PTS knowing the time is coming

[Roxylola]

My darling little hound is 14.5 now and showing her age, she's slowed down considerably, lost weight - she's stable but very slim, she has kidney disease which has caused a few incontinence episodes when she's asleep. She is totally unaware of this and unbothered, I've waterproofed the areas where she sleeps and it's not ideal but that's where we are at.
She's excited for walks, dinner, snacks, still sings the song of her people at meal times, still counter surfs and tips the bin up multiple times a week and mugs people she meets for food!
However, she also seems to actually be deaf now as opposed to simply ignorant so off lead walks are risky, she's also slowed down a lot and seems weary at about 40 minutes into walks. She seems a bit weak behind these days as well.
Other than the kidneys she got a clean bill of health from the vets and has good mobility etc

I am very much a too soon is better than a moment too late person. However, previous pets have had clear illnesses from which they could not recover/live with so the decision has been a - clear, and b - urgent although not emergency
I don't want to see her struggle, I want to spend as much time as possible with her, but I don't want to condemn her to a slow decline.

A part of me wants to take a week off work have a wonderful few days with her and book her in to pts at the end of that time. And another part thinks she's enjoying life at a steady pace and she could still be happy in another year.

I think the world of her and while she's still being a cheeky madam I don't want to say goodbye but I dread waiting and missing the opportunity to have some time with her before the end.

Although tbf there is nothing stopping me just taking the time off without booking any appointments I suppose...

Without a terminal illness or pressing need how do you know?

 

[Lauraback]

Sounds like your lady is still enjoying life my old boy was totally deaf for around a year before it was his time, he was 15 when I said goodbye. the moment I made the decision was immediately when he left half of his food as he couldn’t stand up long enough to finish it before then he had been fine you will know when and enjoy all those special moments in the meantime x

 

[splashgirl45]

My collie lost her hearing and most of her sight but was still happy and going for a walk . She had always been very obedient so was hardly ever on lead but for safety I put a harness on her and used a flexible so she could still mosey along sniffing etc without feeling she was in the lead. The reason I did that was that one day when I called her she set off at a gallop in the wrong direction and got very distressed as she couldn’t find me, didn’t do me much good either but I managed to cut across the field and catch her… she carried on for another 10 months living happily . I am also better too soon than too late , it’s a fine line when they seem so happy

 

[MurphysMinder]

Sounds as if she still has a good quality of life . Maybe shorten the walks a bit, and use a flexi lead or long line so she can safely have her freedom, but if she were mine I wouldn't be looking at pts yet.

 

[Roxylola]

Thanks all, I think such a lot of her I don't want to be blind to her struggling and cling for my own sake. She's a monkey but such a dear sweet thing at the same time

 

[Roxylola]

She had always been very obedient so was hardly ever on lead ... she set off at a gallop in the wrong direction and got very distressed as she couldn’t find me, didn’t do me much good either but I managed to cut across the field and catch her...

She's never been very obedient and I think often follows her nose to me but usually turns up with a couple of minutes of me calling at a run. These days it's 15 minutes and she saunters which makes me think she's not aware she was being called.
She has often (and still does) looked my way, set off at a gallop in a different direction, mugged someone for a snack and then come back to me I'd mind less but she'll wave 2 fingers to me offering all sorts of goodies - liver cake, chicken, beef, banana cake... and nick some awful kibble from the nearest passerby. She made monkeys out of the trainers and me at dog club

 

[Moobli]

She definitely doesn’t sound like it’s her time yet from your description. Maybe cut down her exercise a wee bit, have an MOT done at the vet if that makes you feel more comfortable and keep her on a long line or flexi lead so she can’t wander off and continue to enjoy her

 

[Burnttoast]

Nothing helpful to add I'm afraid except that I know where you're coming from. For the first time we have cats now with QoL issues that will probably mean we're going to have to make a judgement call about them in the next year and I'm really preoccupied by it - it's just so hard to know what to do for the best when they generally seem to be enjoying life, but are clearly quite compromised in various ways. I know full well that they won't know it's coming and I could save them a lot of discomfort by making an early call but when I look at them having a little play, coming to snuggle in the mornings, all that stuff, it really clouds the issue.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Definitely cut down the exercise and break it up into shorter sessions. I would also definitely keep her on a lead. My old dog's hearing and sight is going and no way would I not want to be physically connected to him. Too many horror stories about old dogs wandering off and not always with a good outcome, I'd hate not to be able to help him if he got lost.

 

[Clodagh]

40 minutes walk before tiring is a really good effort, I agree with others but I’d halve that. And definitely a flexi lead. Good luck with her.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

It's quite common that some muscles gets a bit weaker as we get older. Sometimes we can do something about it, to maintain what we've got, other times we can make accomodations for it so that our lives can continue with a good quality of life for X time longer. I think it sounds as if you've succeeded very well with the later.

However, at her age, if you're able to, I think it sounds like a lovely idea to spend some extra days focused on her. No matter when her end comes, you'll have those special memories with her which you can cherish.

By the way, if you want to, you could perhaps add something like a bit of balance training, or similar, to try to maintain the back leg/behind muscles that she currently have. I used to do that with my late bitches when they got older, and I think it helped them a lot. I have a one of those round balance Abilica Softstep things, which you can use either with the soft side up, or the harder bottom side up

But you can also use something like a big sturdy pillow, or one of those little only 1 step Step stols etc.

 

[alibali]

Adobe Acrobat

acrobat.adobe.com

I hope the above link works. It should open to a chart where you can record scores against each of 6 quality of life indicators. It gives you a really good subjective idea of how your dog is doing. Because you score them daily over a longer period it means you pick up on gradual declines that might be missed otherwise and therefore be reassuring that you're not inadvertently leaving things too late. I hope this helps, your dog is lucky to have such a caring owner.

 

[Roxylola]

It does work @alibali and is hugely helpful and reassuring - she's a 2 everywhere except drinking and peeing, both more in the last 8 months but there's a medical reason for that, it's managed, she's not deteriorating and it's still a strong 1

 

[sam_m]

@Roxylola I'm sorry to hear your in the same position as me. @Alibear thank you for posting, I've asked my son if he would like to read it and help him understand how we will decide it is time

 

[Roxylola]

@sam_m it's tough isn't it, fortunately I only have my own feelings to worry about though. It's been on my mind a lot, and I didn't want to hijack your post. Alibali's PDF is an excellent resource

 

[Roxylola]

Incidentally, thanks to everyone who gently pointed out that if I'm walking a geriatric 10kg dog upwards of 4 miles at a time I probably shouldn't be surprised she's tired and that it is ok to just not do that anymore. As soon as people said it I realised how ambitious it was of me

 

[Birker2020]

It's a horrible time for you. Thinking of you x