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You are a wonderful caregiver. You and Blitzen are so lucky to have found each other.
I know how hard these decisions are - have been there too many times. It sounds to me like you have a little more time with the excellent suggestions above. Give him buckets of love and I hope he will let you know when it's time.
Ah sweetie, I am so sorry. I'm not going to be much help... only you can guess, based on knowing him, what you think his quality of life is. Maybe he just has weakness and no pain, but obviously he feels safe and loved while this is occurring. Your best guess is good enough.
He will be missed in the Food forum when he is gone, but we will always know he is there in spirit.
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You said that the vet felt that the aspirin caused the diarrhea. Is Blitzen on any pain meds? Carprofen and or Tramdol? What about Adequan injections for his joint issues? Or acupuncture and laser therapy.
These things can all help and have all made a difference for the many senior dogs that I have adopted over the years.
I'm heading to the vet later today with one of my old girls because for the past couple of days she is having much more difficulty walking, especially going up and down the 5 steps from the back porch to the yard. I'll be seeing if I can up her dosage of Carprofen to help manage the pain. I need to get a better sense of just how enduring the discomfort is for her. Does it decrease significantly once she lays back down or does it last even when she rests. Hopefully Dr. M will be able to better assess the situation and help me make a decision as to whether or not it is time to let her go.
I should have been more clear on Blitzen's spine condition. The vet is pretty sure he has (i can't spell it so here is a link) Canine Degenerative Myelopathy: It's in the DNA
It in itself is not painful. That is probably why I am having such a hard time. No pain but eventually he will lose all use of his lower half.
I have ordered the pads and oil. Hopefully these will help with his quality of life for now.
Thank you from my heart for all the help and support.
Quick update on Bella and her vet visit. I learned that she is already at maximum dosage for the Carprofen but Dr. M increased her dosage of Tramadol to three 50 mg tablets, three times a day, up from two tablets. Oh yeah, more cheese cubes says Bella. She also gave me a new prescription for Gabapentin - 1 capsule of 300 mg each day.
The new drug may cause more drowsiness but then again Bella is a 12-1/2 year lab so she spends much of her time sleeping anyway.
The real down side of having 3 old dogs who spend lots of their day snoozing in the king sized tempurpedic bed is that one is tempted to join them for an afternoon nap most days since I'm retired.
Quick update on Bella and her vet visit. I learned that she is already at maximum dosage for the Carprofen but Dr. M increased her dosage of Tramadol to three 50 mg tablets, three times a day, up from two tablets. Oh yeah, more cheese cubes says Bella. She also gave me a new prescription for Gabapentin - 1 capsule of 300 mg each day.
The new drug may cause more drowsiness but then again Bella is a 12-1/2 year lab so she spends much of her time sleeping anyway.
The real down side of having 3 old dogs who spend lots of their day snoozing in the king sized tempurpedic bed is that one is tempted to join them for an afternoon nap most days since I'm retired.
sounds like my house as I am getting ready for work in the mornings..... Dogs have all been fed breakfast and most have crawled back into bed to begin their morning naps......
I adopt only older dogs so I have experience dealing with old-dog issues.
PROIN is excellent for stopping leaking and is fairly inexpensive. Please ask your vet about it.
Old dogs' rear legs get weak and they will fall and/or have trouble getting up when they're lying down. I always help my old dogs to get up when they're lying down and I put a towel underneath them to support them when they're walking up or down stairs.
My current 11-year-old gal has arthritis of the spine. Rimadyl (or its generic Carprofen) and Tramadol make her feel so good that she's actually too active. Some people dont like Rimadyl because it can be harmful to some dogs' livers, but when a dog is old and in discomfort, I think Rimadyl has more benefit than negative side effects. There's also a new arthritis medication (Galliprant) for dogs, but Rimadyl and Tramadol have worked so well that I havent looked into the new drug.
I did have one very old male dog who woke up all of a sudden one day with paralyzed rear legs. It was as though he didnt even realize he had rear legs. The medical condition is not unusual in my breed and I had been preparing for it. Had he been a small dog, I'd have carried him outside to potty and go for walks. But he weighed almost 100 pounds and even putting a towel underneath him didnt help. That was when I took him to the vet to let him go with dignity.
I just preface by saying I am not even sure if I am looking for advice, validation or I am just trying to organize my thoughts. This is really hard on me.
We have a treeing walker coonhound who will be 15 in April. He has been with us through thick and thin. Now as we are approaching the end of his life I just don't know if it is time or I am being premature.
On one side I don't think he is in constant pain. He had bloodwork done about a month ago and it came back perfect. When you look into his eyes he is 100 percent there. He is still my Blitzen.
On the other side his spine is degenerating. He has A LOT of trouble walking. It looks painful. He falls a couple times a day. He will just collapse. He can not get himself up. I have to scoot his bum up. He is banned from upstairs and the backyard. I let him out front because there are only two stairs. Sometimes he falls down them. I help him down but he hates being helped up the stairs. He will not tolerate being carried. He will fear bite. I worry endlessly about what is going to happen when winter's ice is here. He leaks urine. Also a couple times now he just will walk through the house peeing. Very yucky.
When will I know? I can't look into his big brown eyes without crying lately. Thanks for letting me get this out. I have no clue what or when to do something.
I am so sorry.
It sounds dumb and unhelpful, but you will know when it's time. He will let you know. You will probably agonize over it and may feel guilty for whatever options you consider, but please don't. Blitzen knows you love him and you will do what is best for him. I just went through this with my dog (the second dog I've lost in two months).
Two weeks ago, I discovered my 16 year old beagle had a mass on her liver, and the vet did not give her much time. I opted to take her home and see how the next few days went. She was still willing to eat and was able to get up and walk around a little, though she mostly slept. I just spoiled her with pizza and pancakes and loved on her. When the night came that she hadn't eaten anything in over a day and hadn't moved from her bed all day, I just held her in my arms and cried. She looked in my eyes, and I could tell she was ready to go. Then I noticed her heart started racing and she started breathing heavier. I didn't want her to suffer.
Just a quick update. The "diapers" are a huge help. Both Blitzen and my house thank you all!
Unfortunately his back end has gotten much worse even in this short time. When I pick his hind end up, he can not get up on his own, I now have to hold him up for awhile until he can stand on his own. He used to only sometimes fold his paws over when standing or walking. Now it is almost constant. I walk around behind him fixing his back paws. Luckily I am home with him almost all the time.
He spends most of his time on the dining room rug next to the radaitor. That way he can still moniter most of the food activity and soak up the heat.
××I just wanted to add since I find it adorable and I am so proud of how smart he is...I noticed yesterday that Blitzen now makes a small little whine whenever he wants help getting up. He will whine and then look at me.Such a fast learner!
Last edited by magicshark; 12-11-2018 at 08:12 AM..
Blitzen is adorable! I'm obviously partial to hounds.
I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but they do make special harnesses and slings that you can use to support his hind end and help him walk, if necessary.
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