Putting our dog down. When is it time?

We put our beagle down the day after Christmas a year & half ago. Trust what your vet says... You'll know ... when it's time. Was the hardest thing I ever had to do ... was holding him when the vet put him to sleep. :(

We lost our Effie this year at 14. She was a Chow mix and a great friend. When you see the look in their eyes you will know you are wrong to keep them alive because you don't want to lose them. You have to do whats best for them, they love you enough to do it for you.
I miss her everyday but have no regrets.

Beautiful story of Darek. Loved the paw prints story, made me think of Diesel who we lost in 2009, he still is deeply missed by me and I have his face tattoed on my arm. He was only 2 and just starting his life.

I have an old 13 year old greyhound with a bad back and legs.
I started here on MSM, Glucosamine, Vit C and Condrontin. You can order it from www.greyhoundgang.org. IT'S THE BEST. I also added CMO to give her a big boost. What a miracle. Go to the website and check it out. I do not have any affiliations with the site, but the stuff is good. My ole girl goes up and down the ramp (From Foster and Smith) and just loves camping in our RV. We are pushing to 14 years old which is OLD for a greyhound. GOOD Luck!

I have also had to put down several of my greyhounds as they age due to cancer. You can tell from the look in their eyes and YES, you will know. Do everything you can to make them comfortable and try to find a holistic vet that does acupuncture. It also work miracles on a monthly basis. Not expensive, around $45 for one hour. HOPE THIS HELPS.

A dog that is enjoying food, enjoying getting up in the morning, and enjoying walks, however short, is still enjoying life. When that enjoyment comes to an end and the resources you have available aren't enough to restore it (ie medical care that is available and you can afford) then it's time.

I will say, in defense of your friends, that besides the fact that different people have different histories and beliefs about this issue, people who aren't living with a life form (human or animal) and aren't so closely involved, are having a whole different experience than those who are. Objectively speaking, their observations about physical condition are more apt to be accurate than yours. Your brain has gotten used to things as they change and that's the way it's supposed to work. Their brains have not.

But appearances are not what's at issue here. Your feelings about quality of life are what counts. You have that interaction every day, you see the dog want to go for a walk, or not. You have the emotional connection and if you listen, your dog is going to let you know.

Our poodle did have a stroke at age 14, however. At least, that's what our vet said it was. Benjie was in the yard one day and I heard this alarming, almost coyote howl with a gurgling sound and some other hard to describe special effects thrown in. This was on the weekend and at that time, there were no emergency vets in our area. I went to pick Benjie up and he was acting disoriented and moved in a wobbly kind of way. I brought him in and he started drinking water and didn't stop. His belly swelled up like a water balloon. He had temporarily lost the gauge that told him when he'd had enough to drink. There was no WWW to check symptoms and we had no idea what to do. As soon as the vet's office opened Monday AM, I took him in and the vet said from my description it had been a stroke. Not a heat stroke, as the weather was not hot at the time. I assume a stroke can come from a small blood vessel breaking in the brain, unrelated to cholesterol, but don't know for sure. I don't remember the vet giving him any medicine, but the amazing thing is, Benjie lived for two more years without any repeat episodes and without impairments, other than arthritis and the other old dog stuff.

dturm wrote:

PUCampin wrote:

I wonder if dogs can have vertigo. I have had 2 attacks, about 14 months apart, and what you describe is exactly what I felt. I could not stay upright on my own to begin with, and it took a day or 2 of rest to feel normal again.

YES!!

This is probably a good time to remind people of this. It is VERY common and the most common cause of these types of symptoms in both elderly dogs and cats.

Strokes are very UNcommon in both.

Most dogs with Vestibular disease get better without treatment in a couple of days. Sometimes takes two weeks or more and some don't regain complete normal function.

Our treatment is aimed at eliminating side effects (nausea) and the anxiety that happens when they can't move as they think they they should.

Doug, DVM

Exactly what our vet said happened to our then 13 year old yellow lab.
Dogs and cats don't live long enough to build up plaque in the arteries to cause a stroke.

Our lab never did completely recover, and we put her down because she was getting too weak in her hips at 14 years old.

randy328 wrote:
You do know in your heart when it is time.

I lost my german shepherd last year. Darek's Story

Beautiful, Randy.

Once the quality of life is gone then its time...she will let you know

You'll know when. As a vet once said to me,it's your last act of kindness.