When To Call It Quits With a Pet?

tanner12oz · Nov 30, 2017

First time dog owner so I don't really know what I'm doing. Looking for some advice.
My dog of about 5-6 years 9-10 maybe in age has recently really took a turn on his behavior. Started fighting skin allergies about 1.5 years ago and its been heading in the wrong direction since. Never had issues with him but he started becoming destructive..ruining furniture and such..bit me this past month and is now refusing to go to the bathroom on his own outside. Had some accidents in the house earlier this month..trying to be patient, trying to give some extra effort (multiple walks a day etc etc) cuz he's getting older...even walking him multiple times a day, in the fucking cold, rain, dark etc etc he doesn't cooperate anymore and simply goes in the house. I'm tired out of energy frustrated and don't seem to be getting any results...sooo pet owners is this how it typically ends or am I jumping the gun? Obviously the vet will never tell ya its time cuz they make a fortune off you...

Mr_Mark · Nov 30, 2017

It is always hard to tell but when the dog is miserable, I think it is time. Just like humans, they can lose their mind with age. His change in behavior may suggest it is getting close to that time. Mine use to stand in the corner and just stare at the wall like it was on a 'time out' .....its sad to see them like that.

HarryCaray · Nov 30, 2017

Seems kinda soon.

Any major routine changes lately?

HarryCaray · Nov 30, 2017

https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/que...g-suddenly-going-to-the-bathroom-in-the-house

dav168 · Nov 30, 2017

Sorry to hear what you are going thru. Maybe these issues (sounds like something more than just allergies)are more than your local vet can assess. My cat had urinary issues years ago and after a couple unsuccessful visits to my local vet I ended up taking him to an animal hospital and they resolved the issue. I have not had serious issues with dogs but for something serious,like you seem to be dealing with,there may be better options than just the neighborhood vet.My previous dog lived to 16.5 and despite dealing with incontinence issues ,for his last year or so, he seemed relatively happy. Hope things work out for you and your dog.

dav168 · Nov 30, 2017

http://vetsforpets.org/about-animal-hospitals-clinics/different-types-of-veterinary-care-facilities/
MAY be worth searching for a "full service animal hospital" in your area if you have not tried one yet.

Betallsports · Dec 1, 2017

tanner12oz said:
First time dog owner so I don't really know what I'm doing. Looking for some advice.
My dog of about 5-6 years 9-10 maybe in age has recently really took a turn on his behavior. Started fighting skin allergies about 1.5 years ago and its been heading in the wrong direction since. Never had issues with him but he started becoming destructive..ruining furniture and such..bit me this past month and is now refusing to go to the bathroom on his own outside. Had some accidents in the house earlier this month..trying to be patient, trying to give some extra effort (multiple walks a day etc etc) cuz he's getting older...even walking him multiple times a day, in the fucking cold, rain, dark etc etc he doesn't cooperate anymore and simply goes in the house. I'm tired out of energy frustrated and don't seem to be getting any results...sooo pet owners is this how it typically ends or am I jumping the gun? Obviously the vet will never tell ya its time cuz they make a fortune off you...

9 or 10 years old isn't really old for most breeds

I'm guessing that it might be an Infection or even a injury of some kind...
it's been a while since I've had a dog but remember just like with any animal when they start acting different, there's a underlying cause.

as much as I hate Vets too, you need to bring him in and let them do blood work and take a urine sample. from that they should be able to tell you what's wrong.

if your current Vet sucks, change Vets. If you don't know where to go, ask at a Petco or PetSmart, they should be able to give you recommendations.

Good luck

NorthernStar · Dec 1, 2017

What bred of dog? Larger dogs tend to live shorter lives.

i have an old sheltie. She is super smart but has had all kinds of problems the last couple years. I don't think she will make it through the winter. She is like an old person....definitely seems to act like a crabby old woman. Some of her problems are that she can't hear well and then gets startled. Eye sight is also getting worse. Does some almost strange thing like a forget old person. She also doesn't want to go for walks everyday anymore. It is too much work for her. Sheltie so are high energy so you know she doesn't feel up to it when she wont go for a walk.

i had another old sheltie about 15 years ago and was having all kinds of accidents. I was fed up with it. I told my young kids that I was taking him to the vet and he may not come back. It was about this time of year. They started crying and telling me Santa had probably already made his presents. So I canceled the appointment. I thought I would put up with it through Christmas. About 4 days before Christmas he went outside on a cold day. He came back in and kept falling down. His back end was shutting down and he couldn't walk. I took him in and had him put to sleep. I felt better because then I didn't feel like I was playing god and having him put down because he was being more work. It was a good life lesson.

good luck

Willie99 · Dec 1, 2017

When my last dog was 14 and declining, I asked our Vet when is it time to put them down and she said "you'll know". She was right, at 14 years and 6 months he hit a wall and there was no doubt in any of our minds it was time to put him down.

If your dog is really only 9 or 10 years old, he may have some medical condition that's treatable, have you taken him to a vet? If not, I would suggest you start with that. If yes and there's no identifiable problem, he simply may be older than you think. It sounds as if you adopted him later in life and you're not sure of his age

What breed is he? Or mix? If that's unknown, a mutt from mutts, is he large or small? All of those things impact medical conditions and life expectancy

Good luck, never easy

exploited17 · Dec 1, 2017

Pets are for LIFE.......Unless the pet is suffering(in which case it should be put to sleep) you never give up on them. People who think you should.......well....you shouldn't have one. Sorry.....I know it is tough sometimes.....but if they aren't worth having to deal with the negatives...then they aren't for the positives. Generally if something is serious a vet will tell you the situation

HarryCaray · Dec 1, 2017

Northern Star said:
What bred of dog? Larger dogs tend to live shorter lives.

i have an old sheltie. She is super smart but has had all kinds of problems the last couple years. I don't think she will make it through the winter. She is like an old person....definitely seems to act like a crabby old woman. Some of her problems are that she can't hear well and then gets startled. Eye sight is also getting worse. Does some almost strange thing like a forget old person. She also doesn't want to go for walks everyday anymore. It is too much work for her. Sheltie so are high energy so you know she doesn't feel up to it when she wont go for a walk.

i had another old sheltie about 15 years ago and was having all kinds of accidents. I was fed up with it. I told my young kids that I was taking him to the vet and he may not come back. It was about this time of year. They started crying and telling me Santa had probably already made his presents. So I canceled the appointment. I thought I would put up with it through Christmas. About 4 days before Christmas he went outside on a cold day. He came back in and kept falling down. His back end was shutting down and he couldn't walk. I took him in and had him put to sleep. I felt better because then I didn't feel like I was playing god and having him put down because he was being more work. It was a good life lesson.

good luck

That's what happened with my last sheltie at age 14.

NorthernStar · Dec 1, 2017

HarryCaray said:
That's what happened with my last sheltie at age 14.

Harry my sheltie now got something called FCE. I had never heard of it before and there are certain breeds that are more prone to getting this. Basically a piece of the spine breaks off and it travels down the spinal cord. When it happens there is usually swelling and they become paralyzed from that point back on their body. The body adjusts to the fragment in the spine and the swelling goes down and they get some mobility back. I was lucky and found a vet that specialized in this. If she had not made it the first couple of days going to the bathroom we would have had to put her down. She was able to go and then I started a rehab with her. I had her walking on air matress and set up an obstacle course that she had to walk over bars.....as she got stronger I raised the bars. She improved enough that if you didnt know you might not be able to tell. Her one back leg kind of works like someone that had a stroke. On Thanksgiving she didnt get her normal 10 hour nap with all the people over and later in the day she was having a hard time standing (especially on the hardwood floors).

One other thing that happened to her that everyone here should be aware of. She had an ear infection and the vet prescribed drops for her ears. The drops made her go deaf. No one warned me of this. She got a very small amount of hearing back if I clap real loud. In hind site I noticed it when feeding her but didnt put 2 and 2 together. She would obey my hand signal but not my voice command. She barked and did everything else like normal but she was taking cues off of our younger sheltie. Hopefully this helps some other dog owner recognize this problem and they can stop the ear drops before their dog goes totally deaf.

NorthernStar · Dec 1, 2017

exploited17 said:
Pets are for LIFE.......Unless the pet is suffering(in which case it should be put to sleep) you never give up on them. People who think you should.......well....you shouldn't have one. Sorry.....I know it is tough sometimes.....but if they aren't worth having to deal with the negatives...then they aren't for the positives. Generally if something is serious a vet will tell you the situation

Good post....nailed it.

thekeyman · Dec 1, 2017

Its never a good time to decide when to put your dog down,i've had 4 dogs in my life,all German Shepherds and this breed tends to always be by your side.TWO years ago we lost our dog and he just turned 8 years old,which is young for a GSD,and it was from a tumor in his spleen and it just came about all of a sudden,no warning signs,so we vowed no more dogs,it hurts to much to deal with this, and this not getting another dog, went on for several months,well 2 years ago my wife called me and said i got us a dog,you have to go pick it up,..what this all means is,once you have what you like,you want to keep getting another,so we did and this GSD is from top of the line in blood lines and is the real deal....But even with him times are tough as they get all kind of issues that require going to the vet often,well a bit more than usual,but he is all worth it.

The one we had second back from the last one i mentioned lived for 12 years,and we could see things going wrong with him little by little,losing his vision at times,then getting some of it back,it was just crazy.The day he snapped at my wife was the sign that it was time to put him down,now its never a good time to put your dog down,as they are your right had man,part of the family,and they are more respected than most humans.They have small brains if you know it or not,and that works against them and us.They forget everything you taught them when they reach the six,six and a half month age,but as you go through the motions again they have it return to them,but if you don't teach them and work them again soon after that happens,then you will most likely have a dog that will rebel quicker than if you got him back to where he was before.I love dogs,i have trained quite a few besides my own and i tell the people when they finally get to work with them on their own,if you don't continue the training he has learned,then they will just act like they own you and try every which way to take advantage of you.

i'm sorry for rambling here,but there is no good time to put your dog down,they are family like i said,and they are better than most people,but please don't let them suffer,they did you good all their life for you and they just want to be in peace and meet that RAINBOW BRIDGE for eternity

lvsportpro · Dec 1, 2017

I would take him to the vet and get some blood work done and see if anything is going on.

thepropguy · Dec 1, 2017

my dog is 9 and pretty healthy. cant imagine having to put it down anytime soon

sorry to hear about your problem. good luck

Doug · Dec 2, 2017

It's kind of messed up that you can tell when Fido or Fluffy are at the point where the humane thing to do is euthanize them, but you can't do the same for Granny !

bigwang · Dec 3, 2017

Hope your dog finds a better home than the one you have provided. Are you too stupid and/or cheap to bring dog to vet? If so, have vet put you down instead.

In2Win · Dec 4, 2017

As others have said I would look into a good vet and get the dog checked.

Another thing you might want to consider or look into is your dogs diet. Some of those dog foods out there are complete garbage. We meal prep for our dogs and cook rice, potatoes, steak, kidney beans, tuna, eggs etc. Have access to beef cattle and butcher scraps.

We had terrible skin issues/allergies with our boxer/American bulldog mix. When we cooked up our own food issues cleared up and you could tell both our dogs coats and overall mood were better.

This isn't for every dog but if you do make a switch I would advise on a transition

When To Call It Quits With a Pet?

New member

Member

EV Whore

EV Whore

New member

New member

Member

New member

Conservatives, Patriots & Huskies return to glory

Member

EV Whore

New member

New member

Member

Member

New member

Rx God

Member

RX Hall of Famer

Forum statistics

Share this page