My parents had a dog that had frequent seizures. Interestingly, it always knew when it was about to have a seizure, so my mother knew when to hold onto it. I’m not sure but I think they said it was liver cancer. They had the dog put down eventually because it was either a matter of seeing it in pain all the time or just speeding up the inevitable.
I sent you a PM.
Now for the hard part. At the end I couldn't bear the thought of my doggies being alone at the final end with a stranger. At least please let somebody they know be there with the vet. It's something you or they will never want to do again but will hurt forever if they missed.
From http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100519165924AADmuAb
“Hello. I work as a full time vet tech and I have seen several cases like yours.
First of all this could mean a middle ear infection. Animals will get out of balance and constantly turn to one side..often times in circles. Are the circles the dog is making all in the same direction?
Could also be the result of a stroke or dementia. This can cause them to lose equilibrium. You should definitely see a vet for this problem.
The other poster is right...it could be anxiety but spinning in circles randomly for 30 minutes most likely isn’t anxiety especially if you haven’t seen this problem before.
If you have any other info on what she is doing and what happened before this started I may be able to give you some more specific advice.”
Just from me: I noticed that when my dogs were getting ready to leave, they slept a lot more and liked to be alone. It was almost as if by becoming more aloof, they were preparing us. If a stroke is involved, organ failure might not be too far behind. If she’s having seizures and the meds don’t work, I might be inclined to keep her from having to go through more seizures, although I am also inclined to wait and see if she can still enjoy life enough. It’s hard to do, deciding when. You and your beloved pet are in my prayers.
10 years ago, Our little dog had similar, first blindness vet said don’t worry she’ll still get around pretty good.And she did and still seemed happy and playful and healthy.Then weakness in her back legs, first assumed to be arthritis, then a few months later a mild seizure and then a big one that ended similar to a stroke. She couldn’t walk and was yelping hysterically, she couldn’t feed herself. It was the weekend and there was no way to have her put to sleep.We thought she was dying and dug a grave. She was sleeping and would wake up and yelp. But by morning she stabilized and my father fed her some yogurt. The yogurt gave her strength and the next thing you know she was trying to walk. At first the back legs didn’t work, but with his guidance she started walking again, eating heartily, acting happy and playful and we decided if she was that determined we would postpone putting her to sleep. She lived happily and playfully another three months, then one morning she had a big seizure and passed away. She was seventeen
She seemed to enjoy her last days and lived with as much enthusiam as she did when she was healthy and young. I’m glad we allowed her to remain those last three months instead of putting her down.We were told seizures were common in very elderly dogs.
Put her down. she is suffering in ways that you can’t imagine, IMO. I know it is hard, they become very close to a person and it breaks your heart when they die.
I personally haven’t had to face that yet, but my dog is 15 1/2, and I know the day will come. My mom and I recently got into an argument because I said I didn’t have it in me to have my girl put to sleep if something happened. She would have to be in an immense amount of suffering because otherwise, there is no way I could put her in the car and drive her to her death. I only hope that God takes her for me.
If I were you, I’d wait and see. See if there is anything to keep her comfortable. If she’s suffering badly, then you have to make the decision.
Judith Anne, I know you and I have had our differences on the RF, but I nursed my dog, 14 years old also, while he had cancer, up to his death in October, 2007, so I have some notion of what you’re going through. I couldn’t put him down, he loved me so and I him. He was happy and comfortable, I made sure of that, and it wasn’t the cancer that ultimately caused his death.
There are things you can do to slow the growth of tumors that aren’t that expensive. The tumor probably isn’t a glioma, it’s coming on too slowly for that, imho. Anti-inflammatories will probably help. There are numerous possibilities. I used Metacam at a higher, “off label” dosage under the supervision of a sympathetic vet. Metacam is an NSAID, (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), and can work wonders for pain and inflammation.
Caution is in order, though. Some small percentage of dogs do not react well to Metacam, there is a risk and the first day it’s used needs to be set aside for observation of the dog. If anything untoward appears to be happening, especially blood in the urine or stool, treatment needs to be ceased immediately and get to the vet right away. You’ll need to be watchful for this for the duration of treatment. Do take the warnings on the label seriously, they’re dead serious, and under no circumstances should you use any other NSAID or aspirin in combination, it’s fatal. But, it did help my boy, helped keep him happy and comfortable.
An holistic vet familiar with herbal treatments and accupuncture (don’t laugh, it was very helpful for mobility with mine, and cheap, $25 per treatment) would be a good thing to seek out. Herbal anti-inflammatories can be used in conjunction with NSAIDs whereas no other NSAID or even aspirin can be used together. You’d be surprised what is beneficial, and you’d be surprised how advanced the Chinese have been with this for a very long time.
A gradual change in diet (with an older dog, very gradual) can be another godsend. I chose Innova Evo, canned. He loved it, his coat came in so shiny, his eyes bright. That was just my choice, there are many others out there, or you can even cook your own, but get the grain out of the diet, only leaving brown rice if grain needs to be included. The thought is that high protien is the way to go, with carbs “feeding” the growth.
Good luck with seeing your baby through on God’s time, I know the bittersweet ordeal myself. It just didn’t seem to be my decision to make, and I couldn’t violate the trust he had in me. He passed away at the only home he ever knew with his head in my lap.
I still miss him, always will. If you’d care to FReepmail me, I can share some links and such.
.....Is it time? Any suggestions? I'm willing to keep her with me until she goes, but I do not want to make her suffer...
This is just my experience. When my dog was 16 years old, outside he would walk in circles, they would get tighter and tighter. At times I'd interrupt him so he would change directions or I would walk inside his circle in such a way that would force him to walk in a better straighter line. There were times when in the house he'd go into the bathroom and get stuck beside the toilet and wall. I'm not sure why he'd do this but someone else with an older dog told me that her dog did this too, kinda walk into a corner and just stay there.
As to the stopping barking, maybe there's something wrong with her throat. I was always convinced that there was something wrong with my dog's throat. The vet ignored that no matter how many times I begged her to check it. Vet said that maybe he just didn't have the need, or want to bark. One night he got stuck on some boxes in a back room. A strange sound woke me up. I don't know how I could possibly have heard that sound considering the distance the was from me and the sound was not loud. Turns out that that sound was him barking. I gathered he had lost his vocal chords.
Maybe your dog is in a stage of life where she feels she no longer needs to bark. That she's on retirement and the other dog should take up the barking... like passing the baton.
As to the digging at pillows, I'd say let her do it. I'd consider that as her getting exercise. Older people develop strange habits, no reason a dog shouldn't also. Also, as older people go back to their childhood, she may be thinking she's back at being a puppy and is digging for voles in the garden. Just make sure she has no chance of hurting herself while she's doing it. I'm not sure how digging at pillows can be loud, maybe give her towels to dig at?
Indoor accidents happen. For my dog who weak as he was refused to wear a diaper, I made him a bathroom section in the living room. Thick plastic placed on the floor, covered that with cardboard and topped that with wee wee pads. I bought wee wee pads by the case and changed the ones that were soiled. When my dog was no longer to get up by himself, I'd help him up every four hours and lead him to this spot. I didn't want him to suffer from UTI.
Is it time? Only you will know. Your dog will let you know. You'll just know. I don't know how to explain this. It's a gut feeling. My dog passed away in my arms, at home.
Love your dog, talk to her, remind her of the fun times and other pets and people she knew. Watch her reactions, you'll be quite surprised. Ask her what she wants, explain things to her. I did this with my dog. I received most of the answers through my dreams or had "gut" feeling answers. I felt I got to know my dog best through the last six months of his life.
I had a brain tumor. I can tell you what it’s like.
Among other things, they cause headaches. One of which lasted for almost 3 months non-stop. Every second for almost 3 months. It hurt, and I suffered for a very long time, almost 2 years. (Long story.)
I had my old Mickey dog put down many years ago. She was a Border Collie mix that I had gotten as a small pup. She lived to be 14 1/2. She was my BEST FRIEND.
I drove her to the vet, myself, and held her while she was put to sleep. It was the one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure in my life. (I had my support group follow me there though.)
Mickey wasn’t on her death bed. Over the last 6 months of her life, her health declined. She went mostly blind. She needed help getting up and down the porch steps. She couldn’t hold her poop in (would just fall out where she slept). She would get “lost” right there in the house and bark for my help.
She wasn’t in severe pain or on her death bed.
**She had NO QUALITY OF LIFE anymore though.**
I loved my dog enough to spare her from her mere existence, hard as it was.
After going through my own health problems years later, I can only say that what I did for my old Mickey dog was true love. There’s a huge difference between living and existing.
p.s. I took Mickey to the GA mountains (where we used to live) for a fun-filled weekend, and I fed her moon pies and Big Macs, something she was never allowed to eat before. On the way to the vet I pulled over, shaking and choked up so bad I could barely breathe, and asked how I could drive my best friend to be killed. But I looked at my dog, my best friend, and I knew that waiting would not make her life better, only worse. It was hard, but it was the right thing to do.
p.p.s. My tumor was removed 9 years ago. I have only existed since then, not lived. It’s been no life, just misery. I look forward to my day of “release”.
I am so very sorry for your pain.
I will light a candle for you this morning.
I just lost my favorite Siamese cat Memorial Day Weekend.
He had a horrible cancerous tumor growing in his mouth, and when it broke open and started bleeding, I knew time was short.
When they stop eating, that seems to be the time...
I highly recommend Lugol’s iodine. you can buy it at jcrows on line.
Start by giving him a drop every day (in alittle broth or something like it) and increase to 2 drops/day. Iodine is a hugely important mineral that we are all very deficient. It promotes apoptosis which is the natural death of cells. The reason cancer flourishes is because the cells won’t die.
We ALL need iodine; way more than the US RDA.
My buddy Sammy died in January from a brain tumor. We learned of it first in November when he started having seizures. The days in between were tough with the weight loss, odd behavior at times, bath room breaks in the house. But I am so glad that he could come home for a while and be with us, and we could take a few more walks together.
When the time comes, you will know.
I loved that dog and it broke my heart when he was gone.
Our 14yr old Shepard mix was diagnosed with volvulus this past January, a potentially instantly deadly surgery in the thousands we decided to let him go on his own. Our vet talked to my DH for an hour to have us put him down. No way!
He couldn’t control his bathroom breaks, friends were telling us to put him down for just that!!Jerks... He lost a lot of weight but he still chased after the cat, barked at the mailman and UPS - guarded the house - went on short car trips - did his thing...
By the end of March, overnight, he couldn’t walk - it was time. We brought him to another vet within a day and put him down and brought him back to the yard. It was terrible, he was non responsive before he was gone. He was 14, that’s all we can all hope for a dog of that size....I always say I want to get a Parrot, they can live to 100 and you have to put them in your will...but I hate Birds...:)
You’ll both know when it’s time.
Growing up, I had a dog that was part Wheaton Terrier and part Retriever; he had the playfulness of a terrier and the sweetness of a retriever. He got a brain tumor, too. He started snapping at bugs that weren’t there, than having siezures, then started having difficulty walking. I was the last hold-out on euthanizing him in the family. My sense had been he didn’t want to leave us. One day we were having dinner outside on a 2nd-story deck, and he had been down below, and wanted to join us; he tried to climb the stairs which was far beyond his ability. That seemed like *emotional* suffering for him not to come up the stairs. (We all went and ate down there with him.) Finally, I agreed to have him euthanized.
We found a very sympathetic vet that agreed to come to our home to put him to sleep. We gathered around him, and he held his head in my lap. He gave a light yip with the injection, started thumping his tail on the ground again, then he stopped, lowered his head again as we all pet him, and fell to sleep.
I think that’s what we gained by putting him to sleep: he died while he was being loved by all of us.
Has anyone had a dog with a brain tumor?
Yup...we call him Obama.
(I am sorry, I couldn’t resist)
Woof
One can go to a specialty center where they can do an MRI/CT Scan and see if there is a possibility of brain surgery/chemotherapy or just keep your dog comfortable, give anti convulsant medications until the time that the animal appears to no longer have a decent quality of life.There is no set time line or protocol for knowing when the time comes. It seems one knows the time is upon you in one’s own heart. Good luck.