When to let a dog go...

Joined
Dec 28, 2014
Messages
2,852
Some advice is needed, as I have never gone through this before. Long post.

I have a 13 year old boxer female, absolutely love her, and now she is having some age/health issues. In 2019 she was diagnosed with kidney disease, the extent at that time was probably in the minor category. Long story short, she has done fine with it up until two years ago where she started having multiple accidents in the house.

Fast forward to now - now she has a constant need for water...which flows right out of her 20-40 minutes later (although she can hold it longer if laying down). She can no longer go through the night without peeing. Meds have not helped. She is all skin and bones at this point. People that see her ask, is she ok? All you can see is ribs, hips, and her back. It’s part of her disease.

I feel bad because during the day we have to put her in the basement, or else she’ll destroy the entire house. We used to leave the garage door open, give her free reign of the house, and she’d pee in the garage.Then I’d clean it up when I got home. But she can’t do stairs very well anymore, so she stopped going into the garage...and just went all over the house. When I get home, she usually has peed 6-8 times in the basement.

She doesn’t appear to be in pain, and she still eats/drinks. Being 13 she’s pretty lethargic, but still has her good days. What would you do here? Am I being cruel for thinking it’s time. Or Is it cruel to keep this going? Or is there no right answer here? Never done this before.
 
From your post I truly think it is time. Physically it is getting really tough for your dog to do normal life things like going down the stairs. The dog must physically drink lots of water so she can feel good and hydrate himself. Mentally she is not the same and a dog does not want to pee on the floor, they know right from wrong. She is probably disgusted with herself for doing it but is physically unable to do what she wants to.

I believe it is time to plan to help her through her final stage. Call your vet or find one that will do it the way you think is appropriate. Many
will actually come to the house and let you hold your baby through the process. During the peak of covid we could only drop our cat Kodi off
and it was heartbreaking. This is a time to be with your friend because they were always there for you. Good luck, I feel for you.
 
Almost two years ago we went thru the exact thing with our Boxer. It was hard watching her deteriorate to that point, but we chose to make one of the toughest decision we have had to. bruckus post hits the nail on the head.,,
 
From your post I truly think it is time. Physically it is getting really tough for your dog to do normal life things like going down the stairs. The dog must physically drink lots of water so she can feel good and hydrate himself. Mentally she is not the same and a dog does not want to pee on the floor, they know right from wrong. She is probably disgusted with herself for doing it but is physically unable to do what she wants to.

I believe it is time to plan to help her through her final stage. Call your vet or find one that will do it the way you think is appropriate. Many
will actually come to the house and let you hold your baby through the process. During the peak of covid we could only drop our cat Kodi off
and it was heartbreaking. This is a time to be with your friend because they were always there for you. Good luck, I feel for you.
This is basically the way I feel, and it sucks.

However, my wife and daughter disagree. My daughter puts her in a diaper every night and takes care of her throughout the night (letting her out at 3am or whatever). She has been great, but I think it’s come to the point where we’re just waiting for something really bad to happen to the dog, and then let her go. And I’m having a hard time with that.

I’m also losing patience and feeling selfish because our own quality of life has also suffered. In the past two years I’ve had to replace flooring, a mattress, and spent countless times trying to recover/save other carpets and area rugs in the house.

Yet I myself, can’t seem to say, it’s time either.
 
It's tough, you feel like you are just giving up and throwing in the towel on a friend. But the dog knows and does not want to pee in the house, but can't help it. Skin and bones= not healthy at all, and can't tell you how they feel. A lot of boxers don't live to 13.

Don't wait till she is suffering. Give her the gift of not suffering. It's tough.
 
My 13 year old dog had Cushings Syndrome and he had some of the symptoms yours has. I finally couldn't take care of him anymore so it was his time. They all eventually go over the rainbow. It is tough for the dog and his owner.

dog.jpg
 
She can no longer go through the night without peeing.
According to an online dog year calculator, 13 is like 74 human years. Most humans don't go through the night without peeing either, at that age. And they make dog diapers, https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Soft-Fas...locphy=9007783&hvtargid=pla-400329145859&th=1

She doesn’t appear to be in pain, and she still eats/drinks. Being 13 she’s pretty lethargic, but still has her good days.
Just ask yourself, would a doctor put someone in hospice with those conditions? I don't think so. And again, 74 human years isn't that old. Jimmy Carter just hit 98.
 
We recently went through something similar with our Shepherd. She was in liver failure and peeing all over the place. She was miserable. After several days of suffering and a consult with our vet it was apparent that she could not be cured. We made the heartbreaking decision to put her to sleep. We stayed with her through the entire process. It ripped our hearts out but we knew that it was best for her. She now rests in peace. That is her in our avatar.
 
According to an online dog year calculator, 13 is like 74 human years. Most humans don't go through the night without peeing either, at that age. And they make dog diapers, https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Soft-Fas...locphy=9007783&hvtargid=pla-400329145859&th=1


Just ask yourself, would a doctor put someone in hospice with those conditions? I don't think so. And again, 74 human years isn't that old. Jimmy Carter just hit 98.
And this is the reason why we have not let her go. And this is what is holding her here with us still, but it’s getting worse. I have never personally seen a boxer make it to 13 years old, but I know they’re out there.

But is this a quality of life for her? Others on this thread are making some really good points. I really don’t know what to do...wait until something explodes inside of her on some Friday night and then rush her to the vet to end it? Believe me. That feels like what we are doing.
 
What ever you decide, you will question whether you made the right decision at the right time. When the dog stops eating, that's when I let them go. The most heart breaking decision one can make.
 
My wife and I just went through this 3 weeks ago with one of our two dogs. She was only 10 1/2 years old. She developed a nose cancer that we didn't notice until her left eye looked more open than her other eye. Turned out to be a tumor in her sinus cavity. She lived pretty well for two more months after that horrible discovery.

We ended up euthanizing her after she started having seizures. It is truly devastating. We just couldn't let her suffer..

It is very hard and it just sucks. I am sorry that you are in a similarmaggie24petwatch.jpg position. I think you will know when the time is right. Your wife and daughter may not be ready yet. I hope you all can come to an agreement without undue friction.
 
Back
Top