hoping for the best preparing for the worst

[dpgllg]

Hello,

My 14 year old cocker spaniel has taken a turn for the worse. He has a multiple issues related to his age and has slowed down considerably. He is deaf.

Within the last two weeks he has taken on unusual behavior and other symptoms. He has started to leave the yard which has caused a great deal of concern. He always stayed in the yard he has his route he would follow to the letter. Now he takes off straight away and unless we can get to him first he is gone. I am disabled with heart issues and chasing after him almost put me in the hospital. We have taken to putting him on a run. He hates it.

He has not been able to get on the bed for awhile now but now he can not get on the couch which is considerably lower than the bed. My daughter stopped over last evening and commented on his weight loss. When I really looked I can see what she means. Today he is very lethargic and is shaking like a leaf. I called our vet and he will be seen tomorrow afternoon which is the first available appointment.

My wife and I checked him over really well and nothing seems to be causing him any pain when we rubbed prodded or poked. He will eat and drink. He has been drinking more than usual not excessive but just more. He is going to the bathroom ok although he looks like bowel movements are an effort. The stool is normal to a little soft. No diarrhea. No vomiting.

He has never been one to be held or cuddled but now he wants to be held.

I know a lot of this is probably age related but the decline in the past several weeks has been rather dramatic. I'm just afraid that this might just be the beginning of the end. I do not want him to suffer but I'm just not ready to let him go. He came into my life at a very difficult time and has always been there when I needed a friend.

Like I said I'm hoping and praying for the best but also preparing for the worse.

I will post again after his vet appointment.

Dave

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

My Aussie Ike, in his elderly years, was losing weight due to the inability to fully utilize the food he ate. I had him on the supplement Sam-e to help (as recommended by my Vet and several people on this forum); and since his time with us was clearly limited, I started feeding him a diet that helped him feel "good". His easy-to-digest morning breakfast was oatmeal (good carbs brightened his mood) along with scrambled eggs. Lunch was a quality dog food; dinner was dog food with dinner scraps of lean meat and veggies mixed in. He still lost weight, but more slowly. I feel like I lengthened his life by a year; and it was a happy year for all of us.

[AZPops]

magnusfide wrote:
I'm with you, Dave.

So am I.


Pops

[magnusfide]

I'm with you, Dave.

[dpgllg]

Op here,

Toby is doing much better. No more diarrhea. He is eating and drinking. The big problem is that he is still losing weight. I am looking for a higher calorie food that might help.

The vet said that we could bring him back for more tests to prove that it is a form of cancer but my wife and I discussed this and decided that we do not want to put him through a bunch of tests that would not change things. Given his advanced age we will treat things as they come up such as the diarrhea and keep him comfortable. We will enjoy what ever time we have and when he starts suffering we will do the right thing then.

Thanks again for your support!

Dave

[xteacher]

It's so hard when our beloved fur pets get old. We had a golden retriever many years ago that NEVER left the yard. When she decided at age 17, that it was time, she started wandering off. The neighbor boy found her once and brought her home, but she disappeared several months later, and despite our best efforts, and those of our neighbors, we never found her.

Some evidence says that weak dogs don't want to suffer or die near their pack (they consider us as such) because it could attract predators, so they go away from home to protect those left behind.

Prayers for your special boy! I hope the antibiotics put him on the road to recovery.

[dpgllg]

OP Here,

Toby has improved in that although he still has significant diarrhea it is no longer bloody. He eats the ground meat and rice without any issue but his drinking is still not back to normal. If I hold a bowl of water for him he will drink but drinking from the water dish not so much. He is still pretty weak but we think he is doing better. He has 5 more days of antibiotics so we will see where we are at then.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. You all provided support during this time. I wish you all the best!

Dave

[BizmarksMom]

That is exactly the decision I made when the late, great Buster the Awesomesauce Dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. He was 16, and it just wasn't fair to put him through chemo when there was no hope of a cure. He went on high doses of prednisone, and a cheeseburger and ice cream diet until his breathing changed and I let him go. I loved that dog too much to let him linger sick and in pain.

I am so very sorry you are facing this.

[Crowe]

My wife and I discussed what we will do if this does turn out to be a cancer. We both agreed that given his advanced age that an aggressive treatment such as chemo etc is not in his best interest. I don't want him to suffer through all the testing and treatment just to prolong his life by who knows how long. We are looking to make him as comfortable and happy as we can and still hoping the current treatment makes the difference.

Wise decision IMHO. We never want to lose our furkids but we also don't want them to suffer. Your ability to make such a hard decision shows how much you love him.

[dpgllg]

OP here,

Toby is now eating small amounts of the ground meat and rice mixture. He actually looked like he enjoyed it. Still not really drinking though. I just talked to the vet and they suggested getting a large syringe from Tractor Supply and slowly push some water or pedialyte into the side of his mouth. I will be going out shortly to get this.

He still has the bloody diarrhea but it seems to be a bit less. I was able to get all the meds in him without any trouble.

The fact that he is at least eating makes me feel a lot better. I know we have a long way to go and the end still might not be what I hope for but at least we are doing everything within reason to help him.

My wife and I discussed what we will do if this does turn out to be a cancer. We both agreed that given his advanced age that an aggressive treatment such as chemo etc is not in his best interest. I don't want him to suffer through all the testing and treatment just to prolong his life by who knows how long. We are looking to make him as comfortable and happy as we can and still hoping the current treatment makes the difference.

Dave

[Toolguy5]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Sure hoping the little guy gets better soon.

[dpgllg]

OP here,

I got back from the vet a little while ago. After an initial exam it appears Toby has lost almost 9 pounds which is almost 1/3 of his body weight. The vet did a fecal study as well as blood work and there were no parasites and his kidneys and liver results were normal.

The vet thinks that it is one of two things. A very severe case of GI trouble or a form of cancer. He has put Toby on an antibiotic and some probiotics. I can only feed him a mixture of boiled ground meat and rice. He says that if he does not improve with this therapy than we can discuss other possible options depending on how aggressive we would want to be. The weight loss is what seems to have the vet the most concerned at this point.

I prepared the ground meat and rice and offered him some and he refused to eat. I am going to wait a little and try again once my wife gets home. He has not eaten or drank all day which really has me concerned.

All we can do for now is hope he starts eating and drinking and that the medications turn the tide. Time will tell.

I will keep you posted

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.

Dave

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Keeping you in our prayers - these "elderly pet" decisions are painful.

[dpgllg]

OP here,

Thanks to all for your kind words and thoughts

Thank you Dr. Doug as well

I have to report that things have got worse overnight. He now has bloody diarrhea and will no longer follow me from room to room, He has taken up residence in a dog crate that we use for our dogs. While I can coax him out he just goes back in.

I will let you know how things go

Dave

[nineoaks2004]

Animals are a lot like us humans, as they age things tend to happen, We have a Chihuahua male, Sammy is stone deaf, has arthritis, and is losing his sight,he cannot climb the steps to get on HIS chair so we pick him up and put him in it. He was old when we rescued him and that was 9 years ago, but we look out for him like we would a child. I hope all turns out well for your dog.