<p>I have a dog, a chow/border collie mix, that we got as a puppy Sept 2001. Within a year she had hip dysplasia surgery. We knew arthritis was in her future. She also tore her acl, but at her age now, surgery doesn’t make sense.</p>
<p>We were just at the vet for our cat who is getting her own expensive procedure next week and we spoke about the dog. She limps really badly and the doc mentioned she could get completely crippled in the back half, fine in the front, but a sign was the inability to control her bowels. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t you know when I went to let her out this morning she had peed - a ton - all over her bed, and continued to lay in it. She pants quite a bit and I think she’s doing it because she’s in pain. </p>
<p>She’s my first dog as an adult. Obviously we all love her and I also don’t want her suffering needlessly. How do you judge how much pain is too much pain?</p>
<p>Oh eyemamom, so sorry to hear about you dog.</p>
<p>Dogs suffer in silence so its really impossible to know how bad they are feeling. Sometimes they get a glassy look over their eyes. Its so, so hard to know and then so so hard to accept their decline.</p>
<p>I recently read an article that I think made a very good point about how euthanasia has become very overused because it takes the place of proper pain management. Unfortunately, a lot of vets are just not very good at figuring out pain management.</p>
<p>So, what I would say is get at least one (or maybe a couple) different opinions about best way to manage pain. If possible, see a specialist. I don’t know where you are located, but where I am there is a big research vet hospital that has all sorts of specialists, everyone from oncology to cardiac to alternative treatments.</p>
<p>Accupuncture and/or water therapy has helped some pets with similar conditions.</p>
<p>I have a 12 and a 13 year old dog. Both are arthritic, one more so than the other. They each get a daily dose of Meloxicam (safer NSAID for dogs than asprin).</p>
<p>I learned how to do the injections, which are now one every 3 weeks or so. I am fully convinced this has kept our 13 year old functional and out of pain.</p>
<p>Hugs to you OP, it is so difficult watching them age.</p>
<p>How much pain is too much pain is really something only you and your vet can decide together. It has to be your judgement call. </p>
<p>Personally, I’d be very concerned about peeing in her own bed and lying in it-- as I am sure you are, too. It is instinctual from birth in dogs not to pee where they sleep, they want to be clean, it is why crate training teaches them to “hold it.” To pee in her bed, and just lie in it all night, is so sad.</p>
<p>What did your vet tell you? Are there any other treatment options? Anything to slow this down? Panting and sleeping in her pee are too much, but you want to know your options.</p>
<p>In addition to thinking about pain management, can the vet consider some meds that they use to help incontinence in older dogs? Maybe if he had a little more strength re: the bladder, he could rally himself up in time to find you and ask to go out. </p>
<p>I wonder if he was just deeply asleep once and woke up too late, all wet. Or if awake, he needed too much time to get up slowly and carefully off his bed, to come find you to alert you for a leashwalk or open door to your yard, whatever you do normally.</p>
<p>How spritely does he look normally, waking up? If some of the other pain meds make him very tired, maybe vet can find an alternative less heavy on the sedative side. Or give pain meds right after the first morning walk, not before bedtime. Obviously only a vet should tell you if and how to adjust pain med dosage or timings.</p>
<p>Eyeamom, I’m so sorry to hear your pooch is doing poorly. It sounds as if your vet is giving you clear eyed information about what you can expect.</p>
<p>Loss of bladder or bowel control due to nerve damage can’t be reversed or completely controlled by meds (or at least that’s what I was told by our vet when our aged cat had the same problem). For animals who are normally so fastidious about cleanliness this isn’t good. </p>
<p>You and your family will know when suffering outweighs longevity. It’s heartbreaking, but one of the responsibilities we assume when we take an animal into our lives and promise to care for them. We will all be thinking of you.</p>
<p>I am so sorry, it is so heartbreaking to watch a beloved pet suffer. We had to put my 16 year old Beagle down on Sunday, and as hard as it was to make the decision, I know it was what was best for her. We were very fortunate, she was healthy and active up until the last couple of weeks.</p>
<p>Tramadol is a good pain med.
I am currently on Tramadol, and so was our 16yr old lab.(& thyroxine & Dasuquin.)
( she had been on Rimadyl, but it seemed to be causing hemorrhaging, she also was not on it as the same time as the Tramadol)
However, I sometimes take a NSAID with the Tramadol.</p>
<p>I know all too well the struggles to offer the balance between palliative care, and when they need more than that.</p>
<p>My thoughts are with you and your families.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry about your dog. It’s so hard when they get old and have health problems.</p>
<p>I don’t have any practical advice except to talk with your vet about his/her thoughts of what your dog is going through and what, if anything, can be done to help.</p>
<p>It’s hard to let go, but sometimes that’s the best thing. I had a cat who at 14 started to lose weight rapidly, had pretty severe gastric issues, and eventually lost his fur. When my vet was stumped, I took him to the specialty vet clinic. We thought it was this and we thought it was that, but many expensive tests later, it turned out no one could figure out what it was. The kitty was the sweetest thing ever and I kept hoping for the miracle cure. It never came and, finally, I decided enough was enough and made the hard decision to put him to sleep.</p>
<p>Ever since (15 years!) I’ve regretted keeping him alive so long. He suffered (although he was a trouper through the whole thing) and I’ve vowed never to do that again. I have a 15 year old cat now who is clearly on the downward spiral. So far his quality of life is pretty good but we’re on a day-to-day analysis of his well-being. I know I’ll be braver this time and let him go when it’s time.</p>
<p>Sending hugs to you and your dog . . . this is not easy for either of you.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts. I spoke to the vet. She said what you’re dealing with right now is that the dog is comparable to a 92 yo woman. You won’t heal her, you can’t take extraordinary measures, you keep her as comfortable as you can. Her thought was to think of it like have two cups out, and from my observation decide if today was a good day or a bad day and put the coin in the appropriate cup. Over two weeks you’ll see whether you have more good days or bad days. </p>
<p>I want to somehow know that exact magical moment of squeezing out as much good and happiness and not make her suffer too much just to keep her with us. I’m even sad for one of our cats who has spent her life aggravating this dog for fun. I don’t know how you actually put them in the car and walk through the vets office the final time.</p>
<p>I’m very sorry you and your pet are experiencing this pain, it’s not easy. Someone posted this on another thread a few weeks ago as a guideline to assessing a pet’s quality of life. Maybe it can help.</p>
<p>Many of my friends with multiple dogs have a routine that they go through as it becomes obvious that the dog is reaching the end of a quality life. They take a day or two off from work and they help the dog have one great day with them. They may drive to a favorite place, feed a favorite food, play favorite games. Then they feel they are ready to help the dog out of its pain and suffering, when that pain and suffering overwhelms the good moments.</p>
<p>I felt very fortunate when my standard poodle Elly died a year and a half ago that it was very obvious to me–and everyone else–that her time had come. The day before she had been well enough to play and enjoy life (and we thought a new medication was working)–and then she wasn’t. It made that last walk much easier.</p>
<p>Also, some vets will make house calls for euthanasia. Then the dog can die at home. That may be easier for you. (It would not have been easier for me.)</p>
<p>Panting is a sign of pain. Can you up the dose of tramadol?</p>
<p>I’m sorry to say that being unwilling/unable to get up and peeing in the bed is a very bad sign. As I mentioned elsewhere, our golden with cancer came to the end of her battle on New Year’s Eve when she could no longer stand, even if set up on all four legs in a balanced position. That morning, H had found her lying in her own pee in bed. (I was away for a family emergency, much to my distress.) The oncologist who was treating her performed some simple tests to determine sensation in her extremities, such as squeezing her toes. They revealed that she was losing sensation in her hind legs, which is a sign that the spine is compromised. (In her case, possibly by cancer, but I gather there are other reasons.) We had done everything we could to keep her going, but it was clear to all that it was time. She probably had only 24-48 hours left in any case.</p>
<p>I sometimes think that some people rush to euthanasia in lieu of proper pain management, but if you have a good vet and a good relationship, you can make the determination, I think.</p>
<p>Has the vet said anything about cortisone shots for pain? How about baby aspirin (NOT Tylenol and NOT Motrin!!!)</p>
<p>Dogs (NOT cats!!!) can have baby aspirin (the 81mg for heart treatment), but cut them in half so that any “tummy coating” is broken. Read online for dosage based on dog size.</p>
And then a few weeks later you begin to think more of the good times. :)</p>