# When is it time?



## Karin.L (Apr 6, 2012)

Basically, I know someone with a 17 year old dog that can't see, hear, walk properly etc. but does not want to put him down because apparently he's 'not in pain'. So, for a controversial topic- is the only time you should put an animal down when it's in constant pain?
When do you decide that now is the time? 
Just wanted to see opinions


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I personally look at quaility of life and then ask myself "am I keeping then alive for me (selfish reasons) or do they actually want to live". Then I decide from there. But I do think it is a very personal decision as to keep a pet alive or not..more than anything I appreciate the fact we have that choice for our pets if only it were possible for humans as well (and I mean that in the kindest way possible).


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

I think pain or being unhappy. for some dogs not being able to get around well isn't a big deal, they only really want to lay on the couch anyways. Others spent their days running around and going to the park and are depressed being limited. You need to know your dog, need to be able to tell if he's happy. Nothing kills me more than watching a dog struggle and fail to do something because of a failing body. I watched a lab with HD struggle to get on the couch the other day and nearly burst into tears. I don't think she should be put down but when the struggle starts to invade the rest of her daily activities it might be something to think about.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I say when they are in obvious pain, stop eating, drinking and are no longer able to control bowls. Those to me are sure signs its time. At that point, the quality of life just isn't there and they are just more miserable than anything else.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

We put my last dog to sleep when he totally lost the use of his back legs. The vet said he wasn't in any pain but I wasn't sure of that. He was 17 years old and looked miserable to me. 

We tried, when his leg problems first started, to do as much as we could - we built him a ramp to go out into the yard, and he had the best orthopedic bed we could find when he turned about 12. Later, we helped him with a sling. 

But what makes a good quality of life? I don't know. It's hard to tell. Maybe your friend's dog is perfectly happy. Maybe my dog was perfectly happy. I don't know, and I wonder. But it was the decision we made at the time. I wasn't feeling the happy when he would start scrabbling around on two legs, totally panicked that he couldn't get up. Or when he couldn't control his bowels or bladder. 

In a way, maybe we didn't let him die with enough dignity. Maybe we should have done it sooner. Or waited longer. Heck, I don't know. I think about it alot and feel guilty for what I did do, didn't do, should have done.

I will say that your friends have loved this dog for 17 years. I'm sure they are struggling with the whole thing. They need to work through it and I think you should support them no matter what they do.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I haven't had to put a dog down in years but for me, I have always gone by:

-When the dog is no longer enjoying life and when the bad days outweigh the good.

Having the bad days outweigh the good just isn't worth it. I would rather end it when the dog still has some dignity and isn't in constant pain. I don't want either of my boys to be in constant pain now so why would I when they are old?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

for me, pain is the top reason.

but there is also a time when the 'can't' is more often than the can.

and then it's time to think about it being time.

it's certainly the hardest of decisions...when to let go. 

but as a dog owner, i have to look at my beloveds with compassion and harsh objectivity....when they no longer can, then to me...it's time to send them to my grandmother where they can....and i'll see them soon enough.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

This is clear cut for me. I will always help them over in the end to avoid undue suffering. Dogs are stoic creatures, and they will do their best to mask their pain. Sometimes you just can't tell if they are in pain. Quality of life is key. I recently had to put my 17 yo Chi Zack to sleep. He had been slowly declining for a couple months. My realization that it was time came with a neurological decline. He was already pretty much blind and deaf, but he could still get around fine. He started having tremors, then he couldn't move around on uneven ground anymore. When I had to hold his dinner bowl up for him because he couldn't lean over without falling, or lift his head past his shoulders I knew it was time to let my old friend go........

He was always my daughter's dog, and they pretty much grew up together. She was his person. He would only really have his old spark when she was around, which isn't often now. So I flew her in from where she lives, and we spent a beautiful day together taking pictures, taking him for a last trip to the beach. On the ride to the vet she held him in her arms and fed him dark chocolate---his favorite! We brought him home and buried him in the back yard and made a special garden for him.

Here's one of the pics I took that day








He left this world with dignity, surrounded with love. This is his garden


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

That photo made me cry. 

I agree - being blind and deaf shouldn't mean the end of life for a dog. Dogs do fine that way. Snorkels is pretty much stone deaf and about half blind. It's the problems getting around, and struggling to do everyday things - but may not be causing pain (or might and we don't know it) - that often makes the decision a little more iffy.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I've always thought that if the animal is suffering then its time. If they eat and seem to be content then they are still living life as they see fit. My last boy was a greyhound that I rescued at five years old. He was the worst looking when I went to adopt and he still wagged his tail at me. Poor thing had some trouble with food the first couple of years but finally got him on the right track. He had a growth on his leg at around 10, I had it removed it was cancer, but the vet said he should be fine she got it all. Well he lived to be almost 15 years old, he just couldn't get up one day, broke my heart, he was the sweetest dog I ever owned. My friend came to put him down at home, he passed in his favorite bed surrounded by his loved ones and his doggy friends and now I'm crying anyway. 

I've always been told the dog will let you know when its time.


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## diamond8 (Apr 29, 2012)

yea quality of life is my belief. if they stop eating or drinking or trouble toileting and basicly getting around i think its time to call it a day.
my 16 1/2 year old jack russell terrier "tiny"was put to sleep oct 2008 about 3 weeks before this was done i felt her time was up so we went for our last walk together took some photos sat on a hill for a while and talked to her and walked home of course i was sad but i was also happy that we parted this way that she did not suffer at all. she could no longer move even get up the step at the back door.she used to just stand there waiting for me to pick her up. that sunday morning she fell in the back door i picked her up for the last time and wrapped her in a blanket and drove to the vets i knew her time was up. it broke my heart andcould not stop crying for days. we brought her home and layed her in her bed for a few hours and what broke me altogether was arnie her buddy lay down beside her in her bed all that time wouldent budge
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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

I know a dog that is blind, deaf and a little stiff but happy as a lark! :-0 

This is the hardest of all calls and something maybe only someone living with the dog / pet can understand. There are exceptions when you know someone has gone to far to save a pet but still the person is doig it out of pure love in most cases. So it's such a rock and a hard place for so many. 

I tried like hell to save my cat. A part of me wishes I just tried to get through this bad day she was having to see what would happen. The other part of me took her picture so if I ever 2nd guess myself I would know I did the right thing. (I still 2nd guess myself but know better)


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## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

This helped me last summer when Java was diagnosed with bone cancer. 




> Remember, dogs are not afraid, they are not carrying anxiety and fear of the unknown. So for them it's only about whether this day holds enough companionship and ease and routine so that they would choose to have those things more than anything else and that they are able to focus on those things beyond any discomfort or pain or frustration they may feel. How great is his burden of illness this day, and does he want/need to live through this day with this burden of illness as much as I want/need him to? If I honestly believe that his condition is such, his pleasures sufficient, that he would choose to persevere, then that's the answer and we press on. If, on the other hand, I can look honestly and bravely at the situation and admit that he, with none of the fear or sadness that cripples me, would choose instead to rest, then my obligation is clear. Because he needs to know in his giant heart, beyond any doubt, that I will have the courage to make the hard decisions on his behalf, that I will always put his peace before my own, and that I am able to love him as unselfishly as he has loved me.



Pet Euthanasia - Choosing Euthanasia for your Pet


I waited 15 days from the day I saw that awful x-ray. At the time I thought that was ok. I was worried I might be doing it too quickly, robbing him of time (or maybe robbing _me_ of time). Months later, I was rocked again when it occurred to me that maybe that had been _too_ long and that he shouldnt have been made to wait. I kept thinking about one night when he woke me up with all his moving around in the bed. He got up, turned around and laid down again. Two minutes later he did it again and a few minutes later, again, very uncharacteristic of him. It didnt dawn on me until those months later that he must not have been able to find a comfortable position because of the pain he was in, and that restlessness was the all that showed through his stoicism.



As has been said - Let them go on a good day. Let them go while they still have their dignity.


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