Elderly dog,what to do?

buddscreekman

New Member
We have an extremely old dog who has progressed to the point where grooming is near impossible. He can't hear or see very well,and is a known biter to everyone except my wife. She can do minimal things,like brushing,but beyond that,he will bite her as well. Our vet is not willing to prescribe Ace to him to allow us to groom him/clip nails,because she says it is a liability issue due to his age. I'm sure he is a risky one to sedate at his age,but I also think his quality of life comes before quantity. We want him to be given the meds,and are willing to accept the outcome if it isn't a good one. He is really in need of a shave down and nail trim,and we've asked three vets so far to no avail. Any suggestions? We don't want to put him to sleep. We've tried every groomer between here and Annapolis and he let them all know he will bite-so don't even bother giving groomer suggestions.
 
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somdfunguy

not impressed
If you are unable or unwilling to do it yourself then you really have no choice but to not groom him.

****I will keep my opinions to myself, I will keep my opinions to myself****
 

buddscreekman

New Member
If you are unable or unwilling to do it yourself then you really have no choice but to not groom him.

****I will keep my opinions to myself, I will keep my opinions to myself****

That's a dumba$$ answer. 1.Clearly we aren't unwilling.We want to do it ourselves. We can't get ahold of the meds to make it possible. and 2.Being bitten makes us unable.Duh. Any input of value?
 

Bay_Kat

Tropical
This thread makes me sad. What kind of dog? Can he go without grooming or is it something that he really needs?
 

buddscreekman

New Member
This thread makes me sad. What kind of dog? Can he go without grooming or is it something that he really needs?

He needs it. I could care less about his beauty. He's a longer haired dog,and being so old,he doesn't walk much so his nails don't naturally file down. We once had a dog who used ace and it worked like a charm,so I don't see why not with this one.
 
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Bay_Kat

Tropical
He needs it. I could care less about his beauty. He's a longer haired dog,and being so old,he doesn't walk much so his nails don't naturally file down.

I have a friend that lives in Calvert, her dog is a dachshund/chihuahua mix, he's over 16 years old. She takes him to Pet Smart in PF to have his nails clipped, they work wonders. Maybe they put a soft muzzle on them or something. You might try that.
 

mamatutu

mama to two
We have an extremely old dog who has progressed to the point where grooming is near impossible. He can't hear or see very well,and is a known biter to everyone except my wife. She can do minimal things,like brushing,but beyond that,he will bite her as well. Our vet is not willing to prescribe Ace to him to allow us to groom him/clip nails,because she says it is a liability issue due to his age. I'm sure he is a risky one to sedate at his age,but I also think his quality of life comes before quantity. We want him to be given the meds,and are willing to accept the outcome if it isn't a good one. He is really in need of a shave down and nail trim,and we've asked three vets so far to no avail. Any suggestions? We don't want to put him to sleep. We've tried every groomer between here and Annapolis and he let them all know he will bite-so don't even bother giving groomer suggestions.

We just went through this same scenario. Our Oreo was blind and deaf, but still had great appetite, let us know when she needed to go out, etc. We had taken her to only one vet and one kennel all her life, so they were willing to come out and clip nails, but then we started doing ourselves. If you don't have a long time vet or kennel that is willing to do that, I suggest a muzzle, so that you can groom your dog without fear; that's what we did. Oreo was short hair, so I don't know about shave down...maybe scissors just to clip? Don't worry, you are not hurting your dog by doing this; you are just trying to take care of him...he really won't be affected by the muzzle. I know how hard it is to make decisions about "quality of life". We had to put Oreo down 3 weeks ago, and our other dog, Cookie, 5 months ago. I know how you feel. :huggy:
 

buddscreekman

New Member
I have a friend that lives in Calvert, her dog is a dachshund/chihuahua mix, he's over 16 years old. She takes him to Pet Smart in PF to have his nails clipped, they work wonders. Maybe they put a soft muzzle on them or something. You might try that.

Don't know how much of my post you read,but I actually pointed out that we are not looking for groomer suggestions.And yes,with a biting dog a muzzle did cross our minds. That's a given,isn't it?

Our dog is much older than 16,and at his last vet check we were told that his gums went completely white during the attempt to muzzle him,and that the stress of grooming/muzzling was in itself enough to kill him. But yet they also feel being sedated is too risky as well. So we are at an impasse.
 

somdfunguy

not impressed
Don't know how much of my post you read,but I actually pointed out that we are not looking for groomer suggestions.And yes,with a biting dog a muzzle did cross our minds. That's a given,isn't it?

Our dog is much older than 16,and at his last vet check we were told that his gums went completely white during the attempt to muzzle him,and that the stress of grooming/muzzling was in itself enough to kill him. But yet they also feel being sedated is too risky as well. So we are at an impasse.

Wow you're not only an ###hole but a whole ass as well.
 

Bay_Kat

Tropical
Don't know how much of my post you read,but I actually pointed out that we are not looking for groomer suggestions.And yes,with a biting dog a muzzle did cross our minds. That's a given,isn't it?

Our dog is much older than 16,and at his last vet check we were told that his gums went completely white during the attempt to muzzle him,and that the stress of grooming/muzzling was in itself enough to kill him. But yet they also feel being sedated is too risky as well. So we are at an impasse.

Don't ask for suggestions, sounds like the last resort is just to put the dog down. If your dog is older than 16, chances are it doesn't have any teeth to bite with.
 

buddscreekman

New Member
Putting him down isn't going to happen. Doesn't need to. All the $hit people do and live long lives,and he should be killed for biting if his nails are trimmed? Surely there has to be a vet somewhere who understands that so long as we as the owners are willing to take the risk,that he should be given the chance to see if the sedative will work. The worst that can happen is the ace kills him. Ok-isn't that what euthanizing is?
 

Bay_Kat

Tropical
Putting him down isn't going to happen. Doesn't need to. All the $hit people do and live long lives,and he should be killed for biting if his nails are trimmed? Surely there has to be a vet somewhere who understands that so long as we as the owners are willing to take the risk,that he should be given the chance to see if the sedative will work. The worst that can happen is the ace kills him. Ok-isn't that what euthanizing is?

Wow, just wow! I seriously doubt there is a vet out there that will take that risk.
 

buddscreekman

New Member
I saw helpful suggestions, you turned nasty. Wow, were you on the list for biggest jerk?

I pointedly said "no groomer suggestions". You then said "hey,try this groomer". Your sympathy isn't the goal here,help is. And your comment wasn't productive. So thanks for feeling bad for him,and for suggesting we kill him since I'm a butthole. All better?
 

buddscreekman

New Member
Wow, just wow! I seriously doubt there is a vet out there that will take that risk.

The vet isn't taking a risk. It's called informed consent. We as people sign them all the time. I signed one saying they might kill my kid at the dentist for her sedation. Yet I can't do that for my dog?

And to be straight on this - you think the suggestion of trying a risky drug to save a life,at risk of killing the animal is "wow..just wow" but killing it outright with zero chance is better?
 
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Bay_Kat

Tropical
I pointedly said "no groomer suggestions". You then said "hey,try this groomer". Your sympathy isn't the goal here,help is. And your comment wasn't productive. So thanks for feeling bad for him,and for suggesting we kill him since I'm a butthole. All better?

All I did was suggest someone that was really good with elderly dogs. Sorry I tried to help. Do you have a problem with someone that may be able to work with your dog and get the job done to make him more comfortable without risking his life with an anesthesia?
 

buddscreekman

New Member
All I did was suggest someone that was really good with elderly dogs. Sorry I tried to help. Do you have a problem with someone that may be able to work with your dog and get the job done to make him more comfortable without risking his life with an anesthesia?

The problem was that you were given a snippet of info. I know the whole story. Rather than tell it all to you,I simply said no groomer suggestions,because as I've already told you a couple of times,that is not an option for us. I can see how you might have figured no groomer outside Petco and no vet would think to use a muzzle on a biting dog,but in fact that is usually the first step,not the last one.
 

ladyhawk

Active Member
That's a dumba$$ answer. 1.Clearly we aren't unwilling.We want to do it ourselves. We can't get ahold of the meds to make it possible. and 2.Being bitten makes us unable.Duh. Any input of value?

Have you thought about a muzzle..? It won't hurt the dog and he/she may growl and complain, but they won't be able to bite you while you groom....

June
 
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