Very difficult pet issue...where do you draw the line on putting a pet down?

[Margaret H]

We have a 13 yo Shih-tzu. She is basically blind, almost deaf, and senile. She used to only need to go out 2-3 times a day to "take care of business". Now she is asking to go out probably 10 or more times a day. Yet, at least once a day she will have a bm on the rug in the dining room (for the most part this is the only place she goes in the house)...on occasion she will urinate, too.

Then she will bark constantly at her food bowl...sometimes they are both full.....sometimes they are empty and you fill them up she will walk away without taking any of it....and sometimes she will "woof" it down and bark for more.

It seems like at any given time she is either barking to go out or barking about her food/water. And when she barks, she barks incessantly....loud, one right after the other, high-pitched barks. You have to let her out or do something with her food just to get her to stop.

She is driving us all crazy. She is bossing us around ALL day long. If we close her in a room....she'll bark all day. No kidding...she won't stop.

She is extremely irritable. She smells horrible, part of which is old age, the other part is she now bites because she doesn't want to be touched...which makes bathing difficult:glare:.

The flip side of this....she is otherwise healthy. In fact, she has more spring in her step over the last year or so than she had the last few years. She doesn't sleep during the day nearly as much as she used to, unfortunately :001_huh:.

I have had friends tell me to put her down. My thoughts on putting a pet down have always been if the pet was in pain and suffering. She is not...at all. My family and I are however!! I don't think I could get over the guilt of putting a pain-free, healthy animal down to relieve my pain and suffering.

Any thoughts?

[littlefamily]

I feel for you. We have been through this several times and the issue always is more complicated when you have children. We try to guide our decisions by how much the pet is suffering. Most recently, my 20 year old cat was pretty much in the same condition, but DH & I went through the options and decided to stick it out until suffering was the issue and not just "neediness". The cat passed away in about 6 months and I went through Nature's Miracle like it was water in those 6 months.

Now, that being said, we are blessed with a great vet who uses great judgement with cost and treatment for our senior pets.

Fast forward to about two weeks ago when a neighbor put down their dog - it was older, semi-needy, and having an accident about once or twice a week in the house, but otherwise getting along OK. My girls came home after hearing the news and my oldest who is pretty sensitive summed it up with this - "I hope no one decides I'm not worth the time and trouble when I get older. Especially when all I've given is unconditional love to my family."

Made both my husband and I decide we made the right decision to give the extra time and love to the cat.

[Bee]

I have been very lucky to find a vet that I have had to discuss end-of life issues for several pets with in the past 6 months.We have been able to discuss things like quality of life with her and she has been wonderful.Now I know what it's like to deal with her and then deal with someone else,I know to ask specifically for her when we schedule appointments.Many of my pets are or were elderly so these are decisions that we have had to deal with over the past few years.We actually have to drive a significant distance to get to her office but feel it is worth it to find a vet that is not of the mindset that our animals are our children.Yes,she does deal with people who do feel that way but she accepts our beliefs too.

[Plaid Dad]

For me the line comes at suffering. If the animal is not in pain, then I would continue to care for it. We have only had pets put to sleep when they were terminally ill, suffering, and there was nothing more that we or the vets could do. When our last cat went into liver failure, we were able to hold and talk to him while the vet administered the shot. He went purring his dear old heart out.

I'm very sorry you're facing this decision. It's a tremendously difficult one. Whatever you decide, I wish you peace about it.

[cin]

I agree with not unless they are suffering except for one part. You said she is starting to bite because she doens't want to be touched. First off (and this JUST occured to me) is she in pain? Is that why she doens't want to be touched? And secondly, biting can be a major problem. I didn't note how old your children are, but in our house, especially with a 3 yr old, the biting would decide it for us. In fact, we had to get rid of our 10 yr old golden mix (who looked like a miniature black lab...we got more inquiries into that non-existent breed) because she snapped at the baby THREE times. probably the saddest day of my life (and I've buried both of my parents). But my child's fingers, toes, or face, is just not worth it. (Fortunately, the no-kill shelter had space, but not without a horrible lecture from the ITCH running it that day).

Hugs,

[transientChris]

About eight years ago, we put down our beloved poodle mix at age seven. One day, he start chasing his tail around and snapping at imaginary flies. He was acting so strange that we tok him to the emergency vet. They admitted him overnight and finally diagnosed him with brain tumor. He had gone blind in the meantime. THey kept him there another day, gave him drugs for inflamation and then sent him home. He would regaind his sight and then lose it again. He was very agitated and compulsive. He started growling and snapping (something he had never done except when he had reason to like danger (growling, not snapping)) When he started in again on the fly biting, didn't seem to recognize us half the time, etc. we knew it was time. We had taken him to our own vet in that tume period to reconfirm the diagnosis. There was nothing we could do and he seemed to be suffering. Since he wasn't himself, I also didn't want anyone bit.

[Karen sn]

Cin - how could anyone judge you when you had to do it for the sake of your TODDLER?!
Not to mention - when a dog bites a kid they want to put it down anyway.
I really have a hard time with people like that - it makes me wonder what they themselves are hiding that they have to act so superior.

[Jenstet]

We put our lab down when he 9 years. He had hip problems that we were managing with pain meds but was snapping at the other dogs and us when we came near him. I just couldn't take the risk with the kids.
With the deafness, blindness and senility that makes for an unpredictable dog.

Your pet knows you love her. I look at it this way. You have the choice to put your pet down in a loving way. I think quality of life is an important factor. For you and your pet.

[BritAnnia]

A friend of mine has an older dog exhibiting similar symptoms though without the deafness and blindness factor.
She's been told there isn't much to be done long term but for now the dog takes 'doggie' prozac and it's helped considerably in calming the barking, etc.

My beloved cat died last weekend. I know just how tough a call this can be for the family.

[Soph the vet]

This is always the toughest part of my job, counseling owners on when is the right time for euthanasia. It always has to be the owner's decision, I only help them make an educated one. The big concern, as others have mentioned, is the biting, enough said about that. I do believe that your family's suffering is also an important part of the equation to consider. How do you want you and your children to remember your dog as the dementia you are describing will only progress. I would offer this, if you do decide to euthanize you are being merciful to your dog and your family, so don't beat yourself up about it. If you decide to care for your dog a little longer that is ok too and maybe your vet could prescribe a sedative to keep the barking to a minimum.