So if your dog had a brain tumour - when would you euthanize?

[hmc]

Dog is a 7 year old Bernese Mountain Dog and they are not long lived, rarely reaching double figures :(

Vet said brain surgery wouldn't be advisable.

At present she is fairly happy, does not display any obvious signs of pain or discomfort, still eating etc

Her main problems are knuckling on her right side which can make standing difficult (she's broadly okay when up though), and her right sided weakness means it is difficult to jump into the car boot (she is huge so lifting her in is getting very troublesome). She seems to have quality of life at the present and obviously we love her....although she is not as full of joie de vivre as she used to be. She still enjoys walks but tires quicker.

Ultimately she will be incontinent and unable to stand, walk at all which would be the obvious point to euthanize

However I wonder if we are being selfish. How can we possibly know that she is pain free? She might be having awful headaches ?!?! Vet seemed to think that we'd 'know' if she was in pain, but I am not so sure.....

I wonder if we are being cruel in not euthanizing her now

[hmc]

Thank you LackinginEnergy - I agree emphatically . Your vet didn't sound too helpful which must have been hard! - whereas mine at least has basically expressed what you just have, which has been supportive

The kids have been sketching her today and she's had a good day for her (enjoying all the love being lavished on her). She is too disabled to climb the stairs but tomorrow evening on her last night we are going to take air beds downstairs and cuddle up with her

[canthelpbutthinktheworldismad]

hmc, this thread has had me in tears. I am currently going through something similar with my lad. He is only 6, a lab so very young still. he has inoperable cancer. he has been given a year, but I think that is quite optimistic. He is on painkillers amd seems fine! but he missed a dose and was not able to have another for 24hrs ( unsure if he or other dog ate it so couldnt risk giving him another! ) we didnt realise how ill he was until we missed a dose. He was obviously in pain and very sore. we thought that we were at the end.
thankfully he picked up when pain killers kicked in. when he is all dosed up he is his normal happy self. you would never know anything was wrong.

it is a really tough situation. do you risk doing it too early, and spend for ever worrying that he could have gone on for a few more weeks. or do you risk doing it too late and spend forever regretting that they were left in pain for too long.

god knows it breaks my heart to have to contemplate it. you must trust that you know them well enough to know when they have had enough.

for us it will be when he cant/ doesn't want to play ball. playing ball is his most favorite thing in the whole world. when he cant do that, then we will know that it is time for him to play ball in heaven.

I wish you and your family all of the love and strength in the world. honestly I am sat here with a huge lump in my throat and tears on my cheek. I feel your pain, as much as I wish I didnt.

[hmc]

Sorry that you are going through this too canthelpbutthink. I really hope that your boy carries on and keeps loving his ball games for as long as possible - wishing you all the best over the coming months

[Dinnaeknowshitfromclay]

Sorry if I missed you saying this but is she on any pain relief of any sort? My employer (vet) would probably put your dog on steroids as she is life limited anyway. He would certainly consider Tramodol (pain relief that works directly on the pain receptors in the brain) probably too.
It's a huge question and a very good one. I have been a vet nurse for decades and I have seen both ends of the spectrum, being euthanased too early and far far too late. Cats tend to cover pain more than dogs and in general the further down the food chain animals are the less they give away. I would observe her sleep patterns. If she is significant pain she would not sleep well and if she had a headache she would be likely to press her head against hard objects or the floor although IME they only do this with severe pain (of course it's hard to tell what with them not being able to tell us and all). If in doubt go for earlier for your own peace of mind. Dogs live in the moment and if you keep your voice light she will have little or no inkling of the reason for the visit and keeping her for a few more days or weeks when presumably she has no real appreciation of the passage of time would be wrong of course. You will do the right thing. I can tell that by the fact that you have posted about this and your post your are an ethical and thinking person. I find the longer I am in the job the harder this is. It is not something vets or nurses 'get used to'. I cry a lot when clients have this done which is pathetic I know and have an ancient old dog I brought home from the vets as a stray when he was 4 weeks old and it is going to half kill me doing it but I will opt for sooner rather than later when he is on that slippery slope. Bless you and good luck. If only they lived forever eh?

[kilmuir]

Treasure all those memories.
Its a horrid decision but probably the most important one as her owner you have to make.

[BarkWorseThanBite]

Am reading with tears in my ears hmc. How absolutely devastating for you and your family. Your strength and your love shines through.

You and your family will be in prayers tonight, and I will be giving my little Louis an extra hug when I tug him in tonight.

[hmc]

Just acknowledging the later posts with thanks.

We didn't get her PTS on Monday - my dd was admitted to hospital as a surgical emergency on Sunday evening with acute appendicitis, and operated on Monday morning. She was discharged next day with instructions to rest for a week so we were able to reschedule Belle's euthanasia for yesterday.

It was a relief when it happened - she had gone down hill rapidly after the middle of last week and was weak, not eating much, unable to take more than a few steps and barely wagging her tail any longer. But now the sadness has hit us and its like an avalanche of misery :(

Am sure we will recover in time and I am aware that others have far greater losses to contend with (close family etc) but to be honest its surprised me how gutted we are (am emotionally unintelligent sometimes!)

[jeniz]

So sorry for you,I had my old girl pts on October exactly 5 weeks after she was diagnosed with a brain Tumour.She was fine on medication till the Monday night when she started bring very sick.She purked up on the Tuesday after antibiotics from vet.
On the Wednesday she couldn't get up the look she gave me told me it was time.She was pts that morning at home.
I still miss her everyday but feel she is still with me
Its hard to say goodbye to our faithful friends,but we love them so much we can't see them suffer.
Sorry again so hard.

[intheround]

My rule of thumb is if the bad days are outweighing the good days then it's time to let go.
I had a little dog with a brain tumour. It affected her eyesight and she gradually went blind. She coped ok with this but then she had "absent spells". One day she just stood in the corner with her head on the wall, and that was the day we decided to have her put her to sleep.
It's never easy though.

[coffeeinbed]

A dog is close family.
Of course you're sad.
Sorry about your girl, you did the best for her.

[MoominIsGoingToBeAMumWaitWHAT]

So sorry :( we had our gorgeous collie PTS in 2009. He had a brain tumour but hid it so well, he was so intelligent but such a daftie at the same time and never let it slow him down. One morning I was giving him a fuss and he bit me - not only breaking the skin but going right through. The doctor said if I'd been a couple of years younger (was 14 at the time), I'd have lost my index finger.

He was so guilty you could tell, he didn't want to come back in the house, he was just so upset with himself that, combined with the fact that we had my younger brother and sister to think about, was why we decided it was the right time to have him PTS. He couldn't live with himself It was horrendous at the time but now we know we did the right thing for him, and we have so many happy memories of him.

[Dramz]

Hello,
I know it’s been a long time about your story but I would like to ask on what your outcome was with your Doggie. Sorry to bring this up but I read your story and I find my self in almost the same situation as you except my doggie is a yorkie 6lb 8 years old. Recently Vet told us he thinks he has a brain tumor because of her symptoms. She went blind in one eye circles when walking and seems tired all the time. She eats, drinks, and still enjoys her walks. But with two days of being diagnosed she had a seizure and broke my heart seeing her like that. I arrange with a Vet hospital to put her down only to get there and change my mind went back home with her. As soon as I got home she started having more anergy I even took her for a walk and cook for her. It’s been about 3 days now. No more seizures for now but sleeps a-lot. I really need some advise on knowing when I can let my little girl finally go as i’m desperate and don’t know how to help her. Thank you so much !

[nearlyfinished1moreyear]

Sorry you are going through this. My old girl grabbed and violently shook my mums dog, resulting in her needing stitches in a totally unprovoked attack. My nephew who was 3 at the time was standing right beside mums dog.

My ddog also had a tumour that was the moment I decided to pts. I would advise as soon as her behaviour changes, it's time to say goodbye.

[nearlyfinished1moreyear]

@Dramz so sorry you are going through this aswell, I didn't realise this thread was a few months old when I posted.

[Dramz]

So sorry to hear that.
Thank you for the advice and best wishes.
I am just keeping an eye on her now. Trying to be positive and looking for signs of reasonable quality life. I been heartbroken and with tears in my eyes I now understand that if I love her I really got to let her go. Someone recommended me CBD oil which I started using immediately. Never a believer in this I was surprised her seizures stopped. She is not 100% but if I see she is suffering I will let her go. Meanwhile I’ll keep hugging her, kissing her and telling her how much we love her and I think she knows by now. Thank for your responses!

[FabbyChix]

Mine had the knuckling for five weeks before he just collapsed had a seizure and died on the 3rd April. He was smiling five minutes before could be quick

[Hovverry]

I lost a beloved dog with a brain tumour not long ago. She was ill for a month and went slowly downhill but I don’t think she suffered bad pain at any point. I knew that I had to have her put to sleep when she had no quality of life left and was sleeping almost all the time.
The vet came to the house and I held her in my arms and she didn’t even feel the injection.

[Dramz]

I am so sorry and Thank you for sharing

[Dramz]

I am doing the best I can for her now. She seems confortable and gets excited when I come home from work. Luckily my family is home and she is not alone. When the moment comes I know she will let me know. I don't want her suffering and I am prepare for when the day comes.