Aging dog

[tanksalotct]

We're living/traveling in a 24 ft. RV motor home for a little over a year. The dog is 13-14, has "sundowners" syndrome and has become gradually less of a "pet". If I leave my seat (passenger) she's in it in a flash. Sometimes, reaching out to pet her, she'll snap; sometimes ar me, occasionally at my wife. No harm done, just lots of anxiety and uncertainty on our part.

She seems , to me, to be chronically underfoot. Anybody else been through this? She USED to be a fantastic pet, but now the warmth, attention seems to have gone, and I'm getting tired of it. We thought about a companion dog, but that would complicate things even more.

She's in decent health, but if you have a dog and are afraid of petting her because she might growl or snap, what's the point? She's on Prozac, melatonin, glucosamine and anti-inflammatories.

Suggestions, especially from those who have experienced this, would be welcome.

Thanks!

[JBDISCOVERY]

Understand your concern and situation. Faced the same with a beautiful Nelly.
Got to the point that the family needed to not face the daily trials with her behavior.
Had to put her down, caused lots of sadness, best for her and our family.
Thoughts to you.
Take care,
JimB

[jacwjames]

My wife trains, breeds, shows, adopts seniors and misfits.

Years ago when she first started to loose some of her dogs she would spare no expense or efforts to keep them alive. We had several seniors who just got old but my wife had feeding tubes put in and kept them alive for months, during which time we saw them degenerate and their quality of life go down. Ultimately each was put to sleep.

After a number of these episodes something changed with my wife's philosophy on the quality of life aspect. She no longer goes to extremes to keep the dogs alive, she will provide medicine, comfort and a great environment but when the quality of life diminishes she will have the dog put down.

She is a Vet Tech and knows what the consequences of the various illnesses are and works with her vets to determine the best course of action. She also recognizes when the it is time and takes the appropriate steps.

She currently owns a Curly Coated Retriever who has a severe case of separation anxiety and is heavily medicated. He has caused $$$ of damage when he has an episode and the problem is he is so smart we cannot contain him in a room and if we leave him crated he has such bad episodes he hurts himself. We are currently building a new house with many aspects designed around the dogs including a secure area with a doggy door specifically for this dog. That being said, my says if when we move into the new house and the dog is still out of control she will have to put him down, she is at her wits end (me too, I would have put him down years ago).

So FWIW it is about quality of life for both the dog and your family. If the dog is not controllable it may be time.

[LandKO]

We travel with two older Bichons. One is 13 and completely deaf. She sleeps a lot but at times she runs around like a puppy. She loves going camping and gets excited if we go anywhere near the TT. As long as she enjoys life and can remain healthy we will continue to do what we can to make her comfortable. However, there will come a time when we will have to decide that it’s time.
Been there before, it’s not easy, but it’s the right thing to do.

[vettenuts]

Personally, I would try moving the dog to a BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) diet and see if the disposition improves. If you are just feeding kibble, this can cause a lot of issues over the long term. If you are feeding kibble, you really have nothing to lose.

[LynnD]

As mentioned, it is about the quality of life not just for the dog but also for the others in the household. We had a 21+ year old cat that we dearly loved but she was constantly being treated for urinary infections and was not using the litter boxes. I was becoming resentful and finally figured out that things were not going to get better, we decided to have her put down before it became any worse.

Think about how your feelings toward your faithful friend are, and what they would be if she were to bite or hurt someone. Remember too, she could roam away and meet up with someone she does not know. It's so hard, and we often then second guess our decision. . .God bless you all, it's not easy.

[Finance]

We kept the last two elderly dogs too long. In retrospect it was more for us than them. Have one now getting up in years and we're going to do better by him. Prolonging suffering is not in their best interests.

[Scooter]

Talk to your vet (or do this on your own): Discontinue prozac....melatonin and anti-inflammatory. Find some medical CBD for Fido and try it out for 30 days.

[tizzyfit]

Maxwell and the Beanie Weenie are both 11. They've been together since they were 3 months old. Beanie had bladder surgery a year ago and was in the hospital overnight. Maxwell was beside himself, he continued to look throughout the motorhome for Beanie, didn't want to go for a walk without her, it was a real eye-opener for me. As much as I hate to think about it, when one of them goes, the other one will have a very difficult time adjusting and I'm not sure it's fair to the survivor to be put through the emotional trauma of being without their lifelong pal.

[hgtyd]

We travel with 2 mini doxies that 1 and 14. They're still in pretty good shape although they dodo need assistance going ups the steps or getting on the couch occasionally. One of our travel partners just lost his little Yorkie. It was heartbreaking, but he knew it was the right thing to do. I've had to have three dogs put down in the past and it sure isn't fun. I know we'll be having to make that decision in the future and it will be awful but we'll do it to keep them out of pain. It's all about lifestyle, just like it is for us!

[wingnut60]

Facing that same situation soon with one of ours--couple of times we thought the time had come, but she bounced back. When she can no longer get around, or loses control of her body, then we have to do the proper thing. Mostly blind and deaf, she has been with us for about 12 years as a rescue.
Losing a pet is tough, but it is just a part of our lives we have chosen. We will take her to a vet and stay with her at that time.

[Triangle Drifter]

Putting a pet down is never pleasant however at 13-14 years old a dog is getting near its natural end. No amount of drugs will bring that puppy back again.

We have a 12 year old pitbull lab mix which has had a puppy mentality most of her life however she is noticeably slowing down & at some point it will be time to make a tough decision.

[HighDesert]

Went through a similar deal with our lab. My wife got him at 6 weeks old and at age 15 1/2, we put him down. Not because of viciousness, or bad habits as he was the best dog we have ever had. Unfortunately, Toby went senile, couldn't see well, was having trouble with his feet and would become disoriented. He traveled with us right up to the end. At some point, you have to make a decision as to what is best for the animal and it is real difficult to do as emotions play a big part. I really miss Toby, but, what we did was the right thing for him. He had a great life with us and we are better off for it.

[WKY Ramblers]

I've lost three, one last March and one in September. My only dog now is 13 and has to be on medication for separation anxiety. I'm truly concerned about how she's going to respond when we start taking her in the TT. When our oldest got sick (she died in 2011), we went out of our way, even to specialists four hours away to the tune of several thousand dollars, to take care of her.

Now my philosophy is different. I try to remember that the dog is old and I ask myself what would happen to them if they were in the wild. Would they be able to rally, or would they lie down and die? Can I do something to help them that's non-invasive, like an antibiotic or other medication, or is the only real help going to be invasive surgeries and the like? Because they are, after all, animals with all the animal-like instincts. Mine were dachshunds, and I had a lot of instances of their backs going out over the years, but I made a conscious decision that once they hit 10 years of age, there'd be no back surgeries and I'd just let them go because they'd never be able to understand what was happening to them and why, and it would be very unkind to them.

In your case, you have a dog that's posing a threat to you and your family. If this was something brought on by an illness or injury that could be treated and it would abate, that would be fine. But it's not. Worst case scenario, you take the dog somewhere and it hurts someone else - you don't want that. It may be time to make the hard but kind decision.

I'm truly sorry for you because I know EXACTLY how you feel and I wish you peace in whatever you decide to do.