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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Call to vet to PTS - behavioural euthanasia

132 replies

Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 09:20

My OH and I have made the difficult decision to call the vet in the morning and ask for our 6 years old rescue lab to be put to sleep.

We got her at 1 year old, no apparent bite history although we know that people don’t always give the full story when giving up a dog. She has always been extremely anxious and if I’m being honest there’s just something about her temperament where we feel like we have a ticking time bomb in the house.

Prior to Xmas she started to display some aggression towards us, snapping and completely intolerant of being handled in anyway. We took her to the vets immediately and she has undergone all manner of tests and scans with no obvious medical cause. Her behaviour is now escalating and we have had a couple of bites towards us. To be clear we very much leave her be, no fussing or anything like that however she is constantly on high alert. If I sit next to her on the sofa I’m wary about how I might move in case that sets her off. We have muzzled her out and about but now we just don’t feel safe with her in the home. We had a visitor stay last week and it really struck me how tense we were the whole time (obviously we warned said visitor not to touch her etc). We now have a situation where she’s not entirely safe in the home, is unpredictable and we can no longer have someone safely look after her if we need to be away.

The decision was made yesterday after a bite and now we have this sickening wait to call the vet in morning when they open to start the process. It feels devastatingly
awful and I feel like I can’t look at her. We haven’t slept and have both been crying since we came to the decision.

I suppose I’m just curious to know what it will be like speaking to the vet. We know rehoming is out of the question and continuing to live like this isn’t for us either. I feel like we have failed her.

OP posts:
EG94 · 21/04/2024 09:25

such a dog lover here. At no point have you mentioned that you have sought a trainer or any behavioural correction support. If this is right, you have failed her.

maybe try it before pts if you haven’t already

Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 09:41

She has had past assessments by a behaviourist due to her being extremely anxious/somewhat temperamental and as a rescue we obviously couldn’t be sure on her history. We muzzled her as a precaution on their advice given we never really felt she was 100% steady, and took their advice on trigger stacking and keeping things at a level she could cope with. We have a very ‘boring’ house and keep things calm and excitement levels low.

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Newuser75 · 21/04/2024 09:45

I don't think a vet would try to talk you out of it If the dog has bitten or tried to bite you several times.

Can I ask though out of curiosity under what circumstances does she snap or bite? Like what is going on when this happens?

Newuser75 · 21/04/2024 09:46

And you say she is intolerant of handling, can you stroke her at all?

Did anything happen when this

Newuser75 · 21/04/2024 09:49

Sorry, hadn't finished! Did anything happen to starts this off or was it literally overnight?

Had she previously been ok to handle and stroke?

Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 09:51

The first time she snapped it happened when we stroked her. This had been on her back and not when she was in any kind of state to be startled and so hence why we took her off to the vet to get her checked.

At the moment, we can put her lead on and feed her and that’s it. We can sometimes pet her, she will come and sit on our feet and lean against us (so seeking us out) but she has snapped on those occasions as well if we’ve gone to run her ears like we have done for a long time. We can’t brush her, physically move her, bathe her, lift her into the car even gently without us feeling like she could react and of course she sometime does.

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Willmafrockfit · 21/04/2024 09:52

you wont be the first op
just deep breath and call the vet tomorrow

Newuser75 · 21/04/2024 09:52

Also you mention scans, was a brain scan done?

As for me if a previously (yes nervous) but handable dog suddenly wouldn't even let the owners stroke her I'd be seriously considering a medical cause such as thyroid disease, pain or even brain tumour.

You aren't doing anything wrong having her pts, she sounds like a dog who is very fearful and sometimes it isn't the worst thing to be done. Suffering isn't always physical.

Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 09:53

She’s never been a ‘cuddly’ dog but she has previously been ok to be handled to an extent but given her temperament we have never been over the top with it and have only offered a stroke where it’s obvious that’s what she wants. Any doubts and the rule has been not to touch her.

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Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 09:56

No brain scan but X-rays and full body physical whilst she was under sedation - everything checked from head to toe. As a lab vet assumed something possibly joint related although she had no issues with her movements. Blood tests didn’t show anything untoward either.

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DimLlaeth · 21/04/2024 09:57

I had to do this with a rescue dog, and like you I cried for the 2 days before. But I sang to him, and lay on the floor while the sedative took effect. I was relieved after, as I know it was the best thing for him. Be kind to yourself.

Linearforeignbody · 21/04/2024 09:57

It’s not a wrong decision OP, but expect people here to try and talk you out of it.
She can’t be rehomed because she’s a bite risk- I don’t think any charity would take her.
It sounds as if you ‘ve done all the right things with regards to investigation and behaviour advice.
A brain scan is all very well but it’s not going to change the outcome.

ErrolTheDragon · 21/04/2024 09:59

She doesn't sound like she's having a happy life, through no fault of yours OP. Maybe she's got deep seated mental issues due to some trauma before you rescued her. Maybe there is some underlying physical issue but it may not be discoverable or curable especially in dog who is so hard to handle.

I'm a massive dog lover - having our 16yo old boy pts was the hardest thing I've ever done - but honestly, it sounds like it's probably the least bad option for you and her at this point.

Newuser75 · 21/04/2024 09:59

@Linearforeignbody I wasn't recommending they get a brain scan, I was just asking if one had been done as they mentioned scans.

I don't think it's the wrong thing to do at all to get her pts. No one (including the dog) sounds very happy here. And ultimately having a dog that you can't even stroke is no way to live.

Querty123456 · 21/04/2024 10:02

You’re doing the right thing. The kindest thing you could do is make a plan for her to pass away with the least stress possible. If you can afford it, pts at home is far preferable and kinder. You could also see if they’d prescribe some oral sedative to give her before the vet arrives so that she’s sleepy and relaxed for the injection.

Kernow54 · 21/04/2024 10:22

If she is a rescue dog then it would be a good idea to contact the dog rescue that she came from. As they will possibly take her back and they will have staff experienced with anxious & bitey dogs.

suggestionsplease1 · 21/04/2024 10:25

It sounds very difficult.

My dog was similar and Prozac was helpful.

This will be controversial here but I also found that doing a lot of training with him helped create an atmosphere where he recognised I was in control.

His anxiety and snappiness escalated because I became fearful of him...and that is quite a natural thing if a dog has bitten, because of course you are fearful of it happening again. But dogs are very sensitive and tuned into how you act, and if you are nervous then they become nervous, and reactive dogs can get a pre-emptive strike I'm first.

So I started out on strict training for lots of different commands and rewards accordingly. I had to cultivate at environmental of calm assertive authority, this meant my dog knew the rules more, he gained confidence in knowing what was expected of him and his reactivity reduced.

You can do all the training in a very hands off way...and in fact this is very helpful during this stage if they are reactive over body touching. So you instruct the dog to get off the sofa, into the car etc rather than lifting them. I would always instruct my dog to come to me to have his lead put on as this showed his agreement to the process rather than me going up to him to put his head on.

Over time this works for more and more things, so you instruct the dog to fulfil a few commands and then come to you for grooming, and that meant body handling was possible again. It was absolutely key to create an attitude of compliance in my dog.

I'm sure I'll have accusations of using dominance thinking etc, but this was an entirely positive process, it had to be, my dog had zero tolerance for anything he didn't want to do to start off with.

He was very food motivated so that meant this was all very achievable.

But what all of this meant was that our relationship changed, his attitude towards me shifted and I was no longer someone he felt entitled to snap at, or uncomfortable around because he could sense my nervousness around him, which provoked his own.

The training was all done outside of high stress situations...so if he was highly aroused about something I would ignore altogether as any response could escalate. We did the hard graft at other times, and that reduced those stress responses in general.

He's now a dog who very happily shares the sofa or bed with me. That simply wouldn't have been possible before this process. If he had been on them first he would have growled at my approach. If he had jumped up on one when I was already there and I had attempted to stroke him, he wound have snapped at my hand. No issues now.

What I do still struggle with is feeling confident to leave him with others however, and that is a big limitation on our lives.

Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 10:31

It just feels utterly horrendous. She’s just gone and curled up at my husbands feet and he is heartbroken. I appreciate the alternative advice but our decision is made, we’re just not really sure how we get through the next day or so with her walking around the house as normal.

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Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 10:48

Like I know she has no clue and I feel so guilty that sometime in the next couple of days she is not going to be with us. If she was really unwell and dying I could rationalise it and it would be sad but we would give her a lovely send off. We’re just having a super quiet normal day and I just can’t face anything else or doing anything which acknowledges what is about to happen.

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Willmafrockfit · 21/04/2024 10:49

but it sounds like she is unwell - of some sort. not criticising your plans.
there is some unknown reason for her change but you cannot live with the change in her, understandably.

ElizabethanAgain · 21/04/2024 10:50

So very sorry for you. What a difficult decision, but I'm sure you're doing the rspponsible thing. She's had 5 happy years of love, no doubt the best years of her life. You haven't failed her. PTS is the final gift of love for a dog who is clearly no longer happy. Have courage. All my sympathy in the days to come.

Devilshands · 21/04/2024 10:51

I had a dog put to sleep for an aggression related issue, I saw two different specialists, had every check done on him - including neurological ones and blood test - and I spoke to four different vets at OOH practices to get different opinions. I spent thousands on trying to do everything I could to avoid PTS.

The first time he attacked me, he was cuddled up on the sofa at the other end to me and I coughed. I was on egg-shells for weeks. I barely touched him except for putting his lead on.

When you've had a dog that you've gone from having a 'relatively normal' life (i.e. can touch them without being worried) and suddenly it changes and you don't want to touch them anymore and you do walk on eggshells then the best thing to do is PTS. You cannot rehome a dog that has no apparent triggers - chances are a decent rescue would not take them and a dodgy one would never inform potential owners about the issues. Besides, a dog that reacts like that is not happy.

Sometimes there is just nothing you can do. And that's okay. Mumsnet/Doghouse seem to have this big thing about not PTS dogs that cannot be helped and it makes me absolutely despair.

Just give her space the next day as much as you can, OP. I know it's easier said that done but if she's curled up on the floor by your DH, just let her sleep. If she's happy now, then saviour that. You are 100% making the right decision. And I am really sorry that you're going through this - I've been there and it's horrible.

If you really cannot wait you can call an OOH emergency vet. They charge a fortune but it might be worth it for your peace of mind.

Mrsjayy · 21/04/2024 10:53

We did similar with a dog he was 9 and In such mental anguish we felt it was best, we had been down all the routes we could the rescue didn't really want to know, our vet agreed. I'm sorry you are all going through this her quality of life isn't just physical.

Trikey · 21/04/2024 10:58

I have had to do this OP. It was (and still is) devastating. There is a Facebook group called Losing Lulu which I found extremely helpful. It can only be joined after your dog has been pts. The stories and emotions are different but also universal and there is no judgment. Best wishes x

Bookcasebasketcase · 21/04/2024 10:59

Although the waiting is awful I think we book her into the vet as normal which has never been any hassle rather than someone come to the house which I think would just be more confusing for her. Will they book her in same day? I just don’t know what it will be like, what to expect.

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