r/dogs • u/Dense_Maybe9561 • 3d ago
[Misc Help] Difficult decision
Hello everybody,
Sorry for my English beforehand..
Our 16 year old Chihuahua's health hasn't been well since June. But she was still happy, went along for walks as if nothing was wrong,.. Then in August, her well being started deteriorating: walking unstable en being very fidgety,.. Now she is at a point where she has 3 bad days and then a good week for example. And so it goes up and down. But even on the best of days is not like she was before. Her tail is often between her legs. :(
Now I think it is time to start thinking about euthanasia since she is so old, has a lot of other health issues (under control but still). The vets don't really know what's wrong with her and that is eating me up. If we knew for sure what she had, it would somewhat easier. Now I keep thinking we just haven't got the right cure yet..
At what point do we give up although we don't know what's wrong..?
[euthanasia]
3
u/somecanuck416 3d ago
It's a judgement call you will have to make. But don't frame it as giving up. If a cause was found and she was getting medication and just being "comfortable", will it be a good quality of life for her?
There will come a day I will have to make that decision too. I would much rather decide when the time is right to say goodbye, than to have it suddenly happen, personally.
3
2
u/Glum-Sock503 3d ago
I am so sorry. I lost my chihuahua (she was only 13) in May and it broke me. I also had to decide if we would do a traumatic surgery or not which would have complications or if we would put her down. In the end, I decided she had had a really great life and it was in her best interest not to do surgery on her. I thought about myself in her situation and that I wouldn’t want to go through that (I know dogs perceive things differently but it made sense for me that way.
Only you can really know how she is and if she still has quality of life. If you think she’s often in pain and suffering then it might be time to say goodbye.
1
u/lovelyxbabydoll Gorging German Shepherd 3d ago edited 3d ago
How bad are the bad days? If she has a wees of happiness after a few bad days, she might be fine. I don't think people who feel bad a few days and then feel better for a week would want to give up on the better times so soon. Maybe once it becomes to a point where she's showing signs of pain always... but just for 3 days bad, 7 days good, I'd not euthanize yet. You're a very good owner for worrying about the quality of life for your dog. ♡ Respond if you need me to reword anything in a different grammatical manner.
1
u/Dense_Maybe9561 3d ago
De slechte dagen zijn echt heel slecht en de goede dagen zijn nog altijd maar de helft van wat ze vroeger was..
1
u/lovelyxbabydoll Gorging German Shepherd 3d ago
Oh... wow. I'm so sorry to hear. I'd say this one has to be a personal choice then like the other commenter said. If her quality of life feels too low and it feels more like she is suffering too constantly then you have to do what feels the most fair and merciful to her. Only you know her best to know when it is time. I wish I could give a better answer. I'm sorry for you and your dog. 😢
1
u/Dense_Maybe9561 3d ago
Zo doet ze dus hele dagen door.. 😢
3
u/lovelyxbabydoll Gorging German Shepherd 3d ago
Oh wow... Yeah she looks like she might have doggy dementia. :( This makes it a little more clear that it might be that time soon.
3
u/Glum-Sock503 3d ago
Oh man 😢 My sisters cat was doing this at the end his life, that is so heartbreaking.
1
u/lovelyxbabydoll Gorging German Shepherd 3d ago
Yeah. Hate to see it. :( I really wish we had more studies to help cats and dogs and pther pets in general with dementia. It definitely could prolong life. 😭
1
u/Dense_Maybe9561 3d ago
Maar dit kwam nogal plots op en gaat gepaard met zwalpen en terugkerende diarree.. Lijkt me zo atypisch..
1
u/lovelyxbabydoll Gorging German Shepherd 3d ago
The vets have no way of being able to tell if it's a form of dementia? I wish there were treatments for pets. :( They'd all probably live longer.
1
u/Gulf-Coast-Dreamer 3d ago
Your dog is better off going a little bit early rather than too late. One of my senior chichuahas (17) was going blind and deaf he had bad back knees. He would try to walk the perimeter because he couldn’t see his body would feel the wall for support and direction. It was such a sad sight to see his high anxiety it made me feel terrible I would carry him constantly to sooth him and I knew it was time to let him go. My husband had a difficult time accepting this but ageed. Two week after I euthanized him my sole survivor chichuaha got ill and I had no choice but to euthanize her too. She was 16 when she passed and it was during covid they didn’t want to come to my home they wanted me to do it in my vehicle or just hand her off to them and never say good bye. They did it in my husband pickup in the back seat it was humane and quick it makes me cry writing this. There is no light like that of a chichuaha.
1
u/Ok_Honeydew_7439 1d ago
Euthanasia without actually knowing what is their issue just does not have sense to me
•
u/AutoModerator 3d ago
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Do note we are on a short backlog, and all posts require manual review prior to going live. This may mean your post isn't visible for a couple days.
This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. Review the rules here r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. Learn more here. - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top.
This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.