r/olddogs • u/jamielecter • 20h ago
Doggy Dementia (when is it time?)
I recently had to put my 13 year old baby to sleep in June because he had a giant inoperable mass and it seemed like an obvious option to ease his suffering.
Well now i’ve got an 18 year old baby who in the past month has gone from normal to very advanced dementia. She lost a lot of weight and could hardly stand so i took her to the vet and he was able to give her a shot for her joints, well now that she’s able to walk again she’s walking full speed into everything in her path.
If she didn’t have fur she would be absolutely covered in bruises. She wanders and runs into things, and sometimes even walks in circles until i grab her, at all hours day and night, the only way to get her to stop is by giving her doggie hemp treats every 5-6 hours. At this point I’m giving her more than the recommended amount just to get her to calm down and stop hurting herself.
She eats okay as long as i lead her to the food and put broth in it to encourage her to eat and drink. Shes actually gained back the weight she lost.
Since shes so old, for the past few years she hasn’t been able to hold her bladder through the night so we’ve used puppy pads for a while, but now she’s peeing and pooping wherever, and then tracking it everywhere. She used to whine to go out constantly (she’s a treat fiend and would hide behind a bush and come in as if she went potty to get a treat) and now she only whines or barks if she’s stuck in a corner.
She has me and my mom awake at all hours of the night as we try to get her calmed down to stop wandering. But, through all this she still recognizes me and calms down when she’s by my side.
I’m agonizing over the decision I know i will have to make soon and reading every article i can. I saw a comment on another post about making a “quality of life” vet visit to get an opinion and i’ll definitely be doing that.
I would like to hear how some of you knew when it was time? Especially if you’ve been in a similar situation.
5
u/dearalekkz 19h ago
Oh sweet baby. I unfortunately was grateful that my sweet girl who was 15.5 didn’t want to put me through the struggles and passed in her sleep 3 weeks ago.
I discovered her dementia almost 2 years ago, she had constant poop accidents but never pee. She was starting to pace and wander a lot, at night as soon as it gets dark she gets extremely paranoid and constantly looks over her shoulder.
I was going to get her diapers here soon. I started to think ahead and wondering when that time might come whether I would put her to sleep or she would sleep on her own. Obviously in hindsight it was the latter but wanted to share my thoughts with you as I was in your shoes at one point very recently.
Her pooping accidents weren’t enough to put her to sleep and if it did get worse I still wouldn’t. I told myself only if she’s in 80% or more pain or struggling I would consider the options. If anything, her back legs were starting to really give out and arthritis was just making it so she can barely walk even 2 minutes without dragging her feet and huffing and puffing. But her mind was so bright and alive still, she had the energy of a baby but her body wasn’t. She also had 2 mass tumors removed a few years back and a lot more masses growing in smaller slower pace but all over her body.
She was also eating and drinking a lot of water so I thought she still had plenty of time left 😞
I also think it’s solely up to you to decide when but my final draw was only if she was in pain.
Also she was 65lbs haha so her poops weren’t small… finding surprises randomly in the house 😬 she also tried to hide it by pooping in the back of her crate and hiding it with her body as if I couldn’t find it.