Can anyone hold my hand tonight? Elderly dog

[sadwidow28]

DDog is 16.5yrs old, arthritic.

Most days he is happy and walks. Since last night he won't walk (but is eating well if I put a bowl of food and water under his nose)

I booked a home visit for him yesterday - that can only be done at 8pm tonight and I am getting worried that I will be offered PTS.

I will never allow my dog to suffer, but I think PTS tonight will not be appropriate.

For background

• He had a benign tumour removed from his anus 18 months ago - and a cyst removed from his eye at the same time.

• He had blood tests re-done in August 2015 and heart, kidneys, liver all showing he is in 'excellent' levels for an Oldie. Results described as 'good' for a 9yr old'

• He is a Border Collie (80%) and German Shepherd (20%) mix - and I know that GS have hip problems.

• I now have to lift him each morning to get him to standing position (but his back legs now give way when he least expects it)

Please, please hold my hand.

Love the picture of your dog, he's so handsome! (My old dog had the same little eyebrows and gorgeous soft ears.)

Glad to hear he's doing well. We had a dog (not the one that looked like yours) who skated when she got very old. As long as you're there to help them it doesn't seem to be an insurmountable issue, or to affect their quality of life TOO much. It was when she stopped eating (on account of problems with her organs) that we made the decision to PTS, nothing to do with the legs.

Please eat and sleep, you don't want your dog to pick up on your stress! (But I completely understand the feeling.) He might last a fair while yet and you don't want to be starving yourself for too long!!

Other wee tips I just remembered:
If he goes off his food, rub some golden syrup on his tongue or gums, low blood sugar is really bad for dogs. Obviously shouldn't be an every day occurance,but dogs go off their food for millions of reasons.

Chivvy him along, keep him moving and play games with him, he can lie down and catch treats/dinner, a gentle tug game, lovely massages, let him mooch along slowly and sniff every pebble.

Stay strong for him, don't let him worry about you being sad, be his number one fan and cry elsewhere!

You can get air drying clay cheap on Amazon/ebay for taking paw imprints on. One day you will cherish them.
💘

Aww, glad to hear you e had some good news, I was just thinking about this thread.

Spaniel that's a lovely idea about the paw imprints.

UPDATE

Vet came at 2.10pm and spent about 1 hour with us. He saw Dog walking and jumping up the 2 steps to the decking.

He gave him the antibiotics and the B12 jabs. Vet also wanted another blood test to see if the medication from the last week has reduced any levels.

He offered me the equivalent of Dasuquin in a capsule form - I refused that as it would still have to be administered down the back of the throat and if the dog spits it out, it is harder to find.

The vet thought the capsule was more palatable (fishy tasting) but my Dog has been trained to refuse treats as we did Search and Rescue - so he doesn't snaffle everything put under his nose. He is only allowed food from his bowl and he won't even eat from his bowl until he is given the command to eat.

No Tramadol prescribed - vet thinks the medication Dog is on so far is working well (he suggests that we 'save' Tramadol for IF he needs it stepping up).

Vet has no experience of Infracol and doubts that it would have any affect on Dog's gurgling tummy. But it will be okay to give half a teaspoon when dog's tummy feels like a drum. (He checked the active ingredient - Simeticone - and how it might affect Dog's other treatment.)

I have asked for Dog to have acupuncture session before I take him off on his Christmas holiday. The vet who does acupuncture also offers home-visits. Yay!!!!

P.S. I have stopped using DDog reference because, yesterday, AIBU posters have identified that DDog is a 'grim' Mumsnet term - and I don't want to offend anyone.

Of course it's not a grim term, it just means dear dog, like dear son or dear daughter. You use it if you want to. What a stupid thing to take offence at.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig You made me laugh!

I think the thread was light-hearted, but because I need the support of Mumsnet via The Doghouse, I simply don't want to offend anyone. And apparently DDog is one step too far.

AIBU Thread which discloses terms that offend posters on Mumsnet - DDog

Christ. There's some seriously short tempers on that thread. They also appear to hate dd and ds which probably crop up in just about every thread so I really wouldn't worry about ddog. They're probably not likely to frequent the Doghouse. 😄

UPDATE

I was walking Dog on Friday night at 10.15pm and a taxi driver (who was transporting a resident) 'flew' round the road at approx 40mph. We are a 5mph site. I had to quickly get Dog onto the verge but I was hit by the taxi's wing-mirror and fell onto Dog.

I was incensed and ran to get photographs on my phone! My Dog has gone through so much recently and he is doing his half mile walks so well. I don't want him hit by a fast-moving car when he is ambling along within the holiday park.

I have spoken to the managers of the holiday site and have arranged to take my camera photos to them on Monday. (They say that they can see that a car entered at the time I have given but their CCTV doesn't show the reg number).

Dog hasn't left our holiday home since! No matter how much I encourage him - that episode on Friday has left him so fearful. He now won't walk off the decking.

I am still fighting him to get his DASUQUIN down his throat. I have methods to get Loxicom and Parbole into him without him noticing.

I don't have a date for his acupuncture but have spoken to Petplan and they are saying already that alternative therapies are not covered. I pay £40 per month for Dog - perhaps I should stop my Paypal and put it into a 'Dog Savings Account'.

Oh my god, you poor thing. As if you haven't been through enough. I hope they manage to get the driver. How's Dog tonight?

That's an awful thing to happen, thinking of you both.

UPDATE

DDog is still with me - Yay!!!!

I managed to get him on holiday with me. I always go to visit family with a dear friend who provided dog care for me when I needed it so we both love him and understand DDog's needs. I walk him into his travel crate and then we both lift him and it into the back of friend's SUV car. I can't get DDog into my saloon car now as that requires jumping - so I was dependent on my friend come with us. There were some days when we had to do the crate regime in reverse (lifting him out), and friend is 71 yrs old and quite frail so there were days when I had to say DDog wouldn't go out in the car so that he wasn't expected to lift 35kg DDog in the crate.

However, we took him to the seaside one day (he loves beaches) and he simply wouldn't get out. Not even sight of the sand and sea would encourage him - he just wanted to stay on his big mattress in his crate and snooze. But he is still doing 3-4 short walks a day with me when he feels like it.

The vet who does acupuncture is coming next Friday. The vet who does the regular home visits is coming as well (he is the one who has arranged the acupuncture) to re-evaluate if DDog needs stepping up to Tramadol as many of you have suggested.

DDog is still a happy lad and has made me laugh so many times since I started this thread when I thought I was losing him. His 'nesting' antics are 2nd to none ..... place a fleece here, put another one there, shake 'em all about, drag big bed out of the corner and place in middle of lounge, re-arrange fleeces throughout the lounge several times and flop down on one after 10 minutes of building a lounge den.

I am going to read back over the thread to see if there is any other advice I need to discuss with the vet on Friday.

Thanks to everyone once again. I do know that DDog is time-limited and I will never let him suffer.

Oh - the update on the taxi driver..... CCTV captured the car but not close enough to get registration number or taxi advertising panel on the side. They could see yellow and black but no name/number.

My camera only got the last 4 digits of the reg number so we couldn't properly identify the taxi driver. However, I DID get a good shot of the taxi company's advertising panel on the side of the car so the Managers have banned the entire company from the site altogether. (They wouldn't say who had taken a fare to the holiday park at that time of night - so they are ALL banned - and it is a big company.)

So pleased you still have your dog, enjoy everyday with him and take lots of photos. Love to you both and Happy New Year.

This is DDog 5 minutes ago .... that looks like a happy lad snoozing on his big bed!

Ringo pts at 6pm tonight.

Taken away by local pet undertaker.

I can't sto shivvering and crying. I think I am extremely unwell from shock

RIP Ringo, handsome boy. Glad you got some extra time with him after your first post OP. Thinking of you x

I haven't posted before but followed your posts. I am so, incredibly sorry for your loss. Is there anyone you can call to come and be with you for a while?

Hugs to you.

You gave him a wonderful life and he was very loved. He loved you too unconditionally. You did all you could for him and were with him until the end. It's the worst thing to have to do, but sometimes the most kind. There comes a time where to keep them would be torture for you both, you did the right thing.

Oh sadwidow I am so sorry. I have been there and know what you are gong through. What an amazing, long life you gave your DDog

I'm so sorry sweetheart. Look after yourself tonight like you looked after your beautiful boy.

So very sorry for your loss. I have just read your thread from the start and am really touched by the lovely relationship you had with Ringo. Be kind to yourself, don't let anyone dictate how you should grieve and remember the happy times you had with your gorgeous boy.

so sorry. sending hug and some hand holding x

I'm really sorry too. Your love for him shone out. I hope you are ok and that there is someone there to give you a hug.xx

I am so terribly sorry and I'm sending a hand hold. He was a beautiful dog. I can only say that he sounds like the most absolutely loved and cared for dog. He clearly had a wonderful life with you, a dream life full of love and fun and friendship. You were so lucky to have found each other.

So sorry to read this sad update. What a lovely life Ringo has shared with you & such dedicated care you have provided for him. Thinking of you tonight, take care of yourself.