help with a sensitive issue :(

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MrVelvet

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My mums dog is now 17. He is a rescue mongrel.. He defo has GSD in him -not sure what else. He was got for me whilst I was at Primary school, we used to go to agility and obediance classes and silly fun shows. Obviously I have moved out now so he is my Mums dog now. He no longer wants much of a walk, he likes to potter down the village to his favourite smelling points and then he turns and trots home (and I mean trots quite happily), his hearing has definitely deteriorated and sometimes it like he has lost sense of direction (when he is sniffing he will simply set back off in whatever direction he is facing), he still gets up wagging his tail to meet people he knows, he takes quite a long time to get up and out for a wee in the morning and is sometimes worse than others - to look at his back end is slightly 'slumped' but he still manages the stairs and has a good hoon about in the fields. I am going to get him some dog cortaflex - does anyone have any other suggestions?
The change in him has been so gradual - when is it time to say enough is enough? This dog is literally a family member and it hurts that we don't even know when the 'right' time will be. I think when that time comes - we would like the vet to come to his home - I assume this is possible? I guess this is the start of the end? So I need experience of dealing with oldies? :) x
 
I have always had our vet to the house for our cats and dogs. They don't get stressed and neither do we. Unless it's an emergency then they will come no problem.Pop in and ask them about it and they will mark it on your record. Lying on their fave bit of the sofa or in front of the fire..can't get any better than that!
You could try green lipped mussells..ask your vet to tell you the doggie dose rather than the human dose as we bought ours from Holland and Barrett.
It's really endearing when they have all those "old person " symptoms and as long as they are not in pain then enjoy the time.
In the last few years we lost our 18 yr old terrier X whippet &16 yr old
lab.
You love your old lad, you will know when the time is right. Enjoy him. xxx
 
My rough Collie was with me from 8 weeks to 15years...lost him last year, he had to be pts as started having strokes. We had him catapulted back into puppyhood by using green lipped muscle, glucosamine & chondroitin supplements.. some applea cider vinegar either in his feed or in his water and linseed (micronised) there is a good while ahead even after he stops doing stairs and hooning around, enjoy him and make the most of him. Aldi occasionally do a memory foam mattress for £15 GSD size..a friend told me her dog looked a bit rickety at 14 and lived to 26...she suggested the supplements I suggested above. Keep him warm off the floor if you can (ie try get the memory foam a habit rather than cold hard floors..if you don't wait for aldi ebay will have some i'm sure...you will know when its time...or he will 'tell you' we all get stiff and creaky, but it doesn't necessarily mean pain as such so don't despair just yet. Hugs for you and him, grand old age!..xx
 
Very reassuring hearing about other oldies! Will def try these supplements out! :) thanks everyone - I feel lots more positive about him now! My mum let's him get away with so much now - he now sleeps in the spare room on 'his' bed and he jus waits at the door to be let in at bedtime like he's been doing it all his life! (He has always slept in the kitchen!)
 
One of the perks of being an oldie is getting spoilt :D Your lad sounds as if he has plenty of life left in him, certainly a supplement would help, and if he hasn't seen a vet recently would be worth getting him checked out for pain issues, a low dose of metacam or similar might make all the difference.
Most vets will come to your house to pts , its worth having a word with your vet now to tell him what you want. I hope you have your lad for a good while to come yet.

sahara did your friends dog get in the Guinness book of records, I am sure the oldest dog currently is only 24 !
 
MurphysMinder said:
One of the perks of being an oldie is getting spoilt :D Your lad sounds as if he has plenty of life left in him, certainly a supplement would help, and if he hasn't seen a vet recently would be worth getting him checked out for pain issues, a low dose of metacam or similar might make all the difference.
Most vets will come to your house to pts , its worth having a word with your vet now to tell him what you want. I hope you have your lad for a good while to come yet.

sahara did your friends dog get in the Guinness book of records, I am sure the oldest dog currently is only 24 !
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Haven't a clue.owner in his 60's,wife similar age since died. he did my gardening at last house. Dog was a bearded collie who he was given by the owner who was about to take it to be pts.Wife was cross,but when he went to take it back she got upset & they kept it. It was young but not a pup (full coat) and teen hooligan age madcap but lovely..he owned him for 24 years as clarified by his younger sister (now 50's)who was married the same month/year as Jack arrived in the family. I had questioned it and as they no longer speak(she is a very feisty,opinionated realist,very shrewd and breeds racehorses, v knowledgeable so no fluffy bunny, she had no reason to back him up. There is a springer I heard about who is currently over 24 too-that was being celebrated by the rescue/welfare group who re homed him...can't see any reason they would lie so publicly
 
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OP if you don’t get great results on cortaflex there are other options, one of mine goes very well on magnacare another responded better to yumove. The latter started showing arthritic changes in an elbow three months ago and is now more dizzy than my 9 month old pup.

Fantastic that yours is in such fine form at 17, he landed on his feet when you rescued him :)
 
I wasn't suggesting anyone was lying saharas, just wondered if they had put the dogs details forward. I suspect there are actually quite a few dogs of similar age about but it is actually very difficult to prove a dogs age, even with kc papers. Maybe now with the advent of tattoo and microchip it might be different but in a lot of cases in the past all you could really go on was vet records etc and they aren't infallible.
 
MurphysMinder said:
I wasn't suggesting anyone was lying saharas, just wondered if they had put the dogs details forward. I suspect there are actually quite a few dogs of similar age about but it is actually very difficult to prove a dogs age, even with kc papers. Maybe now with the advent of tattoo and microchip it might be different but in a lot of cases in the past all you could really go on was vet records etc and they aren't infallible.
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I know MM but someone sent a rather catty pm so just clarifying-very much doubt they did as he didn't want to tempt fate..every time i saw he he was in mad panic that 'that day' was the day...and Jack was always there the next day..still grinning and his wag getting more & more frail, but still had the mind of a pup.. I did nearly fall over the other day when I heard on news or a documentary about people living longer & longer & they said there is every possibility there is already a human in existance that might be nearing or have reached the 1000 yes three zeros mark-thats beyond my comprehension..animals of some species maybe but a human would be fossilised by now..or..they have a damn good face care routine!...Sorry OP to hijack your thread, very rudely, handing it back now. btw heat lamps are also great..lidl/aldi often do them too..I do't work for lidl or aldi btw!:-)
 
Don't give up yet but obviously be ready to admit that you have to let go when enough is enough for your canine friend. Don't be too worried about having to give supplements (in moderation), anything that can make doggie comfy is great for all of you.
Generally in veterinary terms they judge when to make the judgement based on quality of life. When doggie can still get up, go to the toilet, wag tail, go for walks and doggie is quite happy doing so then there is a lot of hope that doggie is fine and its jsut about managing the routine and keeping doggie comfortable like an elderly person really :)

The point to start looking at another decision is when doggie has no quality of life. Until that point don't give up and enjoy time with doggie :)
 
Can't speak for anyone else but I have never received a nasty pm on here, or sent one I should add. I have made some good friends through this section of HHO, if people in here have something to say they generally come out and say it rather than resort to pm in my experience .:p
 
joelb said:
Sorry to hijack further but does this happen often in AAD, I steer clear on the whole following a really upsetting one. Thought NL was meant to be the scariest but it’s a doddle in comparison.
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Sorry to hear that..they are usually quite tame..tho they do have a few with rabid tendancies over on the dark side there (NL)
MurphysMinder said:
Can't speak for anyone else but I have never received a nasty pm on here, or sent one I should add. I have made some good friends through this section of HHO, if people in here have something to say they generally come out and say it rather than resort to pm in my experience .:p
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MM its not the rational types that send cranky things!
I have a sneaking suspicion that the message I received was likely from someone who also lurks on aliens net..given that technically fri is as much the weekend as sat pm is(referring to couple of weekends back's saga!)

AAD is usually a lovely place in comparrison to SB & NL..tho that may also be because so many of us rescue & looking at both your sigs we have very closely related similar breeds which actually have quite a strong following on here..I don't think my scary message was probably sent by a faux human solely owned by cats! Most in AAD in comparison to NL/SB will simply do very much as their breed...wag/sniff/yelp/yap/snarl/ warning rumble or huge woof!...then there are others that simply scuttle off behind the nearest sofa!;-)

OP if you click on the link under JoelB's post you will find a lovely story on the rescue homepage about Sammy the GSD paralysed with a tumor..and how with virtually no use of his back end he has literally landed on his paws and been given a whole new lease of life.. I warn you there may be a ninja chopping raw onions lurking when you read it..so onion chopping tissues to hand but its a happy story and some lovely pics xx
 
Wow thanks everyone! Some fantastic avenues to try here! He sees the vet because he doesn't have many teeth! But I might get Mum to ask for a bit more of a poke about with him - he is a very proud boy and doesn't like to be touched (or even looked) at by strangers and will tuck himself behind our legs and look away! RE the heat lamp.. He has a hot water bottle in his bed on cold nights! And has a comfy more or less brand new single bed which he sleeps on! Covered with his own duvet. SaharaS thankyou for the PM I really appreciated it - hydrotherapy sounds really good but unfortunately he does NOT do water.... Not in the slightest! Will be trying the others though, sorry I could not reply to PM I am on my phone and too dense to work out how to change my settings enabling replies! Will look for the GSD story though, sounds very relevant! Will watch out for the ninjas ;) xx
 
Mr Velvet good luck with your dog, now you have more options it must give you hope.

As regards nasty pms I have never received one and Im sure Ive upset a few people:rolleyes: I have also never sent one,if I have anything to say I say it on here but maybe its because Im an adult.:D
 
Lots of suggestions already so I won't go over old ground. When my old dog was getting on I asked her vet when will I know. He said when the bad days outnumber the good days you will know. He was so right I really did know when the end had come! Meanwhile enjoy every day you have with him now :)
 
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