How do you know it's time

Nostromo

Nostromo

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Dominic
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A somber post
At sometime in the near future I'm going too have to make the decision to have my beloved dog put to sleep. She's getting slow on her walks and although she enjoys being out and about, I think her joints are starting to give her pain, she pants even after a short walk. I know it's summer, but even on cool mornings she seem to struggle a bit. She's happy just to lie around and sleep.
She's happy in herself and is a lovely dog, but me and the wife said we would not prolong her life just to satisfy us (if you know what I mean).
So as the title says 'How do you know it's time'?
 
It is difficult and I'm sure different people would have different answers.

My view is that if she's happy and not in pain then there is no issue.

I pant after walks and like to lie around and sleep.
 
simon ess said:
My view is that if she's happy and not in pain then there is no issue.
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That's probably an excellent place to draw the line. We have an aged cat that's in a similar situation to your dog, but she's still a little active and not unhappy (though may be going senile, from recent changes in behaviour) so it's not yet time.
 
My old cat used to eat, wander outside, sniff the air, look longingly at the top of the fence, eat then sleep for another 23 hours often on my lap. Eventually his heart gave out.
 
Her brother had the softest, pinkest paw pads that you ever saw and we reckonned he should have callouses on his tummy. Turned out that he had some kind of internal growth for a long time, but all we knew was he was utterly lazy and getting lazier until he started to cough & strain.
 
To the OP

We have an old dog with joint issues & CBD, cannabis oil, has really helped give her a new lease of life.

Our vet is always really impressed with how mobile she is, given her history.
 
It's a dreadful situation to be in, but you will know when the time comes. Your dog will let you know when she cannot go on any longer.

Remember, you can cope with the pain of her passing better than she can cope with the pain of impending death. Most of us who own pets would prefer our suffering to theirs.

It's tough but when it's the right time, you're going to accept it as the best option.
 
You will know.

All the best. Just try to remember the good times when it's over.
 
Thanks all for replying with your comments. I'm sure when time comes we'll know. It'll be one of the hardest decisions we will have to make.
 
Our old Collie is the same as the OP's: she has stiff and aching joints - she has a monthly slow-release painkiller which I occasionally have to supplement with a tramadol (vet trusts me), and can only manage short walks these days. She is eating less but still asks for food, she poos ok, and still has those mad moments of rolling around in her bed or wanting to chase other dogs (when all pain is suddenly ignored). When she stops being interested in other dogs and wanting to go out at all, we'll know it's time. It can't be far off - she's about 14/15 - but she's hanging in there at present. We put our last dog to sleep a bit too soon I think when he was struggling to walk, so we are paying better attention to all the various signs this time.
 
It is a hard choice for any dog owner ,I cried my eyes out when our last one had to go ,we swore never to get another one but six months later we did . Once you have a dog your hooked
 
You will know. Im really sort to hear this though. Its such an incredibly hard decision to make.
 
Lindsay56 said:
We put our last dog to sleep a bit too soon I think when he was struggling to walk, so we are paying better attention to all the various signs this time.
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Someone told me once that when they reach that time its better to be a little early than a little late. When we lost our last cat I thought my wife was too late and if I'm honest I think he really suffered the last month. I know it would have been better for him to be a bit early
 
We have had cats for over 40 years, always hard when the time comes. We have had good vets in the past who have helped us through some difficult times.

It is down to quality of life and if she is pain free. Difficult to do but put her fist over your own desire to be with her just a bit longer.

My thoughts are with you.
 
With anything chronic they'll sort of tell you when it's time to go - struggling, unhappy, in pain.

We've had two previous dogs where we've had to make a decision. The first a boxer/border collie had cancer, on three legs, cancer had spread. We knew the night before. Hubby spent the evening sitting on the floor with her. The second a pedigree border collie was an acute issue that we had to decide on there and then. Our current two are 14years old, collie retriever cross. Still go for walks, he can't do much more than a mile due to a heart murmur but it doesn't stop him belting out the back door to bark and tell everyone he's outdoors. She still runs about and can do 5 miles on soft grass, 3 miles on a hill, despite only a third kidney function left. I'm happy they still have a good life and when the time comes we have to make the best decision we can at the time.
 
Comfortably Numb said:
To the OP

We have an old dog with joint issues & CBD, cannabis oil, has really helped give her a new lease of life.

Our vet is always really impressed with how mobile she is, given her history.
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Do you use a special dog oil, or just any cbd available . I have loads here for myself, but I feel it could benefit our 11 year old who is having joint issues. Wasn’t sure if “human” oil was any good for them.
 
TCR4x4 said:
Do you use a special dog oil, or just any cbd available . I have loads here for myself, but I feel it could benefit our 11 year old who is having joint issues. Wasn’t sure if “human” oil was any good for them.
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We’re using the human version. I believe that the pet version is weaker, so you need to adjust the dose according to the weight of your dog. HTH
 
I have had cats all my life and have gone through this decision many times. You will in your heart know when the time is right - when they stop eating or are unable to attend to their bladder functions or ?? It's the hardest thing ever but better to be a wee bit early rather than later. Don't put off the decision because it is easier on you. And I do find if the vet comes to the house to do it, it is easier somehow to know that in it's final moments, I didn't add the trauma of a car journey into the mix and it goes to sleep surrounded by what and who, it loves best..
 
Scots_quine said:
I have had cats all my life and have gone through this decision many times. You will in your heart know when the time is right - when they stop eating or are unable to attend to their bladder functions or ?? It's the hardest thing ever but better to be a wee bit early rather than later. Don't put off the decision because it is easier on you. And I do find if the vet comes to the house to do it, it is easier somehow to know that in it's final moments, I didn't add the trauma of a car journey into the mix and it goes to sleep surrounded by what and who, it loves best..
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I've been through this several times too, and I fully agree with you. Our vets in SA wouldn't make a house call to euthanase an animal and we had take them to the surgery when the time came, but I always stayed with them at the end, until it was over.
 
We are a not at the stage that the time is imminent. She seems too be moving a bit easier over the last couple of weeks and she is a happy dog.
When the time does come, she will be at home with us. We have a local vet that does home euthanasia.
 
We had to put our older cat down in January, she pretty much told us it was time. She had come back home really, she was out and about daily hunting and guarding her territory but in her last days she'd refused to go out and wanted company at all times. She got much more pettish and was sleeping a lot more. Her appetite also had gone and she was throwing up the little bits she did eat. She was diagnosed with cat leukemia 3years previous but defied the odds, if anything she got stronger and more active before she eventually began to get weak. Doesn't matter that she lasted longer than she should it was still very emotional having to put her to sleep. The vet put her in a box for us and we buried her in the garden, we have a little flower bed over her now and the kids love the idea.
 
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