Tough Decisions For Old Dogs

[Nameless Range]

I understand if folks don't want to comment on this thread, but I think HuntTalkers have good insight on a lot of things I do not.

My dog is dying. She's a 13 year old lab, and has cancer in her hips and spine and lungs. I am struggling to weigh the factors in making the decision of ending her life- a decision I have never made before for any dog. I have read dozens of online articles, I've spoke to the vet, and heard numerous rules of thumb such as the inability to control bowels(she can), or walk(she can), and I have heard "she will let you know". It doesn't seem to work this way.

She's been on pain killers for half a year now and her hip is partially dislocated all the time. She is clearly in pain, but if you threw a ball for her, her tail would wag and she would be 3-legging it after that ball. She is nothing but skin and bones anymore. In speaking to the vet, he said it is very possible that she will break something, as the cancer has compromised her muscles and bones in her hind legs, and that will be the final straw. I do not wish to get to that point, and am concerned that my reluctance to let it get to that point is making me want to do this too early. It is strange to think of putting her down while she would still be willing to chase a ball, or swim in the lake, even through the pain.

I know no one can tell me when it is time for my dog, but if you are willing to share, when did you know it was time for yours?

 

[406LIFE]

The when you know, you know is how I have approached it. Each dog is differnt, and the circumstances are different. Following your vet's advice and listening to your inner voice is enough to guide you.

PM sent.

 

[netman]

I’m with 406life. Sorry to hear this.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I had to put down my best friend of 15 years last year. I knew it was time months before but waited until I was finally ready. He had always been there for me and I for him, was one of the hardest things I have ever done to walk out and use a pistol to end it. That shelter dog definitely saved me, not the other way around.

My dog struggled through the last winter and I knew he could not make another. He could not do much once it got cold due to his hips and was having trouble with crapping in the house. He had survived cancer earlier in his live and as a 15 year old bag of bones there was no more going to the vet or surgery. I knew he was not doing it on purpose but I could tell it bothered him terribly. I bought him cannabis edibles from Colorado and put them it in his food which helped with pain the last few months but he was just at that point. I'll never forget that moment it was all over. Still think about him every time I pass his grave in the back yard.

I can see your dilemma as it sounds like the mind is still there but the hip is really making things tough. It sounds like you have her best interest in mind and will do what's best when you know the time is right.

 

[IDFireLass]

You will know.
Been there to many times in the past. It's never easy.

 

[Ryan2782]

Look for a vet that will travel to your house for the procedure. That has helped me in the past, there is a company where I live that provides an in home service. Knowing that my dogs were in the comfort of their home at their favorite place, rather than taking them to an unknown or uncomfortable place. It never seems to be the right time, until the time passes and it's been done. As the healing starts from parting from your friend, you will actually understand more that it was the right time for them.

 

[TexAg09]

I dread the day it comes to that for my hunting partner. (She just turned 11.) I don't know if the helps or hurts in your decision, but keep in mind dogs normally have a pretty high pain tolerance to begin with especially when it comes to doing what they're bred to do such as retrieving and hunting. They are tough animals no doubt. I wish you all the best with your tough decision.

 

[LWC55]

I had to put my lab of 13 years down last summer. It was very tough, but I knew it was time. He had trouble breathing at times and trouble getting up and around. If she is in pain and suffering, then I think it is time. Sorry you are going through this. It was one of the least pleasurable tasks of my 42 years. My cattle vet makes house calls and actually came to the house to give the shot. Not sure if that is an option for you, but it made a very tough situation a little easier than hauling him to the office.

 

[Coach Chris]

Max got cancer when he was 13


I told my lady when I had to carry Max out to go do his business it was time to put him down.
The morning I had to carry him out I put him right in the car and we took him to the vet

I wish you luck. It's not an easy decision

 

[Nutrioso]

That is the toughest think about sharing life with dogs— we will likely have to watch them go. I have had to put down two labs, both after long lives. My mistake on the first one was waiting a little too long and I know now the real reason for that was for me and not for the dog. It was a case of knowing it was time, just not wanting to face up to that. That dread of sitting with your best friend and watching him or her go is unbearable. I resolved not to make that mistake with my second lab when his time came, and felt better about that. If you are waiting because your pup is still enjoying a reasonable quality of lfe, it’s not time. If you are waiting to delay the inevitable, maybe it is. I feel for you.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Compassion.

Its the word I have said and repeated over and over right before I shoot my dogs.

I'm old school. I was taught that life is tough and it ends. It might end before your ready. It might last longer than you ever expected.

When the suffering needs to stop you need to make it stop. Thats a personal decision. But dont prolong it. Make the decision.

Personally, I think the cruelest thing to do to your dog is to take your dog to a vet and have someone they dont know stick a needle in them...

I'm the take the dog out in the woods and sit with them for 5 minutes and pet them, maybe tell a story, maybe give them a treat, and love them and enjoy the last few minutes of their life type of guy.

Then I dont take their life. I release them from their misery. No somebody else. ME.

Its a sad deal.

I feel for you. I promise you it isn't easy. But remember. All dogs go to heaven...or at least most of them. And that is not meant to be a joke.

I like to think one day we will meet up again.

 

[Tradewind]

God awfully hard decision to make. I have struggled with tht one. Even harder to watch.
My ground rule was I don't want to see them suffer. Drugs for a while to help, but eventually
it comes time. If they were reasonably comfortable and not in pain I cherished the time that was left....

 

[Gr8bawana]

That's a very tough and personal decision to have to make. We had to make the same decision about a year and a half ago. It was along the same lines, our shepherd was on steroid drops for her remaining eye after the first one had to be removed because it had gotten ulcerated. Our vet told us up front that she would eventually succumb to the long term effect of the steroid.
We did have a good 5 or 6 years with her after that but her hips were getting bad enough that it was hard for her to get up. She started loosing weight and her bowels weren't working very well.
When we took her to the vet and he said he could give her something for her diarrhea and some anti-nausea meds but we would only be prolonging the inevitable. We could have prolonged things for a week or two, but why cause her any more suffering?
That was one of the hardest decisions we've had to make. She went to sleep in my arms with tears streaming down my face, my wife couldn't bear to watch.
It's amazing how our pets become one of the family.
You have my deepest sympathy.

 

[JEL]

My wife and I got a golden retriever shortly after we were married and before we had kids. Damn he was a good dog. Been gone 13 years and I still miss him. The winter of his 14th year he started having trouble. Couldn't get up and down the steps to get in the house, crapping and peeing in the house (which hurt him more than me), unable to do the things he enjoyed. The vet said we could do this and that to keep him alive and deal with the pain and incontinence. I decided that wasn't best for my dog. He wasn't living how he was used to living. The spark seemed gone. I took him in to the vet and sat with him while the vet gave the injection. His last breath seemed almost of sigh of relief. One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.

 

[Irrelevant]

My wife runs the animal shelter here in town, one of the services they offer is euthanasia. She consistently tells me the hardest part of her job is that people wait too long to bring in their dying pet. Often to the point where the veins are collapsed and it becomes physically difficult and often painful (assumed) to administer the injection. She's preached to me numerous times over a glass of wine that it's not about "you" and when "you're ready to say goodbye" but that your friend shouldn't suffer. I'm 100% not saying you're doing that, but I think it common to allow things to slide too far.

I don't envy you, it's one of the hardest positions to be in.

 

[cedahm]

The when you know, you know is how I have approached it. Each dog is differnt, and the circumstances are different. Following your vet's advice and listening to your inner voice is enough to guide you.

We had to let our 16yo Brittany go on Friday. He was the first dog I had as an adult. We all knew it was closing in, but he was a fighter and in the rapid decline of his health the last few months, there were moments/hours/days of improvement that would get us positive for a day or two before some regression would occur. The regressions started to outnumber the upticks in both frequency and severity. The 'knowing' for me wasn't immediate and we tried many approaches and various treatments the last months, but eventually it was clear he was suffering and it was clear his time here was no longer running out, it was just out.

Having a vet that you know well and understands and knows your dog well is very important. Our vet was calm, scientific and logical throughout Pete's life, up to and including the conversation Thursday night and on Friday morning at the last.

 

[idnative1948]

I would have to ask myself what quality of life means to my animal. No matter, horse, dog or whatever.

 

[SandyCreek]

3 weeks ago i had to put down my lab, he had a tumor on his jaw that they couldn't do anything for.. once you start to question when you should do it, its probably time. its a hard decision but you have to recognize what's best for the dog.. its a shit feeling when they stick that needle in though, but you can't let them suffer or be in pain.

 

[mtmiller]

My previous lab Axl was the best dog I could ask for. He made it to 10.5 before bone spurs on his vertebrate were impacting him draining his bladder. He could still hunt with the best of them at 10, but one day was about all he could do in the duck boat. His last night, he could not make it out of the backyard to defecate. I carried him out there and then we spent the night in the backyard together. The next morning, we went to the Milk River and hung out for a bit. After a while a flock of ducks flew over and I said "where are the birds". He could hardly move, but his head went to the sky. We didn't go to the vet. Not sure if that was for him or me, but he died on the banks of the Milk River.

 

[tim629]

there are a few ways to go about it in my mind.

-wait until you have to carry your pup into the clinic
-set a date with some meaning (first/last day of hunting season if it was a hunting dog)
-if you have a vet that is flexible wait until a nice day, call the vet and see if they have time that day, if so just spend a nice morning/afternoon outside with your partner enjoying a bit of time together

no time is the right time but no time is the wrong time