Is my dog in pain?

[NewHopePoultry]

He gets his legs massaged everyday.

When he falls he doesnt act like he is in pain, he just gets right back up and goes on.
But sometimes he will just keep falling over.

I have already spent an arm and a leg on him, and I would spend the other arm and leg if I could,but I have other pets to care for, and bills to pay. I dont want to keep paying this much,if its not going to help him. I dont want him to suffer.

My mom said I can leave him here with her, but I dont know if he can handle not seeing me everyday.

They said its not artheritis,but that was pretty much where they left it and just called it poor circulation.

Theres only 1 vet within 30 miles of me and thats where I took him. I dont think he could handle a trip any further then that.


I want to do whats best for him. I dont want him to suffer just becouse I'm not ready for him to go. I have to be fair to him.

 

[gritsar]

As I watch my beloved Charlie girl start to get down in her hips I know just what you are going through. Right now, she is still having more good days than bad. Does your dogs good days still outnumber his bad ones? Sometimes the greatest gift we can give our furry loved ones is the gift of freedom from their misery.

 

[TheMartianChick]

I have a 14 ear old shepherd who started having problems similar to the ones that you are describing. He also wasn't eating or drinking much. Our vet was of the opinion that we should put our dog to sleep. We were unwilling to do this since he really didn't seem to investigate as much as we would have liked.

Instead, we brought him home and began to cook scrambled eggs for him, occasionally mixing in a little canned dog food. We had an old doggie prescription for a steroid that was at least 10 years old. There were only 5 pills left. We gave him 1 pill each day and encouraged him to drink water by wetting his face. We saw an amazing improvement in him. He stopped peeing on himself and perked up. He regained the sparkle in his eyes and we switched him back to regular dog kibble after a week and a half. This happened back before Christmas. He has been fine ever since and is quite the active senior citizen!

I say all of this to say that you should try to explore EVERY possibility and see if there is something out there that can make your dog's quality of life better. Another trip to the vet may not be the best thing for him or your wallet, but it could be that something simple might help... Have you tried a hot water bottle to warm his back legs or perhaps warm baths? Since he is a small dog, frequent baths might be doable.

 

[d.k]

Hope these ideas help you & Nike!! JCILOA

 

[miss_thenorth]

IMO, i think you have already decided what to do. You don't need validation. Stand true to how you feel and what you believe. No one is going to judge you. And we offer our support for whatever your decision

 

[d.k]

Hope these ideas help you & Nike!! JCILOA Oh! P.s- Might try a *DAB* OF capsacium (cayenne) cream or oil with that massage

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Thanks everyone for the tips.
I am willing to try anything.

He seems to have more good days then bad.

There are times when I make my mind up to have him put down, and then he walks over with one of his toys and begs for me to throw it. I will and off he goes chasing it, like he has no care in the world. When I see that, then I change my mind and decide that he is not ready to be put down.

Over all he still seems happy and pain free.

When I'm holding him he will whine before he goes the bathroom, so I usually have enough time to put him down without getting any thing on me.

 

[Crazy4Chicks]

I know what you are going through all to well -- I have a 4 year old mix girl who was severely hurt by some dumb people when she was 1 1/2 - it left her without the use of her front leg and very poor bladder control - I would watch her try to walk on three legs and when she would fall I would rush to her side to see if she was alright - I would always start crying when I saw her trying to walk up stairs/ jump on the furniture - I would always ask DH if he thought I should put her down and I would wonder if she was in pain - but everytime I thought about letting her go she would bring me a toy or want to snuggle and I would tell myself I cant let her go -- I took her to another vet for a second opion and I followed what he told me - she gets a baby asprin in the colder months for her back hips that were also damaged by this people - and she sleeps in a room where if she has an " oops " it is easy to clean - other than that she is pain free for the most part and she has learned to get around great on three legs ( sometimes runs faster than the boxers ).
there are a few things the vet told me to look for - in putting her to sleep

1- the amount of good days/ bad days - if the bad out number the good
2- loss of intrest in daily life - dont want to play with fav toy, or other dogs, go outside to play - anything that normally would bring joy to her
3- loss of intrest in food or water or treats

so far my girl is hanging in there and I watch her to see if anything is bothering her. You need to really look at your dog and think about what life is like for him through his eyes and think if you could live like he is - if you think it is time to say good-bye than it might be time, just because he might have a good day every now and than might not be enough to face all the bad days.

good luck with what ever you choose - I know my day is coming when I will have to say good-bye to my girl so I know how hard it can be

Julie

 

[Sherry]

We had a boxer, Reba, 12+ years old. She had bad hips. Hard to get up and down. We took her to her vet on a Monday. We began discussing euthanasia. Reba had good days and bad days. The vet says sometimes the dog hangs in there for us humans, because we are not ready to let go. I said I didn't want to do it too soon. The vet says you don't want to wait too long either. I'll never forget those words.

I had a good cuddle with Reba, told her it was time we let her go. She'd been wonderful and had done her "job" and it was time for her to rest. We'd be sad and miss her terribly, but we'd be ok.

Two days later Reba walked into that vet's office with a spring in her step I hadn't seen in years. She was ready.

I walked out of the vet's office having witnessed one of the most beautiful events of my dogs' life.

We found later her liver was cancerous. Never a whimper of pain from her.

You don't want to do it too soon, but you don't want to wait too long.

You are in my prayers.

 

[MissPrissy]

I posted earlier on this thread but after reading your post, Sherry, I wanted to add to it. We, too, found out after, also, that our dogs problem was cancer of the spine. She never let on she had a problem until one day she couldn't walk. Her back legs just stopped working all together.