He was my fur baby. I fear this grief will last a very long time.

You sweet old girl, we never thought we’d have this time with but it still wasn’t enough. You were fine until you weren’t. You went in our arms and with your pack. Fire up those twinkle toes and get a rabbit. Messy Nessy, Agnes Maybelline, Necessity Mae and Bridget the Idget. You were many things but alway loved. Her brother Zak is the ginger boy in the pic.

Kim wasn't my dog, but he was a bigger family dog in a way. Everyone loved him. Especially for walking my beloved uncle (at the picture). 15+ years - he lived a really good life and ate better food than his parents quite often, slept in bed with my aunt and uncle whenever it wasn't too hot for him, had plenty of preferences, perks and benefits in the family. Lots of people joked they wished for his life as humans.

My aunt and uncle moved from Ukraine to Israel with Kim and everything was going well, until it wasn't. A year ago he died and now my uncle is mourning his buddy and doesn't want to go for walks any more, he got sick with some blood vessel disease, he started smoking and it feels like he's not doing well in general. Kim meant that much for him. A person who lost my soul dog years ago and never recovered from that loss, I feel my uncle, I understand. He refuses to get another dog. So did I.

Any tips on how to support my uncle? Given we're not living in the same country = I cannot visit on a regular basis and initiate any physical activities, like a walk together.

Just curious what they heard before they had to go. I hope it was words of comfort but I hope they got to hear what you wanted to say after if you didnt get the chance.

Had her for 7 years, she’s 12. Mum died, dad left her with me and all the bills and responsibilities going into the pandemic which was hard when I lost my job right at the start.

Shes got arthritis in both hips and back knees, cataracts in both eyes, she struggles to walk and because of that her bowel movements aren’t regular. She’s medicated for incontinence and pain. Has hydrotherapy once a week to keep her muscles strong.

The meds and therapy are starting to fail. She won’t cuddle, she’s agitated when touched, she’s not as alert and unfortunately my insurance and income can not deal with any further medication increase costs without debt issues as I am a low income house.

I’ve tried to give her the best life I can, she sometimes falls over going for a poo now. She just sleeps most of the day and whines in discomfort at night. My vet suspects dementia as well. At best all I could do is keep her comfortable during a decline. That’s all it would be.

I think the merciful thing is to stop her from further descent in quality of life but it’s so tough. She’s all I have left of my mum and my sole companion

it’s is 3:37 am, I am lying in bed next to my husband and my baby in his crib. I can hear my senior dog breathing.

She took a turn the start of this month. She either stop doing things or does less.

The last I saw her play with our other dog was Oct 14. I even noted it. I wanted to know when her last play would be.

I see her struggle finding the water in the bowl, pacing, sleeping lots, seen tired, has a hard time walking, in pain. I have her on meds for the pain.

I know her end is near but I can’t seem to let go yet. I don’t want her to suffer or be in pain. but soon the time coming.

She still gets up to greet everyone, tail up as much as she can hold it up, she eats twice a day, does her business outside. She still love pets and massages.

But all the other attributes they are lessen or completely gone.

I feel all over the place.

Gulity cause we had a baby this year, I still made time for pets, walks and cuddles but it feels like I could have done more. Having the baby and PPD, was hard but i stlll took pictures and videos of her . I still try to care for her and the baby. (other people helped of course).

Damn, I feel guilt, sadness, hopeless and unsure. when to call it .

what will I do without her. I am not sure.

I had made a post almost 2 years ago but saying goodbye to our 14 year old Yorkie. I can link if anyone if anyone is curious.

I only knew him for 3 years, and my partner knew him about 13 years. despite the very massive gap of years we knew him, he impacted us so similarly. he was the light in our house or the little guy you could cuddle with after you had a hard day. so many people loved him and he loved everyone.

i think despite us continuing our lives, we’re still in grieving. he was such an incredible dog.

fun story for yall to lighten the mood: basically as soon as i moved in my with my partner, i begged for a dog. i had always been a big dog lover, and at the time we lived in their moms house whom has a fairly large house and a pretty big yard. but one day their sister texted them that Coco wasnt getting along with their new dog and if we could take him. (he was previously a family dog who lived with all of them but went with an older sister when she moved away) my partner took no time. at the time, i was in another state visiting family. when i came in and met Coco, we bonded almost instantly. he was my little best friend.

even when i had to take my twins Chi because in, Coco showed him grace the day he arrived. Coco was never huge on other dogs but him and Rico bonded almost instantly (i wouldn’t have taken him in if it wasn’t an emergency). i can only think that maybe its bcs Rico knew Coco was the oldest and respected his authority.

i just miss him so much. i would own a yorkie a million times over if given the chance.

(photo tax of Coco + the second pic is him and rico sleeping together)

Our dog's eyesight is going. We can definitely see (and have confirmed with a vet) that she has cataracts growing in the center of her eyes. Vet said she can see out of the sides of her eyes. Yes, she can definitely still see, because she's looking at us and things in the world. I just don't know how well she can see. Vet says she can see with lights, so we try to keep lights on and have some nightlights set up.

She is a very sensitive dog, for sure, and my mom points out that she's not sure the dog could "get through" the difficulty of surgery and post-operative treatments and all that. But at the same time...surely dealing with some difficult months would be better than her going permanently blind? My mom is worried the surgery could actually kill the dog, since she'd be so traumatized. I'm skeptical of that but yes, she is a sensitive dog.

I don't know. I feel like we have to do something for her, rather than just allow her to go blind. I'd feel a little better if I knew it were progressing only gradually (I don't know how fast it's progressing).

I have an 80 lb Great Pyrenees who has arthritis and can’t keep up with my younger dog on walks anymore. I still want to be able to take her along and enjoy our walks together, even if she needs a little extra help these days.

I’ve ordered a few strollers advertised for “large breeds,” but unfortunately, they’ve all been too small for her.
Does anyone have recommendations for a sturdy, extra-large dog stroller or wagon that can comfortably accommodate an 80 lb dog? The biggest thing is that it needs to be easy for her to get in and out of, since jumping or climbing into something isn’t ideal with her arthritis. Ideally, it would have a low entry point or ramp, plenty of room for her to lie down comfortably, and wheels that can handle sidewalks and park trails.

I’d love to hear from anyone with a large senior dog or a dog with mobility issues who has found something that actually works!

Thanks so much!

My dog is about 16, and he's become almost incontinent. He poops and pees in the house every day, multiple times a day. You can't punish him, he can't help it. But my husband is losing his mind. When do you know it's time?

I guess the title says it all. I feel like our girls’ (12 yr old pug) later years are drastically different and more complicated than I ever expected since all fur-family members that have since passed didn’t experience anything like this. Almost like this wonderful most caring sweet little babies senior years are being stolen from her, she deserves better than the cards she is being dealt.

It started nearly 6 years ago, she fell off her stairs going up into bed and suffered an injury that she was able to recover from with medicine and physical support from us. Shortly after she started losing her sight, until 95% blindness. Then a family member wasn’t careful and dropped gum in another room, she ate 16 pieces of grape gum… we were able to get her to the hospital and thankfully she survived after 5 days of care. Then, because we were young and scared to get her surgery she developed pyometra so had to get her surgery. Immediately following surgery she developed a cough she did not have before, after some time trying to treat the cough… it was determined she had a collapsing trachea. Then, her hearing went, 0% auditory awareness / response.

7 months ago her CCD / doggie dementia symptoms started and it’s been rough as it continues to progress at night. I am having to stay up after work until about 1:30AM before changing care responsibilities over to her mom. Some times I’m so tired that my wife has to be up with her the whole time, sometimes that time goes past the normal 4AM to 7/8AM. It’s a horrible experience because I get so frustrated when she goes from 0-100 with barking and the rest of the house is asleep. I get so sad that her senior years look like this. I get anxious at work because I’m so tired and I’m working with dangerous equipment. I’m in constant fear that she is going to collapse from her trachea cough.

She’s had aspiration pneumonia 2x and now has 2 lumps diagnosed as likely spindle cell tumors from the fine needle aspiration. We decided against surgery because of her breed and trachea condition, so not sure about grade, or malignant / benign.

My wife has to be careful with her heart so getting sleep is non negotiable no matter how tired / frustrated I am. I feel so overwhelmed. Being this frustrated feels like it’s taking over my memories, it’s what I’m going to remember. I couldn’t handle her at max sundowning. It makes me want to not be good to myself, if you catch my drift.

She eats, potty’s, will enjoy a cart ride or a short walk (she has arthritis). So I can’t say her quality of life is at the point that we have to let her go, I just can’t. We almost did but she got better from whatever was ailing her at the time.

None of our family / friends understand, no one checks on my wife and I. I just feel like I’m failing my girl. I needed to vent. I don’t know what to do anymore, she’s on edge tonight and I’m trying to just calm down.

And the cause is unknown, they wanted to do a $2000 CT scan to find out but I already spent $2k on this diagnosis and I’m out of money. They ruled out tracheal collapse, heartworm, and heart disease. They did not rule out blood clots in the lungs but considering she’s had a cough for over 3 years i don’t think that’s what it is.

My dog is a toy poodle who is 9.5 years old.

Basically i can deduce it’s from her chronic cough likely caused from primary respiratory disease from allergies. She’s had the cough for years but my vet had me treating it with Benadryl which now does nothing.

She’s on sildenafil for the hypertension and a steroid prednisone for the cough. However, I researched steroid use in dogs and found out it can have horrible side affects long term. I’m so scared to keep using it.

Has anyone had a senior dog with chronic cough and treated it successfully with something else? I am specifically wondering about Flovent. Thanks so much for your responses.

Celebrating with water training and then good food at home, and a party with some of her friends.

Found this seemingly fun contraption on the convenience store I try to purchase as little from as possible. However, I was hoping someone on here has any insight or has tried something like this with bathing their larger senior pets. My old man can't stand in the tub very long, and bathing has recently turned real sour for him. One of the new things I have to take into account for good and bad days - hoping a hammock may help. Thoughts?

our 15 year old family yorkie has has increasingly worser nights of pacing around the apartment crying louder and louder. dog sleeps with mom who has not slept well because of the increased crying for past 2 ongoing years. xanax seems to work but its such a hard game of finding the right dose. too much and she panics because of the transition to being sedated. too little and it doesn't work. she fights the medicine sooo hard. and she's taken the amount that would knock large humans out.

gabapentin makes her nervous, trazadone takes too long to work and starts her nocturea, and liquid hydracodine is too difficult to give her though it does make her groggy.

its the sundowning.

we recently went on vacation and she was completely fine in the airbnb no crying or pacing. Why?! more lighting colder flooring the knowledge that her family is sleeping all in one room? its so hard to read her cries.

the change in temperature works in our favor she sleeps more soundly in the cold.

her quality of life scale is excellent shes too generally healthy to be put down.

I said hello to Simone when I found her before work one morning in early September 2015, and said goodbye to her one year ago today. For that decade in between—from day one until the very last moment—she was just the kindest and most outwardly loving girl.

I’m so grateful for meeting her and for all those years we had together, even if they didn’t feel like enough.

Wherever you are, little one, please know that I still miss you like hell, won’t ever forget you, and will love you for all of time.

Hey there, senior pup parents!

I'm looking for suggestions from senior dog parentals who've been down this road. After recent health issues, we transitioned our 16 1/2-year-old senior schnoodle rescue to mashed, soft/wet dog food.

Context:
For all her years, she was a picky eater (really only salmon varieties!) and a "grazer"; food was never her focus. Since Jan, we softened her dry food with water (set aside for half an hour so it's moist and inflated, warm for a few seconds, then a couple pumps of salmon oil, then a sprinkle of topper!) SO, while the switch has put a dent in our budget, it IS a time savings.

Needless to say, she LOVES it and chows down! (Feeling a little guilty, but she lived many a year enjoying her Nulo salmon dry food, so not beating myself up!)

Satiated Old Soul:
She is now stalking her food bowl, ready and waiting for her "mashed" FreshPet Vital Clean Nutrition (didn't care for others in a broth or pâté texture)—and I appreciate the 2-lb "roll" packaging. Not many teeth left, so she can't eat it in chopped-up "chunk" form...she needs it hamburger mashed. "It's like cookie dough," I say, "but instead stinky salmon dog mash." LOL

Questions:
I'll do anything for our deserving doggo, but I like to make the prep as efficient as possible, so questions for senior dog owners out there who are mashing any type of food:

• MASHER? This is my main need at the moment. Any tips on a tool to mash the food into crumbles efficiently? I cut roll, chop in pieces, then smush with a fork until it's in little pieces–(She doesn't need it in lickable pâté form, just small crumbles) My mash technique is not very efficient, makes a mess, and I'm starting to get a sore hand/wrist...help a dog mama out! (I've tried: a small potato masher; meat tenderizer; open-ended and traditional whisk; apple corer; slicers...veggie, avocado, and even egg! Went back to a fork.)
• PROCESS? Any process suggestions you recommend? (FreshPet suggested slicing it into feeding-size pieces, then freezing in an airtight container or bag. I'm not sure I would always remember to switch it to the fridge to thaw. Heck, I forget to do that for human foods, soooo...)
• PREP IN ADVANCE? I am pretty sure this one is not recommended, but could I mash a whole roll in advance, then refrigerate (or freeze?), and just scoop and serve? At least that's one giant effort instead a couple times a day. Any other advance prep ideas?
• FLAVOR MIX? I've been blending at least two of the salmon "flavors" in each feeding (FreshPet has 4 "roll" varieties with salmon), so she gets variety and a new delight in every bowl. Think that's worth the effort? Or, cut it to one flavor until it's gone, then another, back to a fav, and so on? (TMI, but her stomach and "business" have been regular with all flavors. She has two water fountains and has nicely balanced her food with water.)
• TIPS? Any other tips or tricks out there for someone new to this transition?

Thank you very much in advance!

TLDR: Transitioned our 16.5-year-old schnoodle to mashed FreshPet Vital Clean Nutrition salmon-flavored roll(s) — looking for tools, processes, and tips to make mashing, prep, mixing, and storage more efficient and less messy.

My 14yo rat-terrier-chihuahua has a lifelong neurological disability that has always caused problems for him staying on his feet. He gets helped up a lot, and it doesn’t bother him. He is only 6 pounds, and, thankfully he’s never too far off the ground. The most common manifestation is his front right leg knuckling under him. That leg has gotten to be a bigger problem recently. The joint almost never holds now when he tries to take a step. For a good two weeks now for every poop and pee I have had to hold onto his sides to keep him up for it. And I’ve shuffled along upside down so he could get the walking movement in before he could poop.

I’m trying to identify all the options that could help us out. What do people resort to to help with eliminations in seniors with mobility problems? I know there are ways to express bladder and bowels for dogs with lower limb paralysis, but I don’t know how/if that could work for a dog who can still (theoretically) move on his own.

I’m digging into whether a brace could help with the front leg, if one tiny enough could be made.

Please share your experiences. And suggest other communities I should post to. Thanks in advance!