Mum got him with another dog (there was 2 weeks in age between them and when she said I needed to move out I had to take my dog with me which was difficult but I figured it out. and she kept her dog alive a lot longer than he should have been really.

So her dog was 100% incontinent for about 5 years before he was put to sleep and it took ages for her to understand he had no quality of life at all.

She thinks that because our dog occasionally has a poo inside our house that we should put him down. I understand that he has always been toilet trained and even as a puppy he never messed in the house so it must be upsetting for him. He will probably poo 2x a week inside the house (usually when I’m in hospital for chemo) I know it’s not great but he’s so happy in other parts of his life ? He’s so happy to go for a walk and he’s so happy to see other people. Apart from a poop inside he’s absolutely fine and I don’t know how to assess if he’s ready to go over the rainbow bridge ? How do you know?

Your DM is being ridiculous.
You know him, you've known him for 16 years.
Forget what anyone else is saying.
Look at your dog. Is he enjoying life? If the answer is yes, then thre is no reason to put him down.

That’s actually really helpful thank you! I feel like she is probably upset she let her dog go a lot longer than he should have because he was a chihuahua so she could carry him everywhere but he was fully incontinent for years before he got heart failure and frankly if she hadn’t put him to sleep he probably would have died that day anyway. I know she regrets keeping him alive as long as she did but it doesn’t feel like she’s doing it out of love for my dog?

I know it’s not great that he sometimes has a poo in the house but he’s so happy to go for a walk and so happy to play with our other dog. I feel like I need to say to my mum im not interested in her opinion

I think you will know when it is time. As @aurynne says, if he is enjoying life, then it is not time.

Thank you x he will sometimes decide he doesn’t want to go out for a walk with our dog walker and when I was in hospital for a week recently he refused to get up to go for a wee when DH got up to go to work and made our other dog go out for a pee, he reused to get up when our dog walker took our other dog for a walk, he refused to get up when our other dog came home with the zoomies and then 2 hours later she started howling as she was downstairs alone and he was upstairs asleep on our bed ?(still) so I asked my best friend to go over with her spare key to check he wasn’t dead and she managed to get him to go out for a pee but genuinely he gives no shits about doing anything 😂

Well that update gave me pause. It seems your dog is experiencing either some pain or something if he doesn’t want to get up when he should be. Refusing to go for walks on occasion and go upstairs or be confused where the other dog was? Have you had him checked out by a vet?

This update makes it sound like it’s not just one issue and with his age, the confusion and refusing to pee, could be symptoms of infection and/or pain. Have you had him checked at the vets? If not I’d be doing that just to make sure he’s not in any pain for whatever reason.

It sounds to me that your dog has anxiety when you're away. He pooed in the house and refused to get out the times you were out in hospital. Perhaps he knew you were sick/away and was anxious waiting for your return?

It may have a much more innocent explanation than being old or sick. Perhaps he just missed you and wanted you back. He probably knows there's something going on (some dogs can smell cancer) and is worried about you.

You can do a quality of life online if you search which might help? Would suggest a vet check too

Its abit harsh to put a dog down for pooing in the house. I think its good to train the dog to use the poo box. Consistency improves everything.

My dog has been pooing in the house for a couple of years now, and also in her sleep. She is fast asleep when it happens and is not distressed (have had someone on here say she should be PTS for that).
She will walk past, stop and poo, then carry on walking like it was nothing.
We have regular checks with the vet and it is not a concern.

Always best to chat to your vet anyway. Your dog is very handsome BTW.

My 16 year old terrier has an occasional poo in the house. She’s continent otherwise, enjoys long snoozes and little walks. She is fine and there is absolutely no reason to put her to sleep…we hope for another two years of her x

Going for walks and enjoying them is amazing. A happy sniff and Potter around the garden is amazing. If my dog wasn't in pain and doing either of the above, it's not the time. You know when it's time IMO.

Your heart will be breaking but your Seriously considering it? It's then time

Your dog has a fabulous face.

I sympathise, I took one of my beloved cats to the vet recently about her weight, confused ness and incontinence. She had a tumour. The vet and I decided she was a happy girl, in spite of this, and that the best thing was to take her home and love her. Which we did, with a lot of industrial carpet cleaner. She died peacefully in her favourite spot last week.

It all comes down to quality of life. If they have it, it’s so darned hard to give them up.

How is she with eating? Gleefully tucking in or “yet another chore”?

I think you know when their quality of life has diminished to that point.
I had my 16 yr old girl PTS last week and i really struggled with it. She had advanced dementia but was generally pretty happy, if very confused. Incontinent in the house, wobbly on her feet, no teeth but still loved her food and going for a little walk.
But she was deteriorating all the time and I wanted to say goodbye before she lost any quality of life she had.
It really doesn't sound like your dog is near that time OP. I hope you have lots more time with them.

Gleefully eating everything not nailed down. This thread has been really helpful. Thank you!

Tbf my 3 year old dog also occasionally poos in the house.... also whilst I'm at hospital appointments ironically ( and when theres fireworks ) . I think if your dog appears In good health, isn't in pain, is eating well and isn't incontinent then I don't think you need to pts.