Sorry for the long post. I don't want to drip feed. I've read posts on here for years, dreading if ever I was in the position of not being certain, but here I am, asking for your kind and knowledgeable opinions. Previous dear dogs have had much clearer ends of life, and I'm now so grateful for that painful scenario. This is hard in such a different way.
My gorgeous girl is nearly 16. She has vestibular disease. At the start she was quite robust, always was, no arthritis, but she's been steadily losing ground over these past two years since that diagnosis. She can still walk, slowly, sometimes momentarily loses the ability, but it's only a matter of minutes. The vestibular meds help massively. We think she's also got signs of dementia. She sleeps about 20, 22 hours a day but does a 2 ish hour long unsettled up and down, pacing routine before bedtime, which is the bulk of her wakeful time. We're with her, offering food and cuddles.
As far as we can tell she isn't in pain. She still drinks, and although she's a little incontinent with wee when she sleeps, for the most part she can still let us know she needs to go outside. She sleeps in our bedroom If we're not right there though in the daytime then she can't hold it and goes on the floor. About once or twice weekly she vomits, stools are mostly very loose now, for weeks, and quite unpleasant. We've always been very kind and gentle when this happens. She's very loved and not showing signs of distress.
She always loved food, but will now only eat fresh out of the oven roasted chicken. She won't have it later, even reheated. So she's losing weight. She's not too thin as she was a few kg overweight, but she's visibly losing weight now. Randomly and very occasionally she'll have a bite of actual dog food or a treat.
She hasn't been able to go for walks since the onset of the vestibular disease. Her hearing is mostly gone, her eyesight is variable, but sometimes she sees us or other things. We always let her know we're here. And we're always here, she's never left alone in the house.
When she was ill last month, we took her to the vet, suspecting the end, but tests showed strong heart and lungs, kidneys, etc., no cancer. But she's up a couple of times in the night. Her digestion is clearly a problem because of her limited interest in food, what comes out of her, and the smells she produces.
I feel so guilty, but it's so hard looking after her. We would like her to pass naturally or come to a more obvious end, but I think that isn't going to happen. Thanks for reading, if you're still reading. I would be grateful for any opinions.