When is the time right to PUT TO SLEEP?

[salsmum]

I have 2 staffordshire Bull Terriers, both rescue dogs. The 'old boy' is 14 and I've had him sinse about 12weeks. The other is a bitch of 3years i've had her for 18months. Both get on well my 'old boy' Dex is established as the 'underdog' and my bitch 'Bella' the 'Alfa dog'.
Now Dex is advancing in years he has arthritis in his legs [good days and bad]He has always followed me everywhere and I've notice he is stumbling/falling over on a regular basis. He also sometimes whines for hours on end and the vet tells me it's possible he has Dementia too . The vet tells me his heart is good but I do wonder what his quality of life is.I don't want to wait until he is paralysed [sp] completely because I think that would be unfair.
I also don't want to end his life if he has a good summer and his Arthritis gets alot better.He can't go on walks because nerve damage in his paw makes it bleed...so he only has the garden.
My partner is adament that 'he's fine' but I think he's in denial.
Has anyone else had a dog with 'old dog syndrome???

I am going through the same sort of thing atm.

I think when they are obviously suffering is the time to let go.

If mine becomes any more incontinent or distressed with the incontinence then it's time I think.

It's bloody awful.

ggirl,
That's the thing he's never been incontinent...In fact he can drive me nutz whining to go out to the toilet and then half hour later a repeat because he's forgotten he's gone!.
It's really hard to determine if he's whining because of pain or attention.
He's such a coward when he goes to the vets that he becomes very vocal....so I don't know if the vet even knows how much pain he's in. I also think that when they're old dogs the vets just accept that they are going to have 'old dogs pains'.

Is he on anything for pain?

May be worth getting something if he isn't.

The dementia is a bugger though,mine keeps asking to go out then stands and looks at the door as if she doesn't want out,then when she's out she just turns and stares inside and forgets why she's out there, funny but sad as well.

you will know when the time is right. our old boy was put down in november. after having to help him up for a few weeks, he just couldn,t stand at all one sunday.

phoned the vet that day. his face told me enough was enough.

I couldn't tell from your post whether your dog is on anti inflammatory medication but if not, or if he is but you don't think it is working, please go back to your vet. It is true that there is not much that can be done to help with dementia, but old dogs should not have to put up with being in pain. There are several drugs (Metacam, Rimadyl, Previcox for example) that are suitable for most dogs with arthritis. And don't worry about his behaviour at the vets - most Staffies are like him.

You are absolutely right to think about his quality of life. There is usually no right or wrong time to make the decision but your vet should be happy to discuss your concerns with you and perhaps suggest some factors to consider. When you look at him and feel that the bad days outnumber the good, it is time to do the last kind thing you can for him.

I think the only time a dog (or any animal really) should be pts is if they are in unmanageable pain.

As for the walks, you could get a booty type thing to put on his paw?

You could also just take him out in the car or take him somewhere like the beach etc. just for a change of scenery and somewhere new for him to explore and take interest in.

maybe swimming would be a nice gentle, low impact exercise that would help with his arthritis. I think there are places that have heated pools especially for dogs.

if he is on antiinflammatory medication already, may be worth trying other things with it - acupuncture can be successful, although depends on the individual animal. look at ABVA website for vet near you that does it. (only vets are allowed to do it on animals). i disagree that pets should only be pts when in unmanageable pain. i believe that if you are getting distressed seeing him in the state he iis in, when there is nothing else that can be done to improve his condition, then you are completely justified having him pts. There is nothing worse than having this sort of thing constantly on your mind, and at the end of the day, he won't be aware of what is happening when the time comes - it'll just be another jab.

Many Thanx everyone for your advice...it really does help.
He had a strange 'attack' this morning where it seemed like he was sort of asperating. It's hard to explain but he was making a sort of snorting sound. It is quite hard for the vet to get a true indecation because he gets quite over excited when we visit so he coughs and chokes.
He has been ever near my side for the past 14 years and has always shown dedication, tenderness and loyalty to my disabled daughter as well [she was 4 and my son 10 when we got him]so he will be terribly missed when he does eventually go by everyone. I have had OAP dogs before. My 16 year old 'Rebel'was PTS because her lungs packed up.
I would love to take him to the beach in the car but he does'nt travel well [screaming and yelping during the journey].
I will look into hydro swim and accupuncture. THANX.

Hi salsmum, I had this last year with my old collie. She had bad arthritus and was on metacam for it which helped her, last winter was bad and I though then that she wouldn't make it through another one. She also became senile and we tried a couple of drugs for that but neither made much difference, she went through phases of being mildly incontinant, and periods of bing fine, but her arthritus got worse during the summer, an xray revealed that it was in almost every vertebrae aswell as her joints, but she still had good days when she'd walk for a couple of miles and bad days when we'd only do 20mins, her walks were always her favourite thing so we decided that when she could no longer enjoy her walks she would no longer have quality of life, i discussed this with my vet too. One weekend she started falling over and limping badly when she got up,in the house and on her walk, we knew that was enough for her. It was a huge loss a,d I still mess her 7mths on, and dd (2.11) still asks for her but we know we did the right thing for her, I was there when they PTS and it was very peaceful, very sad but we knew she was ready. Perhaps you need to sit down with your DH and have a talk about what you think quality of life is for your dog, and there may be other medications you could try to help him, the senility ones we tried for my scamp, might help your Dex.

Another one here . He's nearly 16 and has arthritis, and is senile. HE also often collapses and cannot get back up without help, and sometimes whines and wanders round aimlessley at night.

I went through it 3 years ago too with my first dog and also with my 2 old lady cats.

I belive now, that you just 'know' when the time is right. There becomes no more 'is it time/isn't it'..you just know.

One of the deciding factors for me is, is there still a quality of life? My old boy loves his food, still comes in the car for a daily wander round the park. Sometimes he even sniffs around the odd tree but never does this in the garden. He will not walk on the lead, hates it and needs to go slow at his own pace, hence only the car to the park now.

Would your dog be able to go in the car to the park to have a wander like in the garden?

I still think that when its time you will feel differently to how you feel now, with this indecision, but I don't know you or the dog, so have a little look at this Dogs Trust guide for some more information :

www.dogstrust.org.uk/information/atozofdogs/b/bereavement/timetoletgo/

I'm sorry, I have just remembered you said he doesn't like car journeys, forget the driving to the park then

Lovesdogsandcats,
Many thanks, I am fortunate enuf to have a 60ft garden which he does 'plod about' in He loves to lie in the sun by the shed and the neighbours comment that he's probably got 'german in him' because come a sunny day he's the first one out in the sun...though not quite towell by the pool .
When the time comes i'll have his ashes put by the shed and just hope my other staffie Bella does'nt dig em back up again .
Because he's got Dementia he'll spend half hour pacing the garden looking for the 'pergect' place to bury his bone....unfortunatly it's protruding 5inches UP outta the ground and within minutes Bella has 'tracked' it down... quite commical really.

am dreading having to make this decision.

Imo the time is right when you're keeping them for you and not because they're still enjoying their life.

I have a 13 year old lab who is still very happy/healthy, but she is getting very stiff now and around the block is about all the walking she can do without dragging her paws, but she still loves her walks. We've had to make some changes e.g. we no longer take her with us when we go to ILs who live at the seaside because she doesn't know her limits and will run about on the beach and then bearly be able to get up the hill back to the house, or up in the evening to go out. so we leave her with someone as we don't feel it's fair to take her to the beach and not allow her on it.

When the time comes it is going to break my heart, because she's not just a dog - she was my first guide dog.

But I will make the decision when the time is right (which I hope won't be for a little while yet) and I won't ever let her suffer.

I had my 13yr old labx put to sleep in February this year.

She was on the maximum dose of Metacam for her arthritic hips and legs. She was on it since the Summer of last year.

In the end I could tell she'd had enough. She couldn't do much exercise without her legs giving way although she only had a couple of tumbles. She'd drag her paws and catch her claws when walking because she wasn't bringing her legs up quick enough.

The day she was put to sleep she looked completely shattered. She found it really difficult to get up out of her bed. She was off her food. She couldn't walk up the garden path without her legs giving way. Squatting to do a wee was clearly painful for her. In the few days leading up to losing her she went very thin and gaunt. I could see in her eyes she was ready to say goodbye.

It's an extremely hard decision to make - having an animal put to sleep - but I had to put my own feelings to one side and think of her and how she felt about carrying on. I had no regrets whatsoever afterwards so I knew it was the right decision to make. She's in a much happier place now and in no pain whatsoever. Yes I miss her - I had her for 13yrs but it was the kindest thing to do.

I'm just wondering the same thing about my beloved old cat now...

When my cat had kidney cancer last year, the vet said we'd know when it was time. And we did - just took it day by day, and when we came downstairs and she just didn't want to move we rang and made the appointment, took her for a last carry round the garden etc. Vets were lovely about it all, and we def knew it was the right thing.

I am also going through this with our oldest cat. He is 15 and although not in pain he is losing weight, becoming incontinent but Dh insists he is fine for now

Aw badzelda and magnolia I have been through it a few times and it is so sad

Of course its a sad fact that if you keep animals sooner or later they pass away, hopefully having lived a happy, long life... BUT 'Dexy' seems to have improved somewhat lately [thankfully]I suppose it could be the warm weather on those poor, old joints of his relieving some of the arthritis, he skipped up the garden like a puppy today seems the sunshine is a good tonic for them as well as us.

Aw its the ups and downs that make this decision so hard. Nice to hear of him enjoying the sun

My dog is a bit over 15. She was ran over 8 years ago and her shoulder is pinned in place. She limps badly ever since, gradually getting worse. She has also been incontinent now for the last 18 months.
The thing is, even though I clean up after her and let her in the garden regularly (she cant 'do' walks any more) the house is really starting to smell. I have an 8 month old DS who is on the brink of crawling, and I shudder to think what germs he may pick up (BTW am not some mad houseproud domestic goddess) so he is in contact with regular type germs IYSWIM. The dog is also going deaf, is partially blind, and I'm starting to suspect she has a bit of dementia. I cant make the decision of whether to let her go or not. She has good days and bad ones, but its breaking my heart as I love her so much.
So sorry to Salsmum for the hijack, but can anyone help me make a decision? DH says he will take her to vets to be PTS if thats what I choose, as I dont think I could go through with it.

Bump

JB for your dog, it is an awful decision to have to make (we had our cat put to sleep at Easter, though she was very ill).

All I would say is that SIL had a spaniel that she couldn't bear to put to sleep, it ended up not being able to walk, just lying in its basket in its own mess, really sorry for itself and totally undignified. I know she loved that dog to bits but she couldn't see how unfair it was to leave the dog in that state. It doesn't sound like your dog is quite that bad yet so maybe you could section off an area where your DC can't get to. But maybe have a think (and a chat with your vet) as to when it would be unkind to let her go on.

Thanks for the reply Meg. Unfortunatley, we wouldnt be able to section off an area as the dog follows me around almost constantly, til a little while ago I couldnt even go to the loo on my own, but she cant manage the stairs now. If I go in the kitchen or outside for a ciggy and shut the door, she will bark repeatedly until I let her in/out with me. Today has been pretty bad, she has wee'd about 3 times, aswell as the regular dribbles (thank god for laminate flooring!) and keeps tripping over herself. I think I have to let her go as it seems unfair to everyone to keep her.
The thing is, tomorrow will probably be a good day for her, and I'll think 'oh, she's not so bad, it would be unfair to put her to sleep'.
I lost 1 of my cats last year with a stroke and the other cat died last month from antifreeze poisoning.
(So if youre topping up the fluid in your car, please make sure you wipe up any spills as it tastes sweet, so cats will drink it, then their kidneys shut down and their insides start to fill with painful ulcers. Its a really awful way to die)
But anyway, I know I'm rambling. Its just hard sticking with a decision, so if anyone else has any advice to offer, that would be great.