What does your old dog do??

[Turkish Delight]

I have a 13 yo maltese x shihtzu dog which i've had since it was a puppy. I can't get over the fact that she is now 13yo and may not have many more years left in her. She is truly one of the family and my very first dog, so she is very special to me.

All she does now is sleep most of the day and is not very interested in playing with our other dog who is also a 10yo maltese x shihtzu. Our older dog has arthritis in her back leg so i can understand why she is very sedentary.

She loves barking at other dogs and people who go by our house, but otherwise is very quiet and likes to take it easy. She loves her bones and treats which i give her regularly.

Is this normal for an older dog to do? What does your older dog do all day??

[Tinks]

That sounds pretty normal. Our ****er Spaniel was 15 when she died last year . She got quite grumpy towards the end and preferred to sleep rather than play with the other dogs. At times though, she'd be full of energy and bound around like a puppy. These bursts lasted 15 mins or so at a time but they were so cute, it reminded me of her as a young dog.

She also had arthritis and needed injections to make her more comfortable. When she had them she was much more active. She was also blind and developed Dementia. She used to stand at the fridge knowing there was something in front of her barking. She'd also wander, we often found her in the corner of the walk in robe 'lost'. Sadly she fell down the back step and broke her hip. We had to have her put down the day before her 15th birthday.

[Turkish Delight]

Oh Tinks. 15? OMG. I don't want to see that day. We were discussing where we would bury her just the other night. I had tears in my eyes. My dad (who never cries) said that he would cry when we lost her.

I took her to the vet just a few months ago as she had polyp like growths on her head and shoulders and the vet said it was due to old age. The vet also did a general check over and said that she had a good heart, had slight cataract in both her eyes and a little arthritis in her back legs. She can't jump onto couches anymore, poor bubba. She is VERY stubborn. She can't go for long walks anymore as she pants like she's about to suffer a heart attack.

Thanks for your reply Tinks.

xxoo

[CharlieBrownGirl]

TD,
I'm looking at my 6 yo doggie at the moment and she is sleeping as I type - its a hot day today, way too hot to be outside.

Our old girl is no longer with us, after 16 wonderful years.
At the end she would sleep a fair bit during the day and I would find myself checking on her to make sure she was still breathing. There would be days where her energy levels would go into over drive and run around like a puppy (I loved those days).

Being the dominant doggie that she was when I would take the girls for a walk, the old girl would keep her 'pack' position and wouldn't let the other girl in front.

I knew it was time to say good bye to our old girl when she wouldn't eat and hardly had anything to drink. The vets suspect that her liver/kidneys were failing in the end, she went down hill pretty fast (in the space of 3 weeks).

Hope you have many more years with your doggies. There isn't a day when I don't think of my old girl, its coming up to 4 years in Feb that we said good bye to her

[Kazbah]

I said goodbye to my Rexie when he was almost 16 too - he had cancer and one day, it was his time. You just "know" when they aren't happy, don't want to be here anymore. And somehow, although it's sad, it's peaceful for them.

When he was old he'd sleep a lot, get grumpy at the pup, and not leave my side.
When it was time, he had a bit of a play but that only lasted 5 mins.

If she's having trouble jumping up, why not do what we did, and make "steps" for her to climb onto the couch?

Good luck, and enjoy her love

[AnyDream]

I knew it was time to say good bye to our old girl when she wouldn't eat and hardly had anything to drink. The vets suspect that her liver/kidneys were failing in the end, she went down hill pretty fast (in the space of 3 weeks).

Yep, exactly the same with our gorgeous old girl, she was 14...nearly made it to 15. I was making a quilt one night, had it all spread out on the floor, and she walked over, layed down on the quilt and kinda sighed. I knew at that moment she was letting go and we lost her a week later.

It's quite normal for them to slow down...our girl still enjoyed fossicking around in the garden but other than that, didn't put a lot of effort into guarding or barking or running around for a few years before that. Older dogs can live comfortably for quite a long time at an elderly pace. I regret not taking Beags to the Vet more frequently in that last couple of years, in hindsight I think we could've put more effort into her diet and I think that would've made a difference in the end with her kidneys & liver. Even though it's painful to think about now, doing some planning around the end of your pets lives can pay off when the horrible day finally comes. Not that it need be soon...a friend's poodle kicked on for 20 years!

[Astrolady]

our 12 year old border collie x kelpie pretty much does the same. She will be 13 in August. She is starting to get cloudy in the eyes as well, so any little noise she hears at the front she will bark at. She still has her days though where she will charge around like she is a puppy again, but yeah the moment doesn't last to long.

She is to big for us to bury, so she will have to go to the vet if she passes at home. She currently has a large lump in her stomach. We took her to the vet, and they suspected it is just a large fatty thing. It has been 6mths since it was noticed and has not grown in size so they are not overly concerned about it.

[Turkish Delight]

I find that i'm checking on her a lot more too. To see if she is breathing. I'm giving her a lot more cuddles and kisses, just so that she knows that she is loved. Our younger dog is the dominant dog and she is always by my side and hence she is the one who gets most of the attention. I'm going up to my older dog now and giving her a pat and a cuddle,since she isn't making the effort.

For those doggies which have passed on, did you bury her/him in your backyard? Does it have a memorial stone or plant as such? Did you have to bury it deep?
I don't know, i'm sensing that she hasn't got much to live. Mummy intuition may be??

i'm going to cry. i can feel tears welling up.

[Astrolady]

Some of these posts have already made me cry TD. I know what you mean about the intuition. I also sometimes think that Kayla won't be here for much longer. She is sitting here at the moment staring at me, as if to say c'mon lets go. So must go follow old wise one LOL

[CharlieBrownGirl]

For those doggies which have passed on, did you bury her/him in your backyard? Does it have a memorial stone or plant as such? Did you have to bury it deep?
I don't know, i'm sensing that she hasn't got much to live. Mummy intuition may be??

i'm going to cry. i can feel tears welling up.

TD,
We have our old girl ashes with us. The vets organised it for us. I think it was about $300 all up. She is always with us.

I hope you get to spend many more special moments with your 'baby'.

[AnyDream]

We buried our old girl in the backyard of the house we lived in then. DH dug a very very deep hole, we wrapped her in her fave blanket, then filled the hole. Later we planted an apple tree on the spot (because we'd had an apple tree earlier but never ate any apples because she always got to them first LOL). I plan to have an apple tree in any future gardens...to remember her and any other pets we lose.

[Kazbah]

I have Rexie's ashes in a lovely box, his favourite collar around it and a photo of him as a gorgeous pup. It's one of the first things I pack in our evacuation box ....

The vet organised everything for us too.

[Tinks]

I've teared up reading these posts too.

We buried all our dogs in their favourite part of the garden. Our first dog is buried under the clothesline because she always pulled clothes off it. The 2nd dog is buried in the fernery (sp?) that he loved to play in and the ****er Spaniel is buried in the garden under the bedroom window. They're all buried at different houses.

You do have to bury them deep, (tmi warning here - highlight to read - don't read if you're squeemish) my sisters cat who is buried with the ****er Spaniel was dug up by an animal and we found him strewn across the yard. It's such a hard job to do. I didn't know you could have your pet cremated. That would be lovely, I wish I'd known.

[Floweryfields]

My parents Jack Russel is about 13 years old too. She pretty much does the same, she follows my mum around the house to whatever she is doing and goes to sleep wherever she is. She is quite deaf and also quite blind now so sometimes loses mum! My maltese shihtzu cross is 3 and when I first got her, they used to play a fair bit. The still play a little bit each time they see each other, but no where near whatthey did when she was 3 years younger.
I think it is a case of making their old age as comfortable as possible and praying that they pass away quietly when the time comes.



Edit: I am now cuddling my baby at the thought that I will have to face this one day - hopefully much in the future - it's sad isn't it.

[CharlieBrownGirl]

Kazbah,
That's how our set up is on the entertainment unit. The ashes, her collar, a photo and the lovely card and rose we got from the vets.

I've also kept some of her fur in a plastic bag for especially when I was studying. She was always beside me in the wee hours when I was writing essays.

I've picked a star in the sky (the brightest) and talk to her at night.

This is the note we got from Pets at Peace (the place we got her cremated at)

Through life's journey we took a ride,
The times you spent by my side,
You were always were there as my best friend,
But we knew one day, there would be an end,
Heavens doors are open, just walk through the gates,
In this Animal Kingdom sunshine awaits,
To a place you can run free, never grow old,
A world full of freedom, rivers of gold,
Towards the rainbow, you can play and run,
Or in the green fields, you relax in the sun,
Under the trees, just rest in the shade,
As this is the place, where dreams are made,
No pain or suffering exists in this place,
Only fields of endless happiness, butterflies you chase,
Beyond the hills, you lead your friends,
As my broken heart tries to mend,
When I light a candle, and whisper your name,
This shall become forever, an endless flame,
When you look down from pet heaven, see tears on my cheek,
Make me strong, day by day, week by week,
When I look amongst the stars for you,
I can see you shining in heaven, it's true,
Just wait for me, I'll see you one day,
But now my friend, just relax or play....

Author: Christian Mitchell

[Trillian]

We were just talking about this the other day. DH has a brown kelpie sheepdog who would be about 16-17yo and she has come really close to not making it a few times, but MIL gives her a dose of rawleighs tonic and it picks her up again. She doesn't live with us as she never got along with the Kelpie I have, who is a black kelpie sheepdog and they are bigger and tend to be more dominant personalities, so she stayed at the IL's. She hasn't 'worked' in the sheepyeards for about 2-3 years now because she just couldn't jump the fences and lost her speed so she wasn't able to move the sheep like she used to. She just sits around under the tree in the backyard or in her bed in the laundry now and to watch her move around really is like watching an old person walk, really crotchety and unsteady and you half expect her to just fall over because her balance is starting to go too. I honestly don't know what DH would do if the time came where it just got too much and she would have to be put down. He loves her dearly. My dog on the other hand is 11yo and she is slowly starting to show her age. She is greying around the muzzle and gets knocked up pretty quickly if she is working all day with the sheep but she still has a lot of life in her yet.

[Turkish Delight]

Oh CBG - thanks for the cry...not. That is such a beautiful poem. I will go and hug my old baby right now. She was looking at mum before wanting to go for a walk, but its just too hot at the moment. So she's lying down at mum's feet.

With the burial, that is what i am regretting, that in the end if we move and she is left behind, so i might get her cremated. i was thinking of burying her with a bag of schmackos, her fave.

She has just wandered into the study, my wooly little sheep. Just hoping that we all get extra years with our little furry babes.

[Megan]

We have two old dogs - 14 and 15 years old. My old girl (15) has only partial hearing and her eyes are looking a bit cloudy. She can still see me from right down the other end of the yard though so I'm not too concerned at the moment. She is the most beautiful dog and I dread the day she goes. She does sleep alot, but she seems happy. Eats well, is able to get around quite well and still loves to play catch -although I limit it because I keep thinking she'll have a heart attack! I thought we were going to lose her 3 years ago when she became quite ill. The vet said things weren't looking good, but she came through it and has been fine ever since. I remember at the time just wishing and hoping for more time with her, even a few months.
Our other dog (male, 14) still thinks he's a puppy and runs around like a lunatic! I keep thinking he has to slow down sooner or later.

We will have both dogs cremated, because I don't ever want to leave the behind if we move. We've had them since we were 18/19 when DH and I first moved in together.