WHEN TO PUT DOWN

[chow315]

i have a 15 yr old chow that i love dearly.he is deaf, has skin problems and has arthritis very bad.he takes tramadol and rimadyl 2 a day.he lays around alot.he is very alert and loving he has control of his kidneys and bowels. i dont think he is in constant pain alot of times we have to help him stand. after a few minutes of holding him up he can walk although he is wobbly. at times he falls and it breaks my heart. he is one of the sweetest most loving obedient dogs i have ever known. i dont think he is ready to go yet but i dont think he has alot longer either. we have ordeed a brace to help when walking. i would love to hear your thoughts

[Cam Atis]

Personally I would not put down any of my dogs and most especially when you see their will to live another day. If you want, you can stop giving too much medications as these only exacerbate the condition (side effects which your pet can never be able to tell you about) and a drain on your finances. Keep medications to a minimum, like for pain, don't do it round the clock forever. Do when necessary. and vitamins.

[chow315]

i dont think i am giving him too much meds. he is 15 yrs old and vet says he has NO MUSCLES IN HIND LEGS.for him to walk i have to lift him at the waist until he can get steady on his feet 2 0r 3 minutes. after that he stumbles but with walking he improves.i just dont want him to hurt. i cry when he falls. to me he has too much life yet and is 1 of the sweetest dogs in the world. thanks for your view

[maikinda]

When my dogs get old my first concern is their quality of life. I will never let any of mine suffer. If I can give them some quality time with medication you can bet I will. I have no doubt that you love your dog. That's why you will know when the time comes to make a decision.

Hope you have lots of good days left together!

Laura

[Laura]

It is of course a very difficult decision and we can all only hope to receive some sign of when the time is right. As far as meds I see it as comfort care at this age. Your job is make him as comfortable as possible. I'm a nurse and we actually call it comfort care when there are no further treatment options. This of course includes pain meds. Ease his pain, spoil him rotten, and make the most of the time you have left. To help him walk I have a strap that I used after Chloe's ACL surgery. It it like a padded band that slips under her belly and has strap handles so that you use it help relieve weight off their hind quarters as you walk with them. Rear sling harness i think is what it is called. Something like that may help you. Lastly I would watch his appetite. My vet told me that when they stop eating that is a sign.

[chow315]

thanks to all of you i agree 100 %.right now we are lifting him with our hands. we have a full body brace coming from DR.FOSTER AND SMITH.i highly reccomend them. they beat most places for selection price and customer service. we are doing a new thing with him. its a tie out .it is twenty feet long and lets him be outside which he loves. he is a very social dog.it also encourages him to walk more which seems to be helping his walking.we check him often to make sure he is not tangled up and has plenty of water. when it is hot we bring him in. he has quite an apettite if its for something he likes. all 3 of my boys are spoiled rotten.an update on YOGI he is really improving. my dogs are REDDY a red chow mix who is 15, [the subject of this post].Buddy Boy is an AMERICAN Dingo he is 8 and his pancreas doesnt work. he has to take pills with each meal. he is beautiful and very smart, maybe too smart i have watched him open my locked back door successfully. he is now at work on unlocking the gate to our fence he hasnt managed that YET.YOGI is a 3 yr old golden smooth chow.i believe he is akc but not sure. no health problems that we know of. has behavior problems which are improving. all 3 are rescues

[chow315]

an update on reddy we are using a tie out for him. he has access to shade water and the other dogs. he likes it and his legs seem stronger. he is walking more and i think this is helping

[Rory's Dad]

Never easy to think about an end plan. i personally know your concerns as we had an elder dog who suffered from muscle loss and hip pain. for a while, we too had to help him get up from a lying position. at the time, we actually had a 2nd male chow who had been competitive with him his entire life, and it was sweet to see him try to help out. he would stand at his side and help him to not fall over. we saw similar trends...once he was up and going he would use momentum to move forward. for us, when we couldnt help him get up without yelps of discomfort, that was the signal. the lack of strength was sad to see, as he was once such a strong dog, but even lifting him up to his paws was painful. for us, we knew it was time. Kodi was 12 at that time.

i think you will know. if you are still asking, then i would guess you are not there. i agree that its a quality of life issue. if he is uncomfortable, that is one thing, but when every movement causes pain that cannot be controlled, then that is something altogether different.

[chow315]

HE APPEARS TO BE GETTING STRONGER. WE ONLY USED 1 PAIN PILL YESTERDAY. HE IS SUCH A SWEETHEART

[WyoChowDad]

So sorry to hear what you're going through. In May, I had to put my Chow girl down a few days short of her 16th birthday. It's a struggle like no other I've ever faced. Chows are so proud, tough and have a desire to keep going no matter how bad it gets. My girl "Peekaboo" was an outstanding Chow all her life. She was my constant companion as I work from home. She did very well until she was 10 and injured her ACL then at 12 the other ACL. Next came a stomach tumor at 13 1/2. I thought for sure that it was over but with some specialized care at home and major changes to her diet she was able to stay with me 2 1/2 more years. I struggled with the question (WHEN) as you are for a very long time. In the last months Peekaboo lost control of her bladder and bowel occasionally but she still showed a desire to keep going. I just did more laundry and cleaning. As long as my girl wanted to live, my wife and I would do whatever Peekaboo needed to make her comfortable. Finally, in her last week... I saw in her eyes that she was miserable. She had never looked at me like that before. I could hardly believe it was my girl looking at me as though saying she'd had enough. It broke my heart but I knew what I had to do. I called our vet and made arraingements for her to come to my house. She agreed that it would be better for everyone to be at home. Wouldn't you know it, the day we scheduled would be a good day for Peekaboo. She looked much better than the few days before but I knew it wasn't going to last. I couldn't put my wife or myself through making that call a second time a few days down the road. It was a beautiful spring day and Peekaboo enjoyed the morning with us spoiling her and soaking her with our tears. The vet allowed me to give Peekaboo a strong sedative before she arrived. I hadn't seen her sleep so peaceful in months. Peekaboo passed over with peace and dignity as we held her.
I still have trouble talking about it. Our hearts have a lot of mending left to do.
You will know as I did when the time has come. Meanwhile spend every minute you can making your Chow as happy as you can. You will be able to look back and know you did everything possible for him and that is the best that we can do.
Shortly before Peekaboo passed, we opened our hearts to a Chow puppy named Misha. She is now 6 1/2 months old. She is a pleasant distraction from the pain and she is my new constant companion and friend. I can't imagine life without a Chow Chow. We are considering another Chow in the future. I never thought I would have two young Chows at a time but so many people on the website seem to have great success with multiple Chows.

I hope you have many more days of happiness with your boy!

Mike

[Cindy J]

Mike two beautiful chows. (off topic) I grew up in Worland.

This past week I put my gorgeous rottweiler to sleep. He was only 5 years old and suffering miserably from prostate cancer which hit him and moved very rapidly through his body. Although I know I freed him from his pain, my heart is completely shattered. It is not an easy decision, but I couldn't put him through chemo and radiation only to give him another few months.

Enjoy the time that you have left with him. Do what you can to make him comfortable. I am one that does not see an issue with giving him pain medication. At his age, let him enjoy life without pain as much as possible.

There is no way I would let any of my dogs suffer with pain so that I could prolong their life if they were elderly or terminal. Seems selfish...

[sneakyvader]

Putting an animal down is a hard decision I had had to do it with farm animals who would not have recovered.
I had a poodle/shitzu mix who had terminal cancer, and we just made him comfortable and let him live out his last days with the rest of the animals. He was never lethargic and never whined or complained about pain. He stayed energetic and happy to his last day. So I didn't really see putting him down as a good option since he seemed to be living OK. But with other animals that were really suffering and wouldn't recover, putting them down seemed best. I hope you can make the right decision for you and your chow when the time comes.
It's too bad we can't know what they would prefer to happen, but I think that sometimes you can just tell they would rather let go with a little help.
I am glad he seems to be getting better though-yay! I hope he continues to improve as much as he can.

[chow315]

i still dont know.1 day he is good the next down. his main problem is his back legs.he lays around a good bit. when we have him tied out he walks and gets exercise seems better. he will still try to chase a cat and beg for food. hes not a complainer and has control over his bowels and urine. he is very vocal when he needs something. he will bark until we get it right. he is so precious. he is as gentle as can be

[Cindy J]

I have been thinking about you and your boy. I hope is doing better. Positive thoughts being sent your way.