Old Dogs Chat

[PirateGirl]

This is not an old dog story but something that happened to my two month old puppy and it gave me a shock.
my puppy Russell went in to a naboring horse field and started barking at the horses.
The horses stampeded towards him and he just stood there and looked at them, then one of the horses came over and stood on him and he flopped down and lay there quivering I went over and picked him up and he was deadMy poor dog he was a lovely Jack Russell terrier his brother loved him.

I don't know if loss is harder when it is unexpected or when it's gradual. There are things in life we have no control over. We care for our dogs as best we can, but cannot prevent everything. I am sorry for your loss.

 

[PirateGirl]

When my dog gets old and I can tell it’s probably near the last year of its life I get another puppy. It helps me big time with the loss of my best friend and really keeps the old dog in good spirits as long as you don’t wait to long to get the puppy.

I definitely think that adopting a younger dog helped my old girl stay so healthy and young acting for so long!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I do understand that dogs mourn the losses same as we do the only Pup in 30 years that came back to me was one raised by their older dog he mourned the loss so bad was acting out howling tearing things up to find his friend.. We placed him with a couple that understood and made him happy and spoiled

 

[LilJoe]

"How do you know when it's time to say goodbye" make me tear up!
My 13 year old (average oldest golden retriever) has arthritis and, of course, we have a wood floor... Those two things dont go very well together.. She takes a pill wrapped in cheese (yum! XD ) when it gets bad, but otherwise she runs around the yard good. Struggles to get up, but thats mostly it..

The thing i feel scared/sad about is that shes been sleeping outside at night to keep predators away. Since shes 'up there' in age, i often think shes going to pass feeling neglected. (She has mild separation anxiety)

 

[pennyJo1960]

Are you giving her condroiten or glucosamine we have a 17 year german shepard it keeps her moving she will actually play with our pyrenees pup she raised every now and then the winters are the worst and I have those fears also

 

[Zinjifrah]

I recently lost a dog. One of the four that I had. Sometimes, I think it's worse when they die young, without having had the full length and joy of life that they should have... I got him about a year ago, wasn't looking for another dog, but his owner - who neglected him severely - moved out of the area in the middle of the night, and left his dog. I ended up with him.

I figure he was about a year old when I took him in. So he was about two when he died. I got him castrated, shots, house trained him, and he was an incredibly loving boy who desperately wanted to please - except that he couldn't seem to resist the temptation of the other side of the fence. Five feet high, and he could clear it with room to spare, despite having plenty of room to roam on the inside. We were working on that. He was never out for more than a few minutes.

However, that was long enough for him to get into some poison, apparently. The vet misdiagnosed it as an intestinal blockage, and gave us something to help flush his system out. The next day he completely lost control of his back end and bladder, and abruptly died. None of the other three have shown any problem at all.

I've had other pets who just got old, though. The way I determine when it's time to let them go is simple; when they have so little quality of life that if I were them, I would prefer a peaceful death, then regardless of my own emotional pain at providing them that death, it's my responsibility to do so. Too many people let their own refusal to let go blind them to the suffering of the creature they fight so hard to keep alive, no matter how ready the animal itself is to go. With Bass, I never got the chance to make that call.

 

[CannedMonster]

I love the Old Ones...

 

[PirateGirl]

Thank you everyone. Your stories all make me smile and tear up at the same time! The other day my old girl actually wanted to go on a walk again. So we did, at her pace. Our friend came with us and said that if I hadn't told her how poor off my old dog had been, she wouldn't have known. So we've been having some good days and might have some time left together still. The dogs have been obsessed with a prairie dog living in the wood pile. This has been good for morale and she's happy to go outside "hunting" for a few hours each day. As long as we still have more good days than bad, we still have time together. I think you all understand it is about quality of life, which includes health and spirit both. Cherish each day you have together.

People keep asking if/when I am going to the vet. We will go for our annual exam, but I am choosing not to have lots of tests. I don't need bloodwork to tell us how little time we have left together. It doesn't change anything about how we will spend our days. Like I said, we just have to enjoy each good day we have. From the day we moved into our house 2 years ago (used to live in a 3rd floor condo) we joked that it was our dog's retirement home. Nice yard, less steps, she can just hang out outside without a leash as long as she wants. It's great.

 

[LilJoe]

Are you giving her condroiten or glucosamine we have a 17 year german shepard it keeps her moving she will actually play with our pyrenees pup she raised every now and then the winters are the worst and I have those fears also

No... I cant find It.. :/

 

[PirateGirl]

No... I cant find It.. :/

I buy the human glucosamine/chondroiten/Msm (vet said it must have the msm to be effective due to the way it's metabolized) in the vitamin section of the grocery store. My dog is large so I just give the human dosage (vet said it's safe) and drop the pill in the food bowl with breakfast and it gets gobbled up. If you have a dog that will nibble around and leave the pill behind you will have to find a way to be sneaky with some cheese or something