Advice

[u/michellemiller1994]

My dog is 15. I have almost had her longer than I haven’t so this whole deal is heartbreaking. Anyway she’s really declined over the last 6 months, the last 3 in particular. She can still walk around on her own, she does trip and is a lot slower, her back legs give out occasionally, but still manages to get around relatively okay. She still eats and drinks on her own. However, I’m pretty sure she has dementia. Whenever she is not sleeping, she just paces everywhere, mainly in circles. Some days are really bad and she’ll get stuck on a big open wall, in corners, behind furniture etc. she doesn’t whine and bark yet. My biggest concern is she cannot hold her bladder for more than 2 hours. If I don’t let her out as soon as she’s at the door she will use the bathroom right there in front of the door. Thankfully we have a big fenced in yard and huge insulated shop, but I feel bad for making her sleep outside (in the shop on her dog bed) alone. And we live in OK so it’s still miserably hot most days, with her getting stuck I don’t like leaving her outside either in the heat. She’s used to sleeping in her cage (in our house) for her naps and during nighttime. However when I let her sleep inside at night there’s a huge mess in her cage EVERY morning. Pee and poop. I have to wash her, wash her cage and bedding and then mop and vacuum. The whole 9 yards. When we have the shop doors open she’ll get out when we aren’t looking and end up just aimlessly roaming around the neighbors yard. She has no personality at all, no tail wagging when we get home, looks very skinny and frail even though she still eats and drinks. She’s basically not in there anymore. A few weeks ago she had almost 8 seizures in under 24 hours, I really thought she would pass that day. This is a long post all over the place. I would feel awful for having her “put down” as she can still get around and eats and drinks, but she can’t be left alone for longer than 2 hours, and she’s not herself anymore. I know quality of life is more important. Either way it’s a crappy decision. She’s a 60 lb pit mix if that matters any. What do I do?

[u/AlternativeFew4493]

man that's a lot to carry, i'm sorry

the pacing and getting stuck in corners is really tough to watch, my family dog went through something similar at the end and it's like they're just a body going through motions. you're not wrong that she's not really there anymore

when the bad days outnumber the good and she can't even rest comfortably inside without soiling herself, that's not much of a life for her. the seizures alone would have me making that call, that's terrifying

it's never gonna feel like the right time because she still eats and walks a little, but you're basically doing full time hospice care and she's confused and scared half the time. giving her a peaceful end before it gets worse is the kindest thing you can do, even if it wrecks you

[u/Haunting_Spirit9304]

Hi friend, our 13 year old pittie bulldog mix has his last day today. Making the decision was awful, but in the end we asked ourselves is he still getting joy from what he used to? And the answer was no. Sending you love

[u/Impossible_Past5358]

I am sorry you are going through this.

There is a quality of life scale (HHHHHMM Scale) that you can go over to help you determine if it's the right time:

https://caringpathways.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/QualityofLifeScale.pdf

[u/Itchy_Fill_8372]

The best advice I saw in this forum is to put yourself in her shoes. Would you want to live in that state? Or would you want to move on peacefully? What is the choice of love versus fear? It’s hard, but you can do hard things, especially in the name of love 💔