Question about older dogs

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by SoMDGirl42

Animal Control will probably meet me tonight to take possession of all my pets.

CPS will be called in tomorrow

I'll be banned from SOMD.com for being a bad pet owner and mother

I've already been unfriended on facebook and phone calls and texts go unanswered. I'm a horrible person. :butthurt:

Can I have a :butthurt: smilie? Seems to be directed toward me often these last few months.

[Misfit]

Originally Posted by SoMDGirl42

you flush them when you get bored with them, don't ya. You are the reason we have snakefish now. Shame on you.

Wow! I just looked up snakefish. Great! Now I'm scared of midgets & snakefish!


The snakefish: A concerning ecological threat (Updated with picture; Updated again: the snakefish may have been over-sensationalized) « The Frame Problem

[Hank]

Originally Posted by Misfit

Wow! I just looked up snakefish. Great! Now I'm scared of midgets & snakefish!


The snakefish: A concerning ecological threat (Updated with picture; Updated again: the snakefish may have been over-sensationalized) « The Frame Problem

mmmm..... snakefish bites at blue dog

[LuckyMe143]

Wow just WOW! All I can say is IcIt has never given me bad advice for my pups. I think using personal info to attack someone is childish. Only you know what's right for you and your dog. It sounds to me that you made your mind up on what you wanted to do before you made this thread. Losing a pup is very hard.

[MMM_donuts]

I, personally, have a very difficult time with taking my beloved dogs to the vet for a number of reasons but mostly because I haven't found a single one in this area that I trust.

I feel like I take them in only for them to be tested for everything and treated vaguely then to have prescriptions that aren't actually prescriptions or a special dog food pushed on me for twice (sometimes triple) the cost of it being purchased elsewhere only to walk out hundreds of dollar lighter feeling like a horrible pet parent asking myself wtf just happened.

Therefore I have found myself really questioning how much something is worth a trip to the vet even though my dogs are my children. This has become a very serious issue for my family.

I sympathize with others that are similarly conflicted with this. I know that the internet and some others will tell you to take the dog to the vet if you really love it but at what point is going to the vet not the best option?

[kwillia]

Originally Posted by MMM_donuts

I, personally, have a very difficult time with taking my beloved dogs to the vet for a number of reasons but mostly because I haven't found a single one in this area that I trust.

I feel like I take them in only for them to be tested for everything and treated vaguely then to have prescriptions that aren't actually prescriptions or a special dog food pushed on me for twice (sometimes triple) the cost of it being purchased elsewhere only to walk out hundreds of dollar lighter feeling like a horrible pet parent asking myself wtf just happened.

Therefore I have found myself really questioning how much something is worth a trip to the vet even though my dogs are my children. This has become a very serious issue for my family.

I sympathize with others that are similarly conflicted with this. I know that the internet and some others will tell you to take the dog to the vet if you really love it but at what point is going to the vet not the best option?

Yep. Though my dogs get regular grooming, yearly vet checks, monthly heatworm and tick preventative and seem to be quite content with living with us I have vowed to never adopt or rescue another dog because I have come to dread the yearly visits because I no longer chose to pay hundreds of dollars so the vet can properly clean my dogs teeth nor will I buy into the idea of running routine blood work just to look for stuff.

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by kwillia

Yep. Though my dogs get regular grooming, yearly vet checks, monthly heatworm and tick preventative and seem to be quite content with living with us I have vowed to never adopt or rescue another dog because I have come to dread the yearly visits because I no longer chose to pay hundreds of dollars so the vet can properly clean my dogs teeth nor will I buy into the idea of running routine blood work just to look for stuff.

I'd get another dog, but I have no problem saying, "That's ridiculous," and scoffing at the idea that I'm a bad dog Mom because I won't pay for the vet's kid's first year in college. But I do get tired of the pressure; it's like a Jamaican higgler village.

Then you get the animal nutters on here who are constantly gasping in horror. I raised two kids just fine; pretty sure I can manage a dog and some cats.

[abcxyz]

Originally Posted by Hank

mmmm..... snakefish bites at blue dog

Yum!! Those are AWESOME!!!

(Sad side note, Tom Oliver of Oliver Automotive, who leased the Blue Dog from Mike and turned it around and now sub-leases it to Gary, passed away yesterday.)

[acommondisaster]

We've got an aunt who can't bear to let go of an animal. She'll spend whatever it takes to keep them alive - even when they've lost control of their bowels or bladder, have to be carried up and down the two steps to go outside, even when they've gone deaf or blind and all their teeth are gone, even when they dont seem to know where they are anymore. She's put them through chemo and amputations and given them more meds than a human in their twilight years takes. It breaks my heart to see a happy active dog reduced to a shadow of their former self because she can't bear to let them go. Sometimes modern (veterinary) medicine keeps them alive much longer than they should be, and I agree that some vets will keep them alive because of the tests they can run and they know their owner can't bear to say stop. I think it's a travesty. I kind of liken it to people who don't want heroic measures to save them - animals are not people - they don't have the same thought process as people, they deserve to live their lives with dignity and need to have their lives end when a dog's life would end.

As far as this dog goes, I'd have a round of blood work done, if it's normal, talk to the vet about whether the dog would benefit from Aricept (sp?) or what else might be causing the behavior. It might be that the old dog is confused, suffering from dementia, or just likes the quiet and the temperature under the bed. It's good to know you've talked about the end with your daughter.

[SoMDGirl42]

Originally Posted by acommondisaster

It might be that the old dog is confused, suffering from dementia, or just likes the quiet and the temperature under the bed. It's good to know you've talked about the end with your daughter.

When he was at his last vet appointment, I was surprised to find out dogs get dementia. Yes, he was diagnosed with dementia over a year ago when he started going pee in the house. I'd take him out, he'd go and come back in and 20 minutes later walk across the floor and squat. I thought he might have a UTI, but he didn't. The vet said dogs get dementia like humans and he has just forgotten that he's supposed to go outside. He's also nearly deaf. I didn't even ask if they made hearing aids for dogs.