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My 3 dogs are old and wondering what others experience's are.
My 14 year old has weak back legs,feel sad to see her now, remember when she was a pup and how she used to run around and be so full of life.
She also has problems getting outside in time.she can hold her urine forever put she doesn't always make it to the door in time for her bowels (think because she used to go to the vet every month for her anal glands to be emptied ,this may have damaged her spinchter muscle, or maybe just old age)
I know her days are numbered.Hoping for another year.
My other one 13+ is still full of life but flakes out in the evening.
Such a clever dog,His old age problem is just latelty,when I get up in the morning,he has had to go and being clever like he is,won't soil the house (or so he thinks) but uses a bathroom in the back of the house,to relieve himself,making sure he gets as close to the toilet bowl as possible and not getting the small carpet in their soiled.
I think I have to come up with a Dog liter box (is there such a thing?)
The other one is an old rescue,new to us and doesn't have 'to go problems' as yet,just a very low energy dog.
What can I say,I love all three and so glad I have them.
Luckily,I am very much into a clean house,so no doggy odors in this house.
(also I don't have any carpet and this isi not a daily occurrence)
As much as I hate to say it, it's time to be thinking of the older one's quality of life. I once had a greyhound that got to the point where he couldn't walk at lot of the time and frequently fell down the porch steps. He tried so hard, but his eyes were full of panic. He never made messes in the house, but it was extremely painful and frightening for him when he went outside. I waited too long. I couldn't bear to lose him, but I should have euthanized him sooner than I did. I feel guilty about putting him through the misery of waiting too long.
The kindest thing we can do for our beloved pets is let them go when it's time. Recognizing that isn't easy, but somehow, we (and they) know. I was in denial. I won't make that mistake again.
My Labrador lived to 16 with degenerative myelopathy. Most dogs only life 6 months after diagnosis. He lived years.
Even though he was losing strength in his back legs, he still had lots of life and spark in his eyes. I thought it was "time" and the vet's office said "no way! there's so much life I his eyes!" It's true. He was still a happy alert dog. He wasn't fearful and panicked if we remained with him outside. He loved it, and we had no problem changing our habits to accommodate his needing us nearby.
In all of the years from his diagnosis, he only couldn't walk a handful of times and we got him back into shape with our form of physical therapy of getting him up and moving around hourly. Within a couple of days, he was back to fully mobile and capable. Letting them just lay around causes their muscles to deteriorate and makes their problems worse.
My 14-year-old border collie still acts like a young dog, but she can't jump up on the bed anymore. That's a relatively new development.
With my older (now-deceased) guy, he was doing ok until he suddenly started to slow down. He was a 15-year-old dog so that wasn't really a surprise. Turned out it was because of a tumor on his spleen. Nothing that could have been done - I'm just glad I realized there was a problem before it got too ugly. But until the tumor messed him up, he was pretty much the same trouble-making dog he was the entire time I had him. No food container in reach was safe!
A few months before he died, he somehow maneuvered a large Costco-sized container of Swiss Miss hot cocoa out of a deep plastic bin on the floor, reaching down between several liquor and wine bottles to get at it. He then dropped the cocoa on the floor and gnawed his way through the side to get at the cocoa. When I came home, he and my other dog were coated in cocoa powder (not enough real chocolate in it to cause a problem), with little tiny marshmallow's dangling from their feathers.
I never realized that HE was the only troublemaker. Since he's been gone, there have been no more incidents of that nature. The trash is safe, food is never stolen, etc. I miss him and the chaos he caused, but I'm really glad that my surviving border collie is in much better shape than he was at her age. Pretty sure she's going to make it comfortably to 16 at least. (Fingers crossed.)
Here's old Buddy. He is 21 years old, blind, deaf and incontinent. He is still wagging his tail and eating well. I have been wondering for a while if his quality of life is ok or not. I have asked my vet on our last visit and he suggested that the dog can still enjoy life without seeing or hearing well.
It's hard to know when they are ready to leave.
One funny thing I noticed about Buddy. The older he gets the more clingy he gets. If I get up to walk to another room Buddy is right on my heels (provided he isn't in a deep sleep).
I miss my Maggie :-) We adopted her when she was 9 years old. We got to share her life for the next 9 years. Her full story is here: ivymaggie
Except for a couple of bouts of pancreatitis, she was pretty "together" until the very end when she just collapsed and we knew that was the end. I really want to adopt another senior but we have a golden who is rather dog aggressive and picky about who enters the house. It will have to wait until after that dog gets through her senior years. Until then I will live vicariously through a friend who often adopts seniors goldens. She always has one senior rescue, sometimes 2 or 3. Her and i have the same theory - get the puppy from a very good, reputable breeder who we can then show and compete with but always adopt and when we do so, make it one that's harder to place. People hate adopting seniors because they only have them a short time. Maybe so, but it's their best years!
Here's old Buddy. He is 21 years old, blind, deaf and incontinent. He is still wagging his tail and eating well. I have been wondering for a while if his quality of life is ok or not. I have asked my vet on our last visit and he suggested that the dog can still enjoy life without seeing or hearing well.
It's hard to know when they are ready to leave.
One funny thing I noticed about Buddy. The older he gets the more clingy he gets. If I get up to walk to another room Buddy is right on my heels (provided he isn't in a deep sleep).
I am so impressed how old your dog is.It must be so much loving care.
I know mine won't reach this grand age.
Old buddy is beautiful!
I have enjoyed and been touched by the stories related above/Thank-you.
I only adopt seniors. For three of my past dogs, a total collapse of their hindquarters meant it was their last day- spinal degeneration.
I often don't actually know their ages since they are from rescues, strays, hoarded, etc. I assign them all a birthday of Jan. 1 and count up from the estimate given by the rescue or vet.
I did have two puppies to begin with. They lived to 11 and 13. One had lupus and died from the harsh effects of a necessary medication, and his brother had a rare form of liver failure. They were mutts and I expected them to live much longer. Seniors are great because you can have more of them, they need less! I know the steps of aging, the first sign being no longer jumping on furniture. Certainly some hearing and eyesight can fail. One boy I had, at 16, was fairly blind and very frightened by it, while I had a blind diabetic girl who made her way around just fine.
My current oldest is a 16-year-old Pomeranian who has all his eyesight and hearing and no teeth. Moofie! Love 'em the seniors.
Lucy the Bichon is 12. She has had at least 3 daily walks every day of her life since we got her at 2 years old. She is slowing down a bit but seems in good health. She is a clingy breed any way so can't say it has gotten worse as she ages. if she has upset tummy she poops in the shower at night. So proud of her for figuring that out. The best place in the house to have this sort of thing happen. So easy to clean up.
When she was reaching 10 we adopted Toby the Maltese to give her company and to give her a bit of exercise. it has worked although I can just hear Lucy saying "Get that nuisance kid off me NOW" sometimes. If I could convince my husband i would get a younger playmate for Toby as he has way more energy and play in him than Lucy.
Paul the Bichon was PTS at 16. his cataracts were so bad he could barely see. he could not climb stairs or even go down them and he cried whenever I was out of sight. He started having accidents way too often. he was not diagnosed with anything but I knew I had to let him go. I don't regret it but i still miss him terribly and it has been almost 10 years.
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