Have to decide how to handle serious illness!

Haven't updated for a while because there's not too much to tell. Fasb's doing well. No definite symptoms of kidney problems so far. If not for the blood work, we'd never think about kidney issues. Fasb's generally his usual self - plays hard, spends a lot of time around us, eats well, etc. Disposition seems good. He definitely seems to be declining gradually, but we frequently get comments from other owners about how alert and active he seems for his age (nearly 14).

There are periods when he doesn't seem himself or seems too quiet, but they're short and infrequent. Not bad days usually. More like bad hours.

Vet does feel his other issues (arthritis, eyeslight, etc) are slowly worsening, so he probably has a limited amount of quality life left. We feel like he's done well to hold up this long, though. Based on current condition, I feel like it's realistic to think he'll be content and in decent shape through the end of the year, or maybe winter. Blood work makes me think this might be his last fall. Another year is a long time for a dog with failing kidneys and we don't want him to go through a long, drawn-out illness. When he stops being himself or seems too tired to bark/play/follow us around, we'll let him go.
 
That is a good overall update...and I hope your gentle Fasb continues to hold his own and have a lot more quality time to share with you.

Trini
 
I was just thinking about Fasb. Have not seen any updates, so I figured no news is good news. He is just like us older folks, good days and not so good days. Glad to hear his still enjoying life. He may be around a lot longer than you think. Certainly hope so!
 
aging fur babies

Glad Fasb is holding his own. Deciding when is just not too fun.

Having had aging shelties, I can say that there are good days and bad days. With my 2nd one, I told her she had to let me know when. Because I didn't want her to have no quality of life. I knew she was coming up on the departure date, and I had already talked with the peaceful partings folks. Her last day was fun, we had snow and she loved playing in snow, she was so happy. Then the following morning early. She wasn't the same, and she crawled up in my arms and breathed her last breath. But I would rather have had her do that, than suffer. All I thought about was her having fun in snow, and rolling in snow, etc. Just enjoy the time you have and focus on the fun!!!
 
Fasb seems to be doing well except for some mild problems that are probably arthritis. But he's not eating well. His appetite hasn't been normal for two years now, but he almost always eats with a little coaxing and something mixed in with the dry food to flavor it. The past couple weeks, it's hard to get him to eat even things he likes. Not even showing interest in his usual teats. Today, the only thing he'd touch was a bagel.

I think this might have become a major issue already except my husband puts a lot of effort into making sure Fasb eats regularly. Right now, we're both concerned that he'll soon start refusing food altogether. He has been eating the past couple weeks but not always the sort of foods we want him to. He eats whatever we can get him to take. Mostly, we can get him to eat but what he'll eat today may not be what he'll eat tomorrow. It's become a lot of work keeping him eating.

He generally seems fine. Still responds to us well and spends time around us. Still playful. Disposition seems good. No obvious signs of discomfort. We think this is probably a sign that kidney function is declining.

We're researching real food diets (natural, cooked, etc.). If that doesn't work, we may not be able to keep him going much longer.
 
Fasb seems alert, active, happy, etc., but, yeah, the eating issue is really concerning me. He seems to have appetite but doesn't show much interest in dog food. It's been an off-and-on issue getting him to eat the past two years, but it seems more serious at the moment. Fasb generally eats what we put out, but often we have to sit with him and encourage him. The past week or so, he's had no interest in his dog food and not much in his usual treats and things we add to the dry food to interest him. Been really bad the past couple of days

I am getting him to eat. Most days, he's eating about 300+ calories a day. We figure he typically eats 300-400 calories a day (3/4 to a cup of dry, plus a few other treats and what-not). Probably 300-350 most days. So he's not going to starve. But we need to get him back on a proper diet, not just whatever he'll eat. Also, he tends to have some digestion issues when we try new things.

He seems fine. Good disposition, normal habits, not weak or lethargic. Bowel movements are normal. But if this persists, I'm concerned he won't last much longer. I'm guessing the kidney function is getting worse. He's had periods similar to this before, and things improved, but I kinda feel the end might be very close. Hoping I'm wrong, though.

We're going to try a natural food diet once we get a better handle on what to do. And I'm going to call the vet tomorrow, but I have a feeling he'll think it's a behavior issue since Fasb isn't refusing all food, only certain things.

Any suggestions? I'm wondering if probiotics might help. Or maybe he just doesn't need many calories at this stage (the vet says he has clients Fasb's age and size who only need half a cup of dry per day)?
 
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I must say I'd be inclining on the side of testing whether it's behavioural. Bagel vs dry food - no wonder he's holding out. It's so worth giving it a week or two without all the extra treats to see if his behaviour changes when the alternative is thinking about putting him to sleep.

You know senior shelties don't actually need that much to eat, he could probably get away with 250 calories and still be okay.
 
Well, yeah, we won't put him to sleep unless we're sure there's no other alternative. Not my first option or anything.

At the moment, he's refusing dry food, treats, his "usual" people food, etc. Will eat, but only certain things. We've tried several different "new" things in place of dry or to flavor it, and he's turned his nose up at them. Does have an appetite for people food - fruit, potatoes, meat, etc.

By "testing", do you mean something at the vet or just trial and error? Withhold food to try to make him eat his kibble? How long could he go without eating without suffering? Honestly, we probably couldn't stand to see him go several days without eating.

I don't think it's behavioral - at least, not mostly - but it's worth investigating. It's not like him to not want treats and the other things. Seems like there has been a sudden, dramatic change that's out of character for him.
 
With mine, when age and underlying medical issues make them fussy or non eaters, I have always gone with whatever they will eat...even if it is all "people" food. I add a doggie vitamin pill to whatever they would be getting, but I feel that eating something is far more important than trying to hold to regular dog food. Obviously I only use quality food, no junk food. If Fasb were a growing pup, it would be different and you would need to be sure he was getting a balanced doggie diet...but he is a senior who except for the eating issue sounds like he is doing really well...and giving him more happy time with you is your goal.

Trini
 
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