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Thanks for the tips! I am picking her up in 3 hours! I'm going to introduce her to my dogs ( one at a time) outside. I wanted to do it at the park, but she is newly spayed and I know she needs to rest. I'm not sure when they were spaying her. We adopted her saturday afternoon. So, they either did it sun/mon or today. If they did it today, I may not be able to introduce her at all right now. I don't know. I have a crate set up in my bedroom for her, so that my little dog ( rat terrier) doesn't bug her. He sleeps in my room at night. I may or may not have to change the arrangement. My big dog ( blind chocolate lab) sleeps in my sons room and has living room access. I have a gate up so the choc lab stays in certain areas during the day. Both of my dogs are good with other dogs. So, I think we should be okay.
As for the food, they sent a bag of Hill's food with me. I feed my little dog wellness brand and my big dog gets natural balance L.I.D. ( because of allergies). I will go ahead and mix the new food with wellness food. Thanks for that suggestion.
I feel funny even asking the question. This is a first for me. I am faced with the winding down of the life of our 16 year old dog, Maya. I have never had an old dog. Maya has been a delight. She never liked other dogs unfortunately, but she loved people and LOVED kids. We adopted her as a puppy when our youngest child was just 6 months old. The Maya we knew and loved has been long gone for sometime. Somedays I will remember a thing she used to do and realize just how long it's been since she has been herself. Today, her life is spent sleeping, walking in circles until her legs seem to give out, she no longer asks to go outside, we usually carry her out and she does or does not go. When she does pee, she ends up with her belly in it and at times when she poops, she tries to eat it. She has "accidents" in our bedroom, regardless of how often she is taken out. We have woken up many nights to the smell of poop and that's exactly what she has done. That, my friends, is not pleasant to deal with! There was a time recently when she did this and started running around, spreading it everywhere ( keep in mind that she normally can barely walk, let alone run.) Several months ago before she slowed down even more, she used to come in the house from outside going full speed, all over the place, out of control and running into walls, fridge, door jam etc. so hard that I thought she would knock herself out. And never so much as a yelp or a whimper? I'm not sure if her sight and hearing are so impaired that she doesn't respond to us, or if it's just the doggy dementia. She does not bark, cry, yelp, growl etc. the only sound she makes is the occasional doggy dream barking. She lays at times in such unnatural looking positions that I find myself checking to see if she is still breathing. She sleeps in our room and this is also where she is fed. We have hardwood floors and various sized rugs down all over for her. We have found that removing the carpet and having rugs we can just throw in the washer works better with her. We also keep her food and water bowl in our room. She will eat an entire can of food per day, but I'm not certain she's drinking water. I have another dog that's in and out of the room, so I can't just tell by how much is missing. That's about the only perk (using the term lightly) of Maya being senile....she no longer cares that we have two other dogs here.
So....I think I said it all. I would love advice, opinions, experiences etc. I feel in a very strange, uncomfortable spot right now.
Thanks in advance!
Sometime back we had a 16 year old golden that struggled about for sometime but seemed to be happy.....then....one day she just couldn't get up to go outside and went to the bathroom where she lay.......it was time.
Okay, so we are home. I introduced the new pooch ( no name yet) to my two other dogs, separately, and in front of our house. She ( new pooch) showed her teeth to both of them, but that was it. No growling or charging etc. During the introduction, my big dog ( lab) was a little excited/wound up that I was home. She wanted to go for a walk, and since the new pooch needed to rest, I cut their meeting short. My little dog ( rat terrier) was so happy to see the new pooch. He seems fine with her. She is now resting in my bedroom in her bed in a crate. My rat terrier sleeps in our room too. I was worried he was going to obsess on her, but he's doing fine. He's gone over to the crate a few times, but he's not bugging her. This is the most nerve wracking part for me.....making sure the dogs get along.
For anyone interested...I put some pics in an album titled "the new pooch". She's so cute!
Maya has already left you. You now have to make the decision not to make her suffer anymore. My best friend did the same with her dog. We were roommates for a few years after our marriages ended due to death and divorce. When her dog developed signs of senility she stayed away from home as much as possible going to parties and visiting with her male friends. I tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to listen because she was not able to face the facts. I sat with her dog night after night while she walked in circles until she became so exhausted she fell down. One night, the dog woke up in the early AM screaming at the top of her lungs because she was in so much pain. My friend finally did the right thing and had her put down. I heard what happened but didn't say anything. It still amazes me today that she waited 5 days to tell me and thought I didn't know. Even then she wasn't ready to face the facts.
Your baby will survive as long as she possible can because she loves YOU not life. Show her the consideration she deserves and be there to hold and love her when she passes.
We are now in the same position. Goldie, our 14 year old golden retriever is about at her end. She has an extremely difficult time getting up. We have to get behind her and position our feet and give a boost. She is not having accidents. Her problem now seems to be a bit of dementia. She goes and stands at her water dish and lets out a small yelp. She is eating and sleeping fine, but has a discharge of mucus from her nose, and seems to sneeze alot. I see it becoming harder for her each day. This may sound strange to some, but I had a "talk" with her and told her to let me know when the time was right. We went thru this before with an 11 year old golden. We took her to the vet and left her. I think this time we will stay and be with her til the end.
We said goodbye to Goldie this morning at 10:30. She had a good life and we will miss her. My husband stayed with her and she went very quickly and peacefully.
We said goodbye to Goldie this morning at 10:30. She had a good life and we will miss her. My husband stayed with her and she went very quickly and peacefully.
Aww I'm sorry .. hugs to you for this very hard choice ..
take a deep breath and give your self a smile as you enjoy all the memories you have with her
We said goodbye to Goldie this morning at 10:30. She had a good life and we will miss her. My husband stayed with her and she went very quickly and peacefully.
so sorry for your loss...... she is at peace and went with love...... love she had known from you her entire life.......
We put our dog down Saturday and buried him in the back yard. Max was a very beautiful dog, but he got where he slept all the time and messed in the house. He would go outside to do his business and he could hardly hold himself up to do his business. He lost a lot of hair and he became very jumpy. Other times he play like a puppy.
I miss him so much and my heart hurts. I go out and sit by his resting place and talk to him. Max was my constant companion and best friend. He was 18 years old, sweet and loving and above all his love was unconditional at all times with everyone in the family.
When they put him down it took three shots. He fought to the end to stay with us. The vet said it was the right thing, then why does my heart say it was the wrong thing and the time was wrong?
My question will I see him again in heaven? And how do I know he is okay?
Can't function.
This may help...
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been close to someone here on earth, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
we had the dilema. Our dog was 14 years old. He started having accidents in the house and started drink a lot of water. The vet ran tests and he was diagnosed with kidney failure. We put him on azodyl which helped for about 4-5 months. He slept all the time and rarely sat with us anymore. One weekend he did not eat/drink anything. I took him back to the vet and he was in not only kidney failure, but now his liver was failing. He also needed a blood transfusion and even with all that the vet told us he would continue to decline. We "knew it was time" and the vet agreed. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but we knew his quality of life was suffering. We're at peace now knowing we did the right thing, although we miss him terribly. Good luck, and you will know when "it's time".
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I'm going to introduce her to my dogs ( one at a time) outside. I wanted to do it at the park, but she is newly spayed and I know she needs to rest. I'm not sure when they were spaying her. We adopted her saturday afternoon. So, they either did it sun/mon or today. If they did it today, I may not be able to introduce her at all right now. I don't know. I have a crate set up in my bedroom for her, so that my little dog ( rat terrier) doesn't bug her. He sleeps in my room at night. I may or may not have to change the arrangement. My big dog ( blind chocolate lab) sleeps in my sons room and has living room access. I have a gate up so the choc lab stays in certain areas during the day. Both of my dogs are good with other dogs. So, I think we should be okay. 
Goldie
