How do you deal with a declining pet?

This reply speaks to the emotional side of our dogs getting older...for us and for them.
Over many, many years of many shelties... we have whelped them, and said goodbye at the end of their lives.
The transition that always catches me, starts with the eyelashes turning white. Then I wistfully watch my young vibrant sheltie getting older.
We try to keep their routine the same, until it would be uncomfortable for them to continue. It seems they like staying with the pack as long as they can, trying to convince themselves... and me, that they are as young as ever.
I try to make the decision for them, to become a "retired" show dog. They enjoy being a house dog, before they realize how tired they are, and possibly become depressed. We have seen it all... it really is a roller-coaster of emotions.
 
missjenneygirl said:
This reply speaks to the emotional side of our dogs getting older...for us and for them.
Over many, many years of many shelties... we have whelped them, and said goodbye at the end of their lives.
The transition that always catches me, starts with the eyelashes turning white. Then I wistfully watch my young vibrant sheltie getting older.
We try to keep their routine the same, until it would be uncomfortable for them to continue. It seems they like staying with the pack as long as they can, trying to convince themselves... and me, that they are as young as ever.
I try to make the decision for them, to become a "retired" show dog. They enjoy being a house dog, before they realize how tired they are, and possibly become depressed. We have seen it all... it really is a roller-coaster of emotions.
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It's very hard for us to deal with the idea of Fasb slowing down & declining, & we're likely just at the start of the road. Fasb is his normal self much of the day (he's been very hyper, barky, & energetic this morning. Driving my wife a bit crazy). It's mostly in the late evening that he seems to really feel it. Tends to just curl up & want left alone. Seems more stiff than earlier in the day. Still, he seems to have a lot of quality time left in him. Odds are, we'll spend more time & energy spoiling him to make sure his last years are happy for him (as much as possible). We did a lot of that anyway.
 
Fasb has had a fairly good week. Limping much less. He is panting a little after long walks/hard plays, so I wonder if he's having some pain. Going to ask the vet about that next week. He doesn't pant just running around the house, and when he does pant, he only does it for a short period of time. He doesn't need any coaxing to go for walks or the like, so he seems to still want to do those things.

He does seem increasingly content to lie around and just sleep. Is that normal for older dogs? He still gets a fair bit of activity. We go for several walks a day, he spends a lot of time following us from room to room, plays a reasonable amount, etc. He still does a lot of the usual "hyper sheltie" stuff on a regular basis, but he's not "on" all the time. We've noticed that, especially if there's only person home, he'll follow us around some, then curl up and sleep quietly - sometimes for hours at a time. Not a sudden change. He's been gradually doing this more.

If there's more than one person around, he's more likely to stick close to us and follow whoever is moving.
 
My advice would be to remain stoic and save the emotion for when it's all over. Accept the inevitable and don't subject your pet to unnecessary suffering in order to prolong its life.
 
Panting seems to have been a different issue (already corrected).

At the moment, he's not having any mobility issues. Energy level seems better. He's running a fair bit, leaping on beds. Seems to be doing very well. Vet thinks he's responding to the Cosequin, just taking a bit longer than some dogs.
 
Just throwing this out there, but have you had Fasb tested for Lyme? It can present itself with all the symptoms you describe. I only bring this up because our blue merle behaved the same way suddenly and he tested positive. A few weeks on doxycycline and he was back to his old self.
 
Lunatic59 said:
Just throwing this out there, but have you had Fasb tested for Lyme? It can present itself with all the symptoms you describe. I only bring this up because our blue merle behaved the same way suddenly and he tested positive. A few weeks on doxycycline and he was back to his old self.
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One of the first things we thought of. That's one of the reasons I didn't wait to take him to the vet when he started having issues. He doesn't have Lyme disease.

We didn't know this until last week, but, 3+ years ago, his previous owner was told by her vet that Fasb was showing signs of arthritis. Nothing was done about it (or suggested by the vet) and the vet was the same one we were using (continuity of care, since he already knew Fasb). That vet never said a word to us about arthritis.

We changed vets last week (I'll post that story when I have time, lol). Not because of any one incident, but we generally felt their was a communication problem with the vet. Fasb's care was ok, but we were frequently left with incomplete information or having to make multiple calls to get questions answered. He always seemed to be double or triple booked when we were in the office and frequently didn't return phone calls. It wasn't a big issue when Fasb was younger and basically healthy, but not so good when he needs more attention.

We selected a new vet. He met with us (wife and I) beforehand last week, and examined Fasb on Friday. Spent quite a bit of time talking over Fasb and some issues which may arise in the future. We're quite happy with him so far.

In retrospect, most of Fasb's issues have developed gradually - not suddenly. A lot of subtle things we didn't pick up on since they were very mild and we're not experienced with pets. We're told that Fasb is actually in good health for a dog his age. His mobility problem has gone away almost completely since he's been on Cosequin DS for several weeks.
 
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Going back to an earlier post.....

My Dad always told us that if ever got to the point that he lost his mind, then he wanted us to tie a brick around his neck and throw him over a bridge. Ok....Extreme. But I agree with the sentiment for myself as well as my dogs.

When my Timber was diagnosed with a tumour in his lung, 6 years ago, he was 12 years old. The vet started talking about surgery. I shut her down immediately. I asked her to make him comfortable, if she could. He died less than two hours later.

I may be a minority, but after watching my so vibrant grandmother die in a comatose condition.....I don't want that to be me. I don't want that for my dogs either.
 
I agree with Barb that I wouldn't want to "live" in a home without any ability to control my life.
When it comes to my dogs, well I try to keep them active and will give drugs to them to keep them comfortable. Some of those drugs might shorten their life but I feel that it is better to have them live 2 years in relative comfort than 3 or 4 in pain.
I'm having great success with our TW mare with Prevacox. This canine NSAID is doing amazing things for her. She is feeling great. She's on a daily dose that will eventually do her in but if she is feeling good for a short while then so be it. She's coming 24 and deserves all the comfort I can give her before we part. If she were younger, then I would try to approach it differently but now she is severely arthritic with some calcification of her joints. Can't change it so we deal with it. She gets extra treats, longer grooming sessions, deeper bedding and lots of lovies GSL and Prevacox.
 
Totally agree Barb & Tagg - I think it's unethical when vets propose expensive/invasive/painful procedures in a pet that is nearing the end or not very likely to have a good result, instead of focussing on quality of life and pain management.

An extreme case but I met a family through some friends, whose pet 2 year old kitten accidentally got locked in the pantry and managed to knock over a full container of bleach. By the time they discover it, he had severe burns and treatment with ultimately 4 prostetic feet, totalled $17,000. These good folk practise a religion that believes it is not right to harm another living thing, so feeling responsible they agreed. The cat had a long painful recovery ( never did adjust to the new feet) and ended up needing another $3000 in treatment before it was decided that the best course was to have it put down. I can't believe that a vet - knowing what was likely ahead for this cat, would have recommended this treatment in the first place. There comes a time when the humane thing is not treatment...
 
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