Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog health - Ask members * If your pet is vomiting-bleeding-diarrhea etc. Vet time! > Senior dogs

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old August 14th, 2016, 05:42 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
Knowing when to let go...

My dog Echo turns 15 in September. Winter was really hard on her last year, and she is starting to wind down. I don't know if facing another winter is what is best for her. I love her so much and I don't want her to suffer. She keeps on giving me these long looks that make me feel like the end is near. Is she waiting for me to be ready? I will never be ready to lose her. How will I know when the wait for her to go on her own is taking to long? She has been such a wonderful, special friend to me. I am just feeling so sad right now.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old August 14th, 2016, 07:05 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
Have to talk to your vet about this , I think it would be best to talk the him/her and decide together what is best for your dog. This is a very difficult decision to have to made and I am sorry to hear you're going though this.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old August 14th, 2016, 07:25 PM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
I think a conversation is alos good with your vet but ultimateley you know your pet the best.

In my opinion only I would look not at age but quality of life. Is your pet eating, drinking, happy, able to move around, without pain or ailments.
There are so many scenarios.

If you feel winters are harder on your pet than I think you could walk less, find an area that they can do their business in (maybe you have to shovel something). Add a few more cuddles instead or do things indoors to stimulate your pup. Sometimes something as simple as adding a coat in the winter helps them out depending on the dog of course.

They say you can tell when its time and that your pet will let you know, sometimes I feel this can be overlooked but generally I think when you decide the time is right thats is all that matters.

I lost my previous dog to Cancer a very rapid one . I had him for 6 weeks from diagnosis and he let me know. I could see it in his eyes and his body. Having said that he was happy right up to the day before he passed...

How about a picture to share of your pet..

Best of luck
Cindy
__________________
Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013
Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010
Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011
Sophie Aug 30, 2011

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Unknown
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old August 27th, 2016, 11:28 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
This is Echo almost a year ago. I know it's pretty old, but she is very camera shy and it is hard to get her to sit still or not look like we are about to beat her lol! She was 14 here, she will be 15 in just a few weeks.
Attached Images
 

Last edited by Silverwind; August 28th, 2016 at 10:50 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old August 28th, 2016, 04:28 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
I am not able to see the picture of your pet.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old August 28th, 2016, 10:51 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
Sorry, I think I fixed it now!
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old August 29th, 2016, 10:52 AM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
What a sweetheart!
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old August 29th, 2016, 03:03 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
Thanks! She really is sweet. She is the most gentle dog I've ever known. She grew up with a bunny as her best friend and she would never hurt a fly <3
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old August 29th, 2016, 06:24 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
How sweet ,a bunny for a best friend . She is cure.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old August 29th, 2016, 07:11 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 717
Silverwind, I feel for you., Our dog, a border collie/lab mix just turned 17. Last winter was also very hard for her, she seems to be enjoying the summer, but I can not see how she will manage snow and ice this winter. She eats great (too great) loves to follow us around outside and lay in the sun. She is deaf, and her muscles in her back end are pretty much shot so that she has a hard time walking and with stairs, and even poops in her sleep. The odd part is that if she locks her back legs stiff, she still can run, she looks like a rocking horse when she does it. I feel Lexie isn't ready yet, but then I ask myself is it me that's not ready, or her. I too hate to prolong things if I shouldn't be, it is so hard to decide when
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old September 5th, 2016, 12:52 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
Echo is border collie/lab as well. I think they are the best mix. Echo struggles with the stairs and walking as well. Her back legs are very weak and she can't get up into our van anymore. I know I'm not ready for her to be gone, how can one ever be ready to lose one's best friend?? Echo has been showing little tells lately. Pacing and panting, losing her appetite, not wanting to drink. And the last couple of days, she is peeing all over the place in the house. She just squats wherever she is, like half the time she doesn't even care that she is in the house. I'm feeling pretty sad today.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old September 6th, 2016, 09:33 AM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
Have you had a urinalysis done recently, Silverwind? That's the same behavior we see in our 14-year-old when she has a UTI. She seems to get them a little more frequently the older she gets...
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old September 6th, 2016, 05:32 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 717
For some reason our dog pant and paces so much more at night. I know with humans with Alzheimer's there is a thing called Sundowners, where they get very agitated in the evening. I often wonder if the same thing happens to old, senile dogs. I would definitely have her checked out for a UTI like hazelrunpack said. If its too hard to get her into the vet, take a sterile jar and in the morning when you let her outside follow her around with a sterile soup ladle and stick it under her when she squats. Take the sample in the jar to the vet and have them check it. We've done it several times, they put Lexie on antibiotics, and she no longer constantly pees.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old September 7th, 2016, 09:49 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
I think Echo has doggy dementia. I know she gets lost and confused very easily now, forgets where she's going. Wanders past the stairs into the family room and just stands and stares at the wall until someone rescues her. Yesterday was a good day, but today she mostly slept. She lost control of her legs tonight and tumbled down the last 4 stairs too I'll make her an appointment with the vet.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old September 7th, 2016, 10:38 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
Dogs can get vertigo too and get stuck in one spot . Maybe you could have her tested for this.
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old September 8th, 2016, 04:06 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 717
Let me know what he tells you. Thanks
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old September 8th, 2016, 07:50 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old October 25th, 2016, 10:40 AM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
Yesterday we said goodbye to our faithful friend, Echo. 15 years she was with us. It wasn't long enough. She was the sweetest, gentlest dog. I miss you already, Echo. I'll miss you forever.
Attached Images
 
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old October 25th, 2016, 01:37 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,528
I'm very sorry for your loss. You and Echo were blessed to have such a good long time together.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old October 25th, 2016, 02:29 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
So sorry for your loss, Silverwind.

Echo
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old October 25th, 2016, 07:04 PM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
So sorry for your loss Silverwind, it certainly is never long enough...
Please know we are thinking of you....

RIP Sweet Echo
__________________
Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013
Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010
Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011
Sophie Aug 30, 2011

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Unknown
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old October 25th, 2016, 08:43 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
Echo , I am so sorry hear this , I know how hard it's to say goodbye to a best friend .
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old October 25th, 2016, 11:17 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 717
Silverwind, I am so sorry. You gave Echo a long, happy life, but its never enough. She was a lucky girl, and I'm sure she showed you many times her appreciation
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 04:00 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
Thanks everyone. It's been over a month since my girl passed away, and it's not getting any easier. I miss her so much. I'm very depressed and I don't know what to do about it.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 06:34 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
You know she wouldn't want you to be unhappy. Maybe tell us some of your happiest memories of Echo? Her sweetest traits, her mischievous moments, her favorite things?
__________________
"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference."

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!"

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old December 4th, 2016, 10:49 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
Echo I am so sorry to hear of Echo passing.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old December 4th, 2016, 04:27 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
It's been snowing today, and that was always one of Echo's favorite things! We called her the Snowman Killer because you couldn't build one around her- she would just jump on it and dig it to death. She loved bouncing through snow drifts and eating all the snowballs. We used to go for long walks on the first big snow day
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old December 4th, 2016, 04:40 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
The snowman killer ! That is funny !
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old December 4th, 2016, 04:54 PM
Silverwind Silverwind is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: BC
Posts: 107
She was funny. She also loved the hose. She killed so many of our hoses over the years because she loved biting the spray but she would get so excited and leaping around that she would accidentally bite holes in it lol. Her best friend was a bunny rabbit named Sage, who wasn't fond of people but would sit with Echo for hours and they would groom each other
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old December 5th, 2016, 10:00 AM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 717
The silly memories are good because they put a smile on your face when your missing your friend We are still trying to get up the courage to decide when. Its so terribly hard to do
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:24 PM.