AIBU to consider putting dog down?

[ConfusedDogMum]

Our dog has an undiagnosable condition affecting her side which is creating sores and pushing small lumps of (apparently deep) tissue to the surface.

She scratches and licks at the area constantly. She’s had mutiple specialist vet visits, scans, lab testing etc plus two very big operations removing large amounts of dead tissue with no answer as to what is causing it. Obviously the area gets infected and antibiotics have cleared it up temporarily but it keeps returning, after a few months at best. She is healthy in every other way but she absolutely hates going to the vets.

The last time we took her to the vets they were pushing to do another very expensive operation but obviously could give us no reassurance it would help. We don’t have insurance unfortunately as we felt we could afford anything she would have needed at this stage (she’s now only 8) but were clearly naive about what might happen and what it might cost (£11k plus and counting so far!). We pushed back and they gave us a longer prescription for the antibiotics to also cover the next time it returned instead. Of course now it’s come back and the antibiotics aren’t helping. She’s still very active wanting to go on walks etc and no other signs of physical problems but she has started seeking out quieter, more comfortable spots (sofa, all our beds!) which is becoming problematic as the sores are weeping and she’s very smelly and she growls at us and snaps when we try to move her. She’s clearly unhappy and we’ve tried a cone but she still bashes at her side with it and uses her back leg to scratch so it doesn’t really help (it’s definitely an underlying condition and she isn’t causing the problem).

We will have to return to the vet soon as we are nearly out of antibiotics and they don’t seem to be working…. And I’m at a complete loss as to what to do… they’ll push again for another scan and operation at great cost (c£5k minimum - money we don’t have) but the alternative seems so unfair, cruel and irresponsible on our part to have an animal and then not do everything to cure her…. Are we even able to have her put down if the vet is saying they believe (wrongly in my opinion) they could still try to help? Is anyone on here a vet that has any ideas what this is or other dog owner who has experience this?

It would be absolutely awful to have to have her put down (we have young children who also love her very much and we’ve had her since she was a puppy) but we cannot afford to keep spending such vast sums on money on things that do not help her. It’s become a really stressful situation even just managing where she can be in the house, whether the dog walker will still take her etc. I just don’t know what to do anymore and my husband is burying his head in the sand about it.

Any insight or advice greatly appreciated and thank you for reading so far!! X

@ConfusedDogMum have you tried a different vet? Like a dog hospital. The willows in the midlands is really good as is woodcroft in Manchester.

Have they done swabs?

Our dog suffers with sores all over, different places but frequently in her paws - she has had more operations than I can remember, at one very bad point had 3 paws done on same day once. Mouth both sides, and various other places - all for pus filled “boils” of some kind - we don’t know why this happens - we also considered pts because she was so unhappy but she has been on prednisone now for over a year and it’s been a massive improvement
the vets are happy for us to up her dose if she starts getting itch, but she always has a base of x1 per day.
we did have to sign a form to say that we understood the risks of long term steroids as lots of vets won’t issue but it has worked for us ( and obviously a few others)
good luck trying to get sorted with whatever you decide.

Don't feel bad op if you decide to put to sleep. Your dog only knows what's happening here and now. They've no concept of a future.

I found my vet a little too keen to treat. We had a cat of around 14 who was struggling to eat and breathe properly, probably due to a tumour. I had him PTS and even at the appointment the vet was not as supportive as I think he should have been. Still talking about treatment despite the cat being a good age and clearly suffering.

@ShalommJackie we haven’t been to see a second specialist yet no. We’re in the south east. The specialist is quite highly regarded and our regular vet referred us and we do trust them. We will think more about another opinion but again that’s yet more stressful appointments for her… it’s so hard when they cannot tell you how they feel.

Yes they’ve done multiple swabs, identified bacteria to match the antibiotics previously (which was different twice), sent tissue samples away for testing twice with no conclusion about the cause…

Why? What possible benefit could there be to this dog to be ripped away from her family, still suffering with significant health problems, to live in a kennel at a rescue place?

Just... What? Why? How would that be better than quietly falling asleep in the arms of someone who loves her?

I would put her to sleep. It sounds like a miserable life for her tbh. You’ve done your absolute best though by the sounds of it.

I really appreciate each and every message today thank you everyone and I’m so sorry so many of you have such sad stories to tell too of your furry loved ones. 😢

There are far worse things to happen to a dog than being PTS.

I did wonder about something like the plug in air fresheners that someone else mentioned, as I've heard they're not great.

Thinking of you whatever you decide

It would be easy to spend that much with premium + excess. It doesn't sound like it would make much difference to the outcomes for this dog.

Yes, for some people insurance is the right option. Obviously if you think you would not be able to put the necessary money aside, insurance is the sensible approach.

@ConfusedDogMum springers are sadly known for autoimmune diseases which don't have to present as described in the literature.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9969658/

I’m so sorry this is happening to you and your dog. Sounds really random but have you been seeing the same vet? You could try posting images and test results on pet vet corner on Facebook as there’s vets from all around the world on there, so someone might have seen it before and have a better idea? Wishing you luck with whichever route you take x

While you're deciding would you be willing to try one more thing on her skin?

It won't do any harm but may help and at the very least will help with the smell and infection.

It's a product for pets called Dew from Dewproducts (Dundee Electrolysed Water). They have products for pets but they're basically the same as the sanitiser and disinfect (but don't buy the Superclean as this is totally different).

This stuff has made such a difference to our dog's skin problem that she scratched constantly. It turned out to be a granuloma caused by an embedded thorn.

Before it was removed we managed to stop most of the smelly weeping and the scratching that made it worse. It helped with the healing, too, as it's the stuff our bodies make to help us fight off infection and heal.

I use it for everything as I have chemical allergies and was already using it on the dog's stuff before they brought a pet version out.

It's recommended by Allergy UK and the sanitiser is great for kids, too, as it's skin-safe and can even be used on dummies.

It's available direct or from Amazon (though they seem to be missing lots of the range). Ignore reviews that say it's bleach (it does have a faint but weirdly reassuring smell of bleach but it's something to do with Free Available Chlorine (as explained on the website) or too watery to be a sanitiser. Try it on something smelly. It kills the microbes that cause bad smells so you know it works.

I hope you can help your dog somehow, even if it means PTS. It's awful when you lose a family pet.

I'm so sorry, this sounds immensely stressful for all of you 😔 it doesn't sound like your poor doggie is having a good quality of life any more and the vet hasn't been able to find a treatment that works long term. I wouldn't put her through any more operations, I think it's probably time to let her go and rest in peace. So sorry OP 💐

There’s no need for that is there? Regardless of insurance the dog shouldn’t be put through another operation.

With regards to insurance - I think unless you get a lifetime cover right from the start, it's probably not worth it.
For our rescue we just put money into a savinga account every month, as the amount for insurance was absurd. This covered most things (although she was on long term steroids towards the end - cost about £70 p/m extra on top).
Four our latest dog, we got her as a puppy so have a lifetime insurance out, plus I still put a sum away in a savings account which will hopefully cover any excess etc.

For @ConfusedDogMum I think there should be no guilt in you going the PTS option. You've done more than enough already. I'd personally never put myself under financial hardship, even for a much loved dog (sounds mean I know). The steroids option is a good avenue to maybe try first though, and the product @agent765 mentioned. Then if no improvement there will be minimum guilt for PTS, imho.

No need for what? I didn't say the dog should have another operation I said it would destroy me but the dogs best interests would be thought of, meaning pts.

This. I am so sorry you have this dreadful dilemma. You sound like you really love your dog and only want the best for her.

Would you be considering this if there was no cost involved in treatment OP?

My cat has an ongoing problem, he's recently had more surgery which the vet seems to be pleased with but he's pretty poorly. He's 13 now and I think we have decided that this will be his last operation. If it flares up again we shall let him go quietly. It's heartbreaking but I think it's the best we can do for him

Just as a thought...is it the side she usually sleeps on? Could it be something in her bed, or perhaps in the area that she lays during the day?

Personally, I'd be looking at other vets - possibly two or three - before considering PTS. This is the kind of thing that a bunch will do all the tests they can to figure it out, when just one has already been there and seen it before, and knows what it is. It's not a comment on the vet's quality or qualifications, but rather experience. And, when they have to deal with so many species, you can't expect them to be like a GP and have all-encompassing knowledge at their fingertips.

It's interesting that the specialist you saw was an internal specialist when this is clearly an external problem, though (unless you meant something else by "internal"...?).

For what it's worth, we're in the "spend all the money we have, and then some" camp - been there, done that, five figures in and don't regret it one bit. We did, however, learn our lesson; we pay for insurance on all three of ours, as well as a standing order of £50/month to our account at the vet - it covers all the stuff that's too small for insurance, and the result is that we just don't have to even think about money when we take one of them in.

Occasionally, when the account gets too big, we tell them to pay the bill of somebody who's struggling with some of it; we've been there, and we were desperate for help that some kind souls we've never met just handed over without a second thought, so it seems right to do the same.

Honey and colloidal silver aren't going to do anything when conventional medicine isn't helping. There's zero evidence that colloidal silver has any health benefits for anyone.

only you know what the best option is for your girl, I think in your position I would want to do the kindest thing for her too.

I’m really surprised your vet hasn’t prescribed steroids or looked into auto immune possibilities though. Any skin issues our dogs have had have usually been treated with steroid tablets or a steroid injection as a first port of call, one in particular was ongoing and I’d been to the vets 3 times and they couldn’t figure out these lesions on his face, my dog scratched one of these scabs off his face outside on our way in for yet another appointment and started bleeding quite a lot but just at the moment the owner of the practice happens to be on his way out and he stopped to assist me with the bleeding, we got chatting and it turned out he specialised in dermatology and he took over the appointment we had booked and sorted it straight away, with steroids and something else, we never figured out what it was but it didn’t come back.

Just in case you haven’t tried this, are you in any breed specific groups on Facebook at all? I am for our breed of dogs and everyone on there is so helpful with medical issues, there doesn’t seem to be much that people haven’t seen or heard in one form or another over their years of owning the same breeds and the good thing about those groups is they have some resident vets who look at pictures and point people in the right direction, it may be worth a try?

This is complete and utter quackery.