My dog's not doing well

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Over the years we've had pets euthanized at the vets. They wait until they close, customers leave. They give us a pawprint. It truly is tough going through.

 

[scootr]

yeah I agree with scootr his situation started a over month ago keeping him going is torture at this point. I feel your pain but end his misery.

I'm no expert and I'm not judging.
It's a decision every owner has to make. Each situation is different so it's not right to say yeah a month of ill health is too much. I've done that and later felt I cut the dog short. I've watched my wife let her dog go too long and felt pained watching what I saw as suffering. Dogs handle adversity differently than humans. At no point do they think, believe, or wish themselves better off dead. So if it is just another morning laying in the sun or listening to his people bussel around the kitchen or waiting for them to come home then that is what they will enjoy. The dog is God's gift to man.

 

[gsganzer]

I'm no expert and I'm not judging.
It's a decision every owner has to make. Each situation is different so it's not right to say yeah a month of ill health is too much. I've done that and later felt I cut the dog short. I've watched my wife let her dog go too long and felt pained watching what I saw as suffering. Dogs handle adversity differently than humans. At no point do they think, believe, or wish themselves better off dead. So if it is just another morning laying in the sun or listening to his people bussel around the kitchen or waiting for them to come home then that is what they will enjoy. The dog is God's gift to man.

Scootr,
I think you said it perfectly. He doesn't appear to be in pain, no whimpering or wincing. He just doesn't know what to do with himself and he seems really tired with no appetite. He'll follow me from room to room and lay down somewhere comfortable where he can watch us. Sometimes he'll find a sunbeam streaming in a door or window and lay there. I guess as long as he does that and doesn't show signs of pain or suffering, I'll let him have whatever days he has left and treat each one as a gift. We'll just keep trying to make him feel comfortable and loved.

 

[Tomtint]

Scootr,
I think you said it perfectly. He doesn't appear to be in pain, no whimpering or wincing. He just doesn't know what to do with himself and he seems really tired with no appetite. He'll follow me from room to room and lay down somewhere comfortable where he can watch us. Sometimes he'll find a sunbeam streaming in a door or window and lay there. I guess as long as he does that and doesn't show signs of pain or suffering, I'll let him have whatever days he has left and treat each one as a gift. We'll just keep trying to make him feel comfortable and loved.

Id be getting him to another vet instead of letting this go status quo. You don't know what you don't know, But maybe someone else will.. And maybe just maybe help your boy.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I'm no expert and I'm not judging.
It's a decision every owner has to make. Each situation is different so it's not right to say yeah a month of ill health is too much. I've done that and later felt I cut the dog short. I've watched my wife let her dog go too long and felt pained watching what I saw as suffering. Dogs handle adversity differently than humans. At no point do they think, believe, or wish themselves better off dead. So if it is just another morning laying in the sun or listening to his people bussel around the kitchen or waiting for them to come home then that is what they will enjoy. The dog is God's gift to man.

I didn't want to put words in your mouth, I want to say I agree with you about ''its the most difficult thing as a pet owner to know when its time to let go'', after it was my opinion. Sorry I could've said that better. ... I've seen this thread progress and I feel for the dog misery, it's a hard read, that is all. I don't want to see a dog suffer because the owner is not ready to say good bye (not saying its the case but it's a valid question, I my doing this for the dog well being or because I am not ready to let go)... I start having a hard time looking at a dog as soon as a dog can't do dog stuff because I can tell that what they love. I can't talk to dogs so I wouldn't know whether or not they want to live or die but I can tell what they love and hate.

Maybe god gift to man but their life and well being still need to be respected as a life created by god. (saying this in general, obsoletely not saying OP is not taking care of his dog, we can all see his dog means the word to him)

One thing to note, dogs pain index is off the chart, its crazy what they can endure, they pretty much don't feel pain compared to us.

 

[Jstpssng]

Id be getting him to another vet instead of letting this go status quo. You don't know what you don't know, But maybe someone else will.. And maybe just maybe help your boy.

This is my thought also, but my decisions are different than somebody elses.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

yeah I agree with scootr his situation started a over month ago keeping him going is torture at this point. I feel your pain but end his misery.

Every pet owner has to make their own decision on this. Not our business to tell him what to do. You might be right, but still....

19 years ago, I took my dog to the emergency clinic on a stormy raining Friday night, about 60 miles away after getting home from 60 miles away. Turns out my dog had cancer bad. There had been signs, but the local vet did not have an xray machine. Anyway, the emergency vet gave him some strong pain killers, and gave me enough to get him over the weekend. I was going to put him down on Monday, but he started having problems and passed away about 1/2 way back home. I stopped and cried while I held him and told him how good of a dog he was. The vet said the meds would get him out of pain. I hope he was right. Maybe the strength of the pill pushed him over the edge. My contractor had his backhoe on my property as he was digging for my foundation. He came over and dug a hole for me. I used my FEL as a hearse. I gave him a good tip, and used my tractor to scoop up all the sand that had eroded from my slab during the hard rains, saving him an hour of time and more material. The whole family was attached to him and attended while we gently lowered him in the hole, overlooking our beautiful lake. It was the only time I ever saw my FIL shed a tear.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Every pet owner has to make their own decision on this. Not our business to tell him what to do. You might be right, but still....

19 years ago, I took my dog to the emergency clinic on a stormy raining Friday night, about 60 miles away after getting home from 60 miles away. Turns out my dog had cancer bad. There had been signs, but the local vet did not have an xray machine. Anyway, the emergency vet gave him some strong pain killers, and gave me enough to get him over the weekend. I was going to put him down on Monday, but he started having problems and passed away about 1/2 way back home. I stopped and cried while I held him and told him how good of a dog he was. The vet said the meds would get him out of pain. I hope he was right. Maybe the strength of the pill pushed him over the edge. My contractor had his backhoe on my property as he was digging for my foundation. He came over and dug a hole for me. I used my FEL as a hearse. I gave him a good tip, and used my tractor to scoop up all the sand that had eroded from my slab during the hard rains, saving him an hour of time and more material. The whole family was attached to him and attended while we gently lowered him in the hole, overlooking our beautiful lake. It was the only time I ever saw my FIL shed a tear.

it’s always hard to loose a dog … touching story thanks for sharing i share your pain.

A post is posted on a public forum to get opinions but then you criticize when an unpopular/honest opinion get said?

but you have a point, I agree I should’ve wrote “i would” instead of a “you should” that my bad, I am usually more careful in that regard, it wasn’t done intentionally or without feelings.

 

[JasperFrank]

Those that we love, don't go away. They walk beside us everyday.
Unseen and unheard, but always near and forever loved.

Rule of thumb for me, is if the dog is in pain. If not in pain, I owe it to the dog to still take care of their needs, even if its the inconvenience of dimentia, or incontinence. Dogs get dimentia also. Best wishes for your Pup.

 

[Jstpssng]

108 replies... obviously tractors aren't the only interest we share here.

 

[gsganzer]

He sat out on the patio and watched TV with us last night. We've never been fans of pets on furniture, but both Mason and Minnie got to have some snuggle time in front of the fire. They were quite the pair.

I want folks to realize, he actually has had multiple medical opinions. When he went to the urgent care, that vet diagnosed auto-immune. The follow-up vet (that has 6 vets in the practice) also diagnosed auto-immune. My talk of taking him to another vet is me wanting to make sure I've left no stone unturned and hoping to find the magic bullet that maybe everyone else has missed (probably wishful thinking). I just haven't found another local vet that I think is any more competent then the previous two or if there's a treatment that's any different than the one we're on.

Meanwhile, he gets, loved, spoiled and made as comfortable as we can make him. Trying to find what he'll eat is becoming a challenge. We keep rotating between cooked chicken, meatballs, his food, table scraps etc. He'll like something, then turn his nose up at it the next time. I cooked venison for him last night. It's like he has his own personal chef now.

 

[2manyrocks]

Anyone who has ever loved a dog feels your pain.

 

[Jstpssng]

e keep rotating between cooked chicken, meatballs,... I cooked venison for him last night.

I'm going to start taking my meals at YOUR house!!!

 

[orezok]

Rule of thumb for me, is if the dog is in pain. If not in pain, I owe it to the dog to still take care of their needs, even if its the inconvenience of dimentia, or incontinence. Dogs get dimentia also. Best wishes for your Pup.

Not wanting to hijack this thread, just responding. My Kali has had CCS (Canine Cognitive Syndrome) for about a year. Similar to human dimentia. She’s approaching 15 so not much time left. She’s been on Selegiline which restored her to about 80% of her former self. My Vet was surprised at her recovery as it only works a small percent of the time. Without it she would have been gone by now.

 

[ruffdog]

Auto-immune diseases can be a real pain. Their little bodies start to turn against themselves. Good luck to the OP going forward.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

When our dogs reach the end we sometimes give them tramadol to make them more comfortable. Our vet also does home euthanasia, so when it's time they can go to sleep in peace.

 

[plowhog]

I cooked venison for him last night. It's like he has his own personal chef now.

Such a sad time but I understand. And if there is good news it is that you have had time with him that has been so valuable.

I don't wish to raise any false hopes, as the most important thing is confidence in your vet. But our dog also has an auto-immune problem and he has gone through a *lot* over the past few years. A few times it looked grim only for his troubles to recede and fade away. But then, a few months later, the auto-immune system would manifest in some other pretty awful way. He has now had about 4 in/out cycles like that. It all started when we was 5 or 6, and he is 8 now. Vets are baffled.

I hope for the best and you are taking good care of your best friend. I believe that if the time comes, you will know when that is. Good luck to you.

 

[gsganzer]

In the constant roller coaster, we might have good news!!!

Mason went to the vet again today to have his bloodwork checked and there was no improvement. However, it was a different vet from the practice and she ordered a chest Xray after seeing that the steroids, antibiotics and the anti- immuno drugs weren't working, and listening to his breathing. She thinks he has a fungal infection in both lungs and that's the reason for the labored breathing, loss of appetite, white cell count etc.

I'm not a doctor and I can tell the chest xray looks terrible, of course I'm looking at a cell phone picture of the xray. It's just all splotchy and doesn't look normal at all. She's hoping a 6-month treatment of anti-fungal meds will clear it up. I hope it's not too late. My wife said he's hardly eating at all today.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is something that's beatable. Come on Mason, we're not giving up yet!!

 

[Molalla1]

Keep the faith gsganzer! We are all praying for your pooch.

 

[kf4uda]

Did that Vet happen to say anything about Histoplasmosis? It is a fungal infection. My friend’s dog had it several years back. It took him from the picture of health to almost dead. However, once they figured out what was wrong and treated him for several months, he made a comeback and lived several more years. I hope for the same result for your dog.