Hi, my 12 year old lab is struggling to get up, been to the vets and he has put him on tramadol..: told me to call vets when I felt the time was right. How do you know when the right time is? He is still eating drinking and going outside to the toilet, struggling to get up and struggles over wooden floors, we can’t walk him any longer as he just wouldn’t get up at all on the night, would be interesting to hear from others that are going through this too or that have been through this please? Ty
Hi Sonia, Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry you're joining us at such a difficult time. Pippa has written about her own experiences of knowing when to let go of an elderly dog in this article. I hope it helps you. Very best wishes to you all.
Hi Sonia, I am so sorry that you are going through this with your senior dog. It is fresh in my mind and heart as I recently went through this with my 11 year old chocolate boy. It is a heartbreaking decision to make. My guy was still eating because he would never miss a meal. He could no longer get up on his own and was having occasional accidents. For us, we saw it in his eyes that he was tired and frustrated and he was ready to go. I do believe that a week early is a better than a week late, but that seems easier said than done. It is a painful decision to come to and you need to get there on your own. I am so sorry as I know how hard this is. Hugs to you and your pup!
Hi there, so sorry to hear your dog can't get up easily, that feels so upsetting and scary I know. My dog also struggles to get up and often has a wonky back end due to laryngeal paralysis, but doing physiotherapy with her, and keeping her light, really really helps. Once she's up and moving she's great. I make sure to exercise her regularly (I think short and often is quite good to do) and give her little jobs to do/play little games with her to keep her engaged. I have put small rugs over our floors so she doesn't slip. Also small rugs are great if they have a toilet accident due to not quite as tight back end muscles as they used to have, as you can just take one small rug away and wash and dry it quickly and easily. (Rather than 1 big rug.) I posted the physio we do on another thread about laryngeal paralysis (this one: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/labrador-laryngeal-paralysis.29731/) if you wanted a look at it. Also if your dog is a nice fit weight it will really help in lots of ways. (Depending on the type, and the reason of course xx) struggling to get up doesn't have to be an end, in my pup I just see it as a disability. I am disabled myself so it just makes sense that you sort of find ways to adapt. She is still very happy and enjoying life and once she is up she can follow me trotting around our home (even doing a little jump into the front room) and round the park and can canter on the beach. The only difference really is instead of standing up to watch me work she lies down to watch me work. And lies down to eat most of the time but wolves often do that in the wild too so I don't worry about that affecting her. By the way I just act really casual about her back end when it's wonky or when she can't get up, like "hey it's no big deal, it's just different". I even chuckle about it and go "uh oh!" and things to make it a light hearted thing. So she's not scared and just knows it's her new normal kind of thing. She's really cool about it. Sorry if I'm not explaiing well I'm currently shellshocked as my doggy has been diagnosed with cancer. So it's a bit hard to think straight. But I just wanted to pop in and say (depending on the reason) don't worry you don't have to find it a big scary thing and that they can definitely live happily with a few little adjustments. BEst wishes and well wishes to your pup, Jack ----- I used to be on this forum years ago but forgot my login details so made a new account.
p.s. Really sorry forgot to say some things in the prev post... meant to say that there are some great doggy wheelchairs available on amazon which cld be worth considering if/when it gets to that stage (I will definitely get one for Sam if it comes to it that she needs it). Also that sometimes i use a little workout exercise stretchy band under my pup's tum to give a bit of added stability to the back end when she needs it (they're cheap and helpful). and that when she can't get up, sometimes i physically sort of pick her up myself off the floor often (i know not everyone can do this with their dog), but that also i try and encourage her and teach her how to do it herself. Mainly just having the non slip mini rugs/mats down makes a world of difference. Also it's always handy to make sure your dog is cool enough and not overheating as they could have undetected laryngeal paralysis which makes them overheat. Being cool will help! Hope that makes sense. Best of luck xx
