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Hounds => Greyhound Discussions & Pictures => : Ali June 21, 2007, 12:29:44 AM
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Niko is 10. Poor old man... We adopted him when he was 5. He had a long and illustrious racing career before he came home to us. He had to learn stairs, sliding glass doors and kids, but he has done great. He is getting grey (no pun intended) around the muzzle, and his teeth are getting bad more often. (We do dentals every 6 months, but they get yucky more often now). About a month ago, he had a stroke that left him kind of dragging his left front and rear paws just a little. He trembles and shakes when he has to hold his weight up to go potty. I know it could be worse, but I didn't have dogs until I was a grown up and this is the first one I've had until old age. (One had to be put down, and one went with ex in a divorce). So, really, I just don't know how to deal with my aging puppy. Am I just going to come home and find him one day? It is so dorky to be all worried about it now, and I know I should just enjoy his company and put it out of my mind, but it's freaking me out. Any words of advice? (Besides "Don't be a dork".) :-\
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If you have a good relationship with your vet and confidence in him/her. I would work with your vet and take thier opinion into consideration on health issues. We have never had a dog just pass in thier sleep, we have always had to make the hard decision to put them at peace. I think that you will know in your heart when Niko is ready to go and they have a way of letting us know. One thing I always kept in mind was what quality of life are they having right now and are they suffering.
You know your dog best and can make the best decision for him. You are right enjoy each day you have with him.Give him a hug each day and just spend time with him. None of us really knows how much time we have left.
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Wonderful reply, Michelle. I can only agree that if the time comes to make the decision to end their suffering you know. We also have never had a dog peacefully pass at home. Quality of life and pain were always deciding factors for me.
Stella
i agree, it's wrong for a dog with so much spirit to have to end his days in misery, life should be good till the end if it's possible.
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First, you aren't being "dorky" at all, you are thinking ahead and planning for the care of your beloved boy. That's a very good thing in my book. ;) :)
I agree with Michelle, too. With our last pup that we had to PTS (due to terminal cancer), he told me that she'd tell me when it was time, and she did. :'( It was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do (if not the hardest), but it was the best possible thing that we could do for her under the circumstances. Grey will let you know when. The hardest thing though is being willing to hear what they tell us. That's really tough. :'( Enjoy as much time as you have with him and give him a gentle hug for me, please. :)
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Cherish every day. The others said it all. He will let you know when it is time. I just lost my 11 year old dane. She was pretty happy and seemed healthy to the end. Last Sunday she collapsed, and she gave me "the look" that i have heard others talk about.... The vet did tests, and she had tumors on her organs and couldn't even pick her head up...I knew it was time. Your boy sounds happy, enjoy him and give him a kiss for me. :) I love greyhounds!
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Cheyanne, our siberian husky, passed in her sleep outside under our bedroom window. She was always more comfortable sleeping outside in hot weather (this was last Sept.) Hubby woke up early and found her. We didn't want to have to make the decision to let her go, and I think she knew that, so she decided on her own. It's so hard to think about your days without them. Be there for your ol' guy, hug him gently, and know that he's had a wonderful life with you.
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I took Niko to the vet today - he's lost 5 pounds in a week because he stopped eating. We did a full blood panel and urine screen, and I should start to get some results tomorrow morning and the rest on Monday. They're testing everything possible from head to toe and they gave me antibiotics incase he has a gum infection that is making eating painful. If his bloodwork is all clear, I'll go ahead with his dental cleaning, but they didn't want to put him under with his recent unexplained drop in weight. I will keep you all posted on the labs.
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poor niko, please give him big hugz and a kiss from me.
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I'm sorry that Niko is feeling so crummy, poor guy. :( When we've dealt with ill and recuperating pets we've had good luck with Rebound. It's a chicken (I think) flavored liquid that's sort of like Pedialyte for kids and we were able to order it from our vet. It has electrolytes & fluids so it gave one of our girls a boost a few times that gave her a bit more appetite. Something else that worked well for her was the food rolls that Natural Balance makes. Even when she wouldn't eat anything else, she would eat those. They can be grated like cheese and mixed with other food or fed by themselves and dogs seem to really love them. I really feel for you, it's so hard to see them feel so badly that they're not eating. If they don't find anything else wrong, perhaps if he is having joint pain that is decreasing his appetite, maybe they can make him comfortable with pain meds and then his appetite may come back. Please give him a gentle hug and one for you, too. You're being a great doggy mom to Niko. Please keep us posted!
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We lost our greyhound a year and a half ago at age 14. I'm sorry to hear Niko's not doing well. It could very well be his teeth plus I know it's pretty easy for them to drop weight. You can try to give him chicken and rice (it was Mackey's favorite recovery food). The main thing to remember is to ensure quality of life even though the decision is a hard one to make.
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It's very hard to think clearly when our hearts are involved. I had to make a decision last January that broke my heart but I knew Noahs quality of life was really horrible. I would see my vet and ask him what he thinks. Is he in any pain? And it is so normal to worry about these things. I don't think we ever stop worrying about our pets from the moment we get them to the minute they leave us. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.
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Update on Niko - CBC is normal. He's not anemic, and his white and red blood cells are ok, so he appears to have no infections. I'll find out the rest on Monday, but, so far so good!
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that's great, i hope the rest of the news is just as good!
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Another Niko update - all his bloodwork came back normal except thyroid. So, it's all good news, really, He'll have to take an inexpensive thyroid pill every day for the rest of his life, and that will help him gain some weight back and get some spunk back. It's nothing that affects his quality of life, though, and all his major organs and systems are functioning just right! We are very relieved. The one wierd thing is that there was nothing in the blood work that offers any clues as to why he had a stroke a month or so ago. But, normal is normal, so I'm not going to argue! Thanks for your support! I have pix of him to post, but I still need to format them so they are small enough to fit on here.
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I am so glad everything is looking good. I can't wait to see some pictures of him. :)
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So, I just adopted an 11 year old girl. We've only had a few weeks together but I'm still worried, worried, worried! She's healthy as a horse and gets along as well as any young dog, but dang. I'm a total dork. I worry constantly! She's so beautiful and sweet and we're all absolutely smitten.
I know how you feel. Its just such a special love.
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Another Niko update - all his bloodwork came back normal except thyroid. So, it's all good news, really, He'll have to take an inexpensive thyroid pill every day for the rest of his life, and that will help him gain some weight back and get some spunk back. It's nothing that affects his quality of life, though, and all his major organs and systems are functioning just right! We are very relieved. The one wierd thing is that there was nothing in the blood work that offers any clues as to why he had a stroke a month or so ago. But, normal is normal, so I'm not going to argue! Thanks for your support! I have pix of him to post, but I still need to format them so they are small enough to fit on here.
I'm really happy for you and Niko that it's so treatable. Thanks for passing on your great news! ;D