My old lady dog is declining - advice

[WarIsPeace]

She's 16 and a little terrier mixture and the light of our lives but I think the time might be approaching. She's been increasingly deaf and has severe cataracts in both eyes, now seems bewildered a lot of the time and is leaving small puddles where she's been sleeping (she still goes outside frequently to toilet too)

She's following me around more and more, barking at nothing especially in the evenings (was never a barky dog) and routinely goes to bed about 11pm and stays there til lunchtime now

I need to have another chat to the vet don't I, there's no acute medical problem it's just been steadily downhill over the last 6-9m

She does sound like a lady who's feeling her age.

Do you think she's still enjoying life, on balance?

Yes she is definitely still getting some pleasure from life but much less than she used to.
Still a champion sausage thief
Still gives us a warm welcome when we get in
Still gives no fucks and will happily queue jump our younger dog for the best leftovers.

She's also making this weird chirruping teeth chattering thing often at the moment. Right now she's just staring at me, quivering (she's always been a bit neurotic)

Exactly the same happened with our dog. Eventually her bowels went and she was lying in poo. Even in her advanced state of decline that worried her. We made the decision then and, in retrospect, I think we left it too long. It's a very hard decision and I feel for you.

I recently had an elderly Shetland pony pts last month...
It was an agonising decision as we had her 15 years and the kids adored her.

She had went down in her stable and we had to lift her up. She also had lost a lot of teeth and weight. She was still however whinnying at us and puttering around the field albeit slow and staggered.

I agonised over the decision.

I read something that made me do it

"Better a month too soon than a day to late"

I didn't want her to keep losing weight and getting ill or going down in a muddy field in the depth of a harsh pennine winter.

It was a terrible decision

However the right one.

We have 2 dogs 7 and 8 and I know we face the decision in the future

Sending you hugs.

I think it's not yet, but soon.

She's had the biggest personality ever, she was a rescue who had been on the streets when we got her, didn't know how to go up stairs or anything. And a proper houdini, used to trot off as soon as the door or gate opened.

She has the best begging face ever.
I'll need to speak to the stbxh, she was our first hound together and we share her like we do the children

She soon cracked the stairs but would wait at the top to be carried down until I stopped giving in

And she taught the young one to be scared of fireworks, but they don't bother her anymore because she doesn't hear them.

She sounds like a great character

How will she cope with Christmas - do you have a lot of visitors, for instance?

Won't be having lots of visitors, she doesn't mind them but I do

Best go and change my sheets. Again

I'm 2 weeks in from having my old girl put to sleep & it's awful. I miss her so much but seeing her fall & having accidents broke my heart & I know deep down it was the right thing, selfishly I wish she was still here & I maybe could have dragged it out but that wouldn't have been fair on her.

Defo a day too early than a day too late.

Sending you hugs.

On a purely practical note, you can buy these incontinence sheets which you can put where she sleeps - perhaps something to save your bedding from the worst of it? www.boots.com/attends-cover-dri-super-60x90cm-50-covers-10207940?cm_mmc=bmm--Google+Boots+PLAs--(GB:Whoop!)+Boots+Shopping+-+Category+-+Health+and+Pharmacy+-+Mobile-_-(GB:Whoop!)+Attends&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3b3gBRDAARIsAL6D-N9Tc_6K7-uK3FH4whmvTFZqpbwKDqu0pd6TsxrRIJhNzNGK0_cfqrIaAoTPEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I've got a mattress protector on the bed anyway, I can't make her sleep downstairs because she frets and scratches, she's always slept in with me.

I spoke to stbxh last night, we both see it and agree she's getting frail.
God it's hard isn't it.

Its such a hard decision but I think we owe it to our pets to do the kindest thing sometimes, no matter how hard it hurts.

I can’t even imagine how hard it must be though. It makes me cry just thinking about it.

The leaving a puddle thing is usually a hormonal issue in elderly spayed bitches and can be helped with daily medication (a bit like HRT).

We are in the same situation and it’s horribly tough but while the enjoyment of life is there albeit for the short time they’re awake........

OP, you mentioned teeth noise. Could her teeth be bothering her. Our late dog had chattering teeth and needed a couple out at 14.

The teeth seem OK and she's not smelly, it's more of a neurotic thing iykwim. She's always been one to quiver, but she's doing a bit of a chirrup thing with it some days when she's excitable.

She is spayed, I'll see what the vet thinks because meds to help with the pee would appeal

I feel like it's a combo of old, nearly deaf and blind, and dementia. Do dogs get dementia?

Yes, they get a kind of age related cognitive dysfunction which is very similar to dementia.

My 13 year old dog is on medication for incontinence. I mix the solution in with food twice a day. It's quite expensive at the vets (£57 for 100ml) but that does last 3 months. It's also a lot cheaper online (£20 for 100ml, and £9 for prescription. It's called Propalin syrup.

Just thought I'd update, vet has put her on a tablet for incontinent spayed old ladies (incurin) which seems to be helping. She was declared pretty fit for an oldie too, so very pleased.

good news. Hope she continues to enjoy good health for a while yet. I have an lady of middle years myself. Going a bit deaf and not great eyesight but still quite chipper.

Incurin has worked a treat for my now elderly girl, although she's developed a few bare patches and Incurin has alopecia as a rare side effect, so that may have caused them I imagine. They don't bother her at all though.

When there's just a general decline, as opposed to a serious illness, it can be very hard to know when it's time. One of my dogs did the barking at nothing too, and would get stuck in corners in the house. He also wanted regular meals all afternoon and evening.

I really sympathise with the stage you're at.